MY FAMILY
THE BETA ISRAEL CURRICULUM
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
In opening this lesson, the teacher should write two phrases on the board:
(I) Religious laws that show respect to G-d and (II) Religious laws that show respect to fellow humans
Teachers should then ask their students: Which of these laws do you think religious Jews value more?
Following the students’ reflections on this question, teachers should ask them to read the following:
Unlike many Jewish thinkers and communities, who see a distinction in the mitzvot (commandments) between human and G-d ( למקום אדם שבין מצוות) and between humans alone (לחברו אדם שבין מצוות), the Beta Israel never drew such distinctions. It should be noted that in most Jewish texts, the commandment between humans and G-d is usually emphasized as most important. As the Beta Israel Chacham (scholar) Daniel Mangasha observed: “Sins are those actions that are performed between people, and the measure with which G-d tests us in terms of whether we are behaving appropriately or not relates to our interpersonal relationships – such as whether we lie, whether we deceive, or whether we hate. It is only such actions which may lead G-d to hide His presence.”63
After reading this text, students should be asked what they think Chacham Daniel Mangasha meant when he said: “Sins are those actions that are performed between people… [and] it is only such actions which may lead G-d to hide His presence.”
63 Shalom, “The Encounter Between Two Opposing Worldviews in Jewish Philosophy,” p. 660
