მსოფლიო ებრაელობის ძირითადი ეთნიკური განშტოებები- მიზრახები (ეთიოპიელი ებრაელები)

Abstract

Since ancient times, the Jews scattered throughout the world were divided into different ethnic groups, far from their homeland. Most diasporas are divided into three major ethnic groups (עדות in Hebrew means "communities"): The largest ethnic groups among the Jews are the Ashkenazim (from Central and Eastern Europe, in particular almost all Jews in Russia) and the Sephardim (originally from Spain and Portugal and then scattered across the Mediterranean). There is also a large ethnic group of so-called Mizrakhim - the Jews from Eastern countries, which in a broad sense includes Arabs, Ethiopians, Persians, Bukharan, mountain Jews, and Lakhlukhs. The Mizrakhim are an important ethnic group of Jews. מזרחי in Hebrew means “Eastern”. The Mizrakhim, or Eastern Jews, are considered to be a separate ethnic group, mainly based on geographical area, and are predominantly Jewish in the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia. Jews from Islamic, mainly Arab countries (Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Morocco), but also Kurds, Jews from Iran, Bukhara, the Caucasus Mountains, etc. Mizrakhim are found everywhere from Morocco to Calcutta. For the first time, they were officially grouped in one ethnic identity during World War II, and are often considered to be Georgian Jews, despite the fact that the members of the first migration flow to Georgia have long regarded themselves as Sephardim. Thus, "Mizrahi" is a socio-political term that includes Jews from Arab or Muslim lands, including Jews from North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of the Caucasus. Jewish communities in North Africa and the Middle East, unlike other Jewish ethnic groups, are heterogeneous communities, composed of Jewish communities with diverse and different cultures that often have no connection to each other. Mizrahi Jews are not united by a single Hebrew language. Each subgroup speaks its language. One of the largest branches among them is the Jewish population in the Arab countries, which is represented by many subgroups. The same can be said of the second great branch, the Persian Jews. The term "Persian Jews" in a broad sense was often used in reference to Afghan and Bukharan Jews as well. Until the beginning of the 16th century, the Jews of Iran, Central Asia, and Afghanistan were a united community and the division of this single and large community into ethnic groups was led by several political events and naturally over time this large ethnic community was subdivided. In this article, we present only the Ethiopian Jews from the Mizrahi ethnic sects as a completely peculiar ethnic formation ( group) - the Beta Israel (Jewish Beit from Israel, "House of Israel") - has existed for at least 15 centuries. Ethiopian Jews, or Falasha, is a community in northern and northwestern Ethiopia. The study discusses the assumptions of the emergence of this community, colloquial and liturgical language, identical and cultural characteristics. A brief history of Beta Israel is also given, which makes it clear that Ethiopian Jews are distinguished from other ethnic groups by completely different and special characteristics. They are biblical, pre-rabbinic Jews, recognizing the the Torah (written law) but not the Talmud. Their language is not Hebrew but Geesia. Their leaders are priests (kohens) and not rabbis. They do not celebrate post-biblical Jewish holidays (Hanukkah, Furim), nor do they adhere to post-biblical interpretations of the law (for example, the prohibition of mixing meat and milk), etc ... Throughout centuries, they fought against the odds to maintain their identity and struggled through the political, military, economic and religious pressure coming from the dominant Christian community of the Ethiopian state and the authorities of various moods.