Tel Aviv University Digitizes Rare 15th-Century Ethiopian Jewish Manuscripts

By: Fern Sidman

In a landmark initiative hailed as a significant breakthrough for Jewish scholarship and heritage preservation, Tel Aviv University (TAU) has digitized two rare 15th-century Ethiopian Jewish manuscripts and made them publicly accessible for the first time. As reported on Tuesday by VIN News, the project marks a historic moment both for academic researchers and for the Beta Israel community, the ancient Jewish population of Ethiopia.

The sacred manuscripts—collectively known as the Orit—contain the Five Books of Moses alongside the biblical books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. These texts are written in Ge’ez, the ancient liturgical language still preserved by the Ethiopian Jewish priests, known as kessim. According to the information provided in the VIN News report, the Orit holds a unique place in Ethiopian Jewish tradition, functioning both as a sacred scripture and as a living testament to a community that preserved its faith and identity under centuries of isolation and persecution.

The remarkable discovery of these manuscripts came during a 2024 traveling workshop conducted by Tel Aviv University in collaboration with the National Library of Israel and the Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center. The project’s fieldwork led researchers directly into the homes of kessim—the spiritual leaders of the Beta Israel community—many of whom had carried these texts with them from Ethiopia at great personal risk.

“These books were hidden in plain sight,” explained Professor Dalit Rom-Shiloni of Tel Aviv University. “We’ve documented four Orit books and thirteen other sacred texts so far—but this is just the tip of the iceberg. There may be many more concealed among families and communities across Israel.”

For generations, the kessim have safeguarded these manuscripts, using them in rituals and community events while shielding them from exposure to the outside world. According to the information contained in the VIN News report, this secrecy was both a protective measure against persecution in Ethiopia and a practical concern for the fragile condition of the manuscripts, which are centuries old and written on delicate materials.

The digitization project seeks to address the twin challenges of preservation and accessibility. These texts are now publicly available for scholars, students, and members of the Ethiopian Jewish community, creating opportunities for study and appreciation on a scale never before possible. The initiative is also a race against time. Only 18 senior kessim trained in Ethiopia remain active in Israel today, underscoring the urgency of preserving their knowledge and the texts they protect.

“This effort is about more than safeguarding artifacts,” Prof. Rom-Shiloni told VIN News. “It’s about preserving a living tradition and connecting it with the broader narrative of Jewish history.”

The Beta Israel community, long isolated from other Jewish populations, has retained distinctive religious practices, customs, and interpretations of scripture. The Orit differs in certain respects from the Hebrew Bible used by other Jewish communities, offering scholars invaluable insights into the textual history of Judaism and its diverse expressions.

According to the report at VIN News, the manuscripts’ Ge’ez script is particularly significant. Though Ge’ez is no longer spoken as a vernacular language, it remains the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Beta Israel’s religious texts. The preservation of this language within the Jewish context provides a rare window into the intersection of language, faith, and cultural identity.

The project’s importance extends beyond academic interest. The Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center views the digitization as a means of cultural empowerment for younger generations of Beta Israel descendants in Israel. By making these ancient texts accessible, the center hopes to foster a deeper understanding of their heritage among Ethiopian Israeli youth and to promote pride in their community’s enduring legacy.

The collaborative effort between Tel Aviv University, the National Library of Israel, and the Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center reflects a growing recognition of the need to document and celebrate the diversity within the Jewish diaspora. This initiative is part of a broader trend in Israeli academia and cultural institutions aimed at embracing the multifaceted history of global Jewry.

The discovery of the Orit manuscripts during the workshop draws attention to the value of community-based research. Rather than confining their study to libraries and archives, the project’s scholars ventured directly into Ethiopian Jewish neighborhoods, forging partnerships with families and religious leaders. This hands-on approach not only yielded remarkable findings but also strengthened bonds of trust between the academic community and the Beta Israel.

As the digitized manuscripts become available, scholars worldwide are expected to engage in comparative studies, examining the Ethiopian texts alongside other ancient biblical manuscripts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Aleppo Codex. These comparisons may shed new light on textual transmission, scribal traditions, and the evolution of biblical literature.

In addition to their religious and scholarly significance, the manuscripts carry profound symbolic weight. For many within the Beta Israel community, they represent a tangible link to their ancestors and a testament to the resilience of their faith. As the VIN News  report emphasized, the digitization ensures that this legacy will not be lost to history.

“This is a cultural treasure,” said one community leader interviewed by VIN News. “For centuries, our people guarded these texts in secret. Now, the world can see what we have carried with us, both physically and spiritually.”

The future of the project remains promising. The team behind the digitization hopes to expand their efforts, locating and preserving additional manuscripts that may still be hidden within private collections. The partnership with the Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center is expected to continue, ensuring that the work remains grounded in community collaboration.

In the words of Prof. Rom-Shiloni, as quoted by VIN News, “We are not just documenting history — we are making history.”

With this digitization initiative, Tel Aviv University and its partners have opened a new chapter in the study of Ethiopian Jewish heritage, one that honors the past while making it accessible for future generations. This project stands as a testament to the enduring richness of Jewish tradition and the unbreakable bond between faith, culture, and community.