One of the most important historical discoveries of the 2Oth century was
the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the area of Qumran in Israel.
This finding confirmed for the first time the antiquity of certain Biblical texts, considered until then by many historians to have been written in later periods.
Passages of the 5 books of Torah, books of the Prophets, and Psalms were found
in these antique manuscripts, some of which dated to the 1st century BC.
The findings showed 2000 years of scriptural continuity, confirming the antiquity of the biblical tradition. But what was the most revealing was the discovery of the Aramaic fragments of the Book of Enoch. These fragments confirmed the Ethiopian version of Enoch as being authentic, and also gave a stamp of authenticity in Jewish terms to the entire Ethiopian Beta Israel experience. The Ethiopian Jews had not only added a missing piece to the human side of the Jewish community, they had with them a central missing piece of the Jewish religious and cultural heritage. Interestingly, passages from the Book of Enoch are mentioned in the Zohar, a traditional interpretation of Torah which was preserved in Morocco, before spreading to the whole world. This fact by itself is enough to confirm the antiquity of the Zohar as well. The sages of the Talmud explained that the Book of Enoch was purposely conceiled because it contained topics that the masses could have interpreted wrongly. The same was said about the study of Zohar. These are teachings that require initiation by true teachers of the tradition because they describe a realm that demands maturity. You can’t give meat to a new born. Torah has many layers, and already some Books such as Ecclesiastes (Qohelet) and the Song of Songs, by King-Prophet Solomon are very deep and require a high level of intelligence. The Book of Enoch is written in a metap horical and mathematical language of extreme depth.
The historical confirmation of the Beta Israel tradition of Orit (Holy Scripture) is also a consecration of their Judaism for the benefit of all Jews worldwide, and the benefit of all humanity. The Beta Israel have brought the Sigd festival into the Jewish calendar. Until then the month of Heshvan was the only month with no festival for the rest of the Jewish community. Now, thanks to the Ethiopian Jews, all 12 months of the year have each their own festival. With the Book of Enoch, even the scriptures are complete. It is our wish that Jews and Bible lovers everywhere will integrate the Ethiopian Beta Israel version of Enoch in their collection of Holy Hebrew Scriptures. We can see through these examples how Africa does not cease to surprise us, and remains at the forefront of the Jewish discussion.