Pin’has (פִּינְחָס)
Numbers 25:10–30:1 and Jeremiah 1:1–2:3 [1]
Pinchas receives a covenant of peace and the priesthood. Moses and Eleazar conduct a new census of the tribes. The daughters of Zelophehad are granted the right to inherit their father’s estate. Joshua is appointed as Moses’ successor. A description of the ritual sacrifices is given. The prophet Jeremiah evokes the bond between God and Israel, born in the wilderness.
Jeremiah 2:2
זָכַרְתִּי לָךְ חֶסֶד נְעוּרַיִךְ, אַהֲבַת כְּלוּלֹתָיִךְ, לֶכְתֵךְ אַחֲרַי בַּמִּדְבָּר
I remember the kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you followed Me in the desert.
Near Gondar, on the road to the Simien Mountains, a handmade sign reads “Jewish village of Wolleka Falasha”. This village was home to an Ethiopian Jewish community—Beta Israel—whose religious tradition developed independently from rabbinic Judaism, without access to the Talmud or mainstream institutions. Their biblical and priestly customs, rooted in the desert, likely predate the Babylonian exile, making their history uniquely significant in the Jewish narrative.
Their spiritual life revolved around the qessotch [2], priests who led rituals and were responsible for reading the Orit [3], the sacred scriptures sung in Ge’ez [4] and transmitted orally across generations. In 1973, after an investigation by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef officially recognized them as “descendants of the tribe of Dan”.
In 1975, following this halachic recognition, the Israeli government extended immigration rights to Beta Israel under the Law of Return. Many Ethiopian Jews joined Israel through large-scale aliyot. Some crossed Sudan on foot at great personal risk, later being evacuated by air [5], while others were flown out directly from Addis Ababa [6].
Today, no Jewish residents remain in Wolleka, but the village bears testimony to its past: a clay synagogue built in 1942 with traditional artwork, a cemetery with blue-painted tombs, and a memorial honoring Beta Israel members who perished en route to Sudan. A local family holds the synagogue keys and charges a small fee for upkeep and visits. By preserving the site, the villagers reinforce its identity as a place of remembrance, rather than just a tourist destination.
[1] Normally, the haftara for Parashat Pin’has comes from 1 Kings 18:46–19:21. However, when read after the fast of 17 Tammuz, it is replaced with the haftara of Mattot: Jeremiah 1:1–2:3.
[2] Qessotch are Ethiopian Jewish priests, distinct from rabbis, who maintain ritual purity and lead religious practices in the Beta Israel tradition.
[3] Orit is the Beta Israel’s version of the Torah, encompassing the Pentateuch, Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings), Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, Ruth, etc.), and some apocryphal texts like the Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees.
[4] Ge’ez is an ancient Semitic liturgical language used by Ethiopian Jews, once the official language of the Aksumite kingdom and the Ethiopian Empire.
[5] Operation Moses (1984) was a covert evacuation of Ethiopian Jewish refugees from Sudan to Israel.
[6] Operation Solomon (1991) was a massive airlift, bringing over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa to Israel in less than 36 hours.
