1984 marked the beginning of the modern exodus- operation moses. at the time, an emergency meeting at our synagogue took place. in a time long before social media, the packed room was told a secret; a window opportunity emerged to extricate and relocate ethiopia’s beta israel jews to israel. the combination of urgency, secrecy, and importance led me to grasp that this was history in the making. this was something big.
in lieu of the almighty’s outstretched hand of the original exodus, this time humans, across the world, would reach into their wallets and pitch in. instead of an epic red sea parting, jet plane engines would roar and wing those seeking refuge over any water or land impediment.
while these two events were separated by thousands of years, the two exodus events are eerily similar. each exodus event extended for approximately 40 years. in 1984, it was inconceivable that as of 2023, that some beta israel would still be in queue waiting for their journey to their promised land. despite all of our modern technology and capabilities, we have failed to run laps around moses.
the exodus’ wilderness-both times-brims with meaning. these lands were of despair and rebirth. the original exodus’ wilderness brought with it often demise to the disobedient. in contrast, beta israel’s wilderness brought death to the faithful. there were those who could not survive the harsh environment and had their journey end in tragedy. these were the death of believers- 4000 souls. they are reason why a people will forever break glasses at wedding. as naomi shemer best put it, we take the bitter with the sweet.
the recent group of beta israel immigrants’ data contains a startling fact: 70 percent of them are under the age of 35; half are children or teenagers. jns.org. this was a generation who, much like the children of israel’s generation which entered the promised land, live in a different time. in the original exodus, these children were born free and understood that they had the destiny of the promised land. they had the opportunity to be educated on the ten commandments and the torah prior to crossing the border. for the young beta israel, they too were raised with the very real dream that they would entre the promised land. they too, in preparation for this journey, have studied up in ethiopia in preparation for their successful entrance to their promised land.
in the end, when the final chapter of the beta israel’s exodus is written, considerable discussion will be made to its historical connection to the original.
be well!!
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