Leaders of the Beta Israel community at a National Library Ceremony commemorating the digitization of the Orit and other sacred texts (video snippet)
Beta Israel Leaders at a National Library Ceremony (video snippet)

Tel Aviv University Project Discovers World’s Oldest Beta Israel Torahs

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The Judean Staff
Archaeology
Unearthing a Hidden Legacy: 15th-Century Ethiopian Jewish Manuscripts Rewrite the History of Torah in Africa.

A groundbreaking discovery made by Tel Aviv University is rewriting what scholars thought they knew about Jewish history in Africa. Two ancient religious manuscripts, preserved by Ethiopia's Beta Israel community, have been identified as the oldest known versions of the Orit—the Torah and foundational biblical books written in the sacred Ge'ez language. Dated to the 15th century, these fragile texts were not buried in museums or libraries, but lovingly protected for centuries by Ethiopian Jewish priests—kesim—and only now revealed to the world.

The Orit: Torah of a Lost World

The Orit—a term derived from the ancient Ge’ez word for “Torah,” itself rooted in the Aramaic Orayta—is the heart of Beta Israel's religious identity. Unlike the familiar Hebrew canon, the Orit includes not just the Five Books of Moses, but also the books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. These eight books form the core of the Ethiopian Jewish biblical canon.

For centuries, these texts were dismissed or ignored by mainstream Jewish scholarship. But Tel Aviv University’s Department of Biblical Studies, led by the formidable Prof. Dalit Rom-Shiloni, is now challenging that oversight with a historic initiative—“Catchers of the Orit.”

“What we’re dealing with here is not simply a forgotten tradition,” Rom-Shiloni explains. “This is a parallel stream of Judaism that has preserved its biblical heritage in a language most scholars can’t even read, and with a level of care and fidelity that rivals any ancient scribal tradition.”

A Sacred Language, a Sacred Responsibility

Ge’ez, a liturgical language no longer spoken conversationally, remains sacred to both Ethiopian Christianity and Beta Israel. But where the former developed elaborate monastic traditions and manuscripts stored in monasteries, the Ethiopian Jewish tradition followed a different path—one passed down orally, preserved in tightly guarded family manuscripts, and kept alive through kesim, spiritual leaders ordained long before the community’s migration to Israel.

Today, fewer than twenty elder kesim remain in Israel. These men are the last ordained keepers of Beta Israel’s ancient traditions, and they are the bridge between past and present.

“They are more than religious leaders,” Rom-Shiloni says. “They are the living Torah scrolls of the Ethiopian Jewish people.”

The Manuscripts Speak—and So Do Their Keepers

The two newly identified 15th-century manuscripts were discovered not in dusty archives but in the hands of kesim, who carried them from Ethiopia at great personal risk. These are not museum relics—they are living texts, still used in prayer and ritual.

And that makes this discovery all the more astonishing.

“These sacred books were never meant to be locked behind glass,” says Rom-Shiloni. “They’re actively used in ceremonies, where kesim translate them not in abstract terms but according to generations-old interpretive traditions. These translations are not just linguistic—they’re theological. They carry the voice of a people.”

The kesim act as both guardians and interpreters, translating the Ge’ez texts into Amharic or Tigrinya for their communities. Their translations are not simply literal—they are received, passed down like Torah from Sinai.

The Orit Project: Catching the Flame Before It Flickers Out

“Catchers of the Orit,” Rom-Shiloni’s ambitious initiative, is more than a study program—it is a rescue mission. In partnership with the National Library of Israel and the Ethiopian Jewish Heritage Center, the team is digitally preserving these manuscripts in situ, never removing them from the hands of their guardians.

“We don’t take the manuscripts from the community,” she emphasizes. “We take the camera to the manuscript. It’s the only way to honor both the text and the people who kept it alive.”

Seventeen sacred manuscripts are currently preserved in the growing digital repository, including the two 15th-century gems. But Rom-Shiloni believes this is just the beginning.

“There are more out there—perhaps dozens—kept in closets, wrapped in cloth, hidden in plain sight. We are making a heartfelt plea to the families of kesim across Israel: help us preserve your history before it’s too late.”

Rediscovering a Lost Chapter in Jewish History

The Beta Israel community has long struggled against marginalization—first in Ethiopia, then in Israel. But with the rediscovery of these manuscripts, the narrative is changing. What was once peripheral is now central. What was once considered folklore is now recognized as biblical scholarship.

Rom-Shiloni concludes with a sense of urgency and awe:

“This isn’t just a story of old books. It’s a story of resilience, devotion, and identity. It’s a call to scholars, communities, and every Jew who believes in the power of our shared heritage: the Orit lives—and it has something to teach us all.”

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