Ono Beit Midrash Explores Traditional Ethiopian Jewish Shechita
The 14th meeting of the Beit Midrash for the Study of Ethiopian Jewish Religious Texts at Ono Academic College took place at the Savyon Junction Campus. The session began with plans for future meetings and a possible retreat during which the participants will work on the articles that will serve as the capstone work of the project. The participants discussed the article topics on which they are working.
Dr. Hannah Davidson of Ono’s Judaic Studies Department gave the group a presentation on academic writing in advance of the participants’ article writing. She covered choosing a research question, research techniques, and writing approaches.
After a dinner break comprised of traditional Ethiopian Jewish dishes, Rabbi Reuven Yasu presented on the topic of “Shechita (Ritual Slaughter) in the Beta Israel Tradition.” The subtitle of the presentation was “A Polemic about the Ritual Slaughter (Shechita) as an excuse to cast doubt on communities in Israel” He presented various laws about who can be a shochet, how the process is done, and what are the permitted tools. He highlighted some areas in which Beta Israel and Rabbinic Judaism differ about Shechita. One highlight was the halacha (religious law) that Rabbi Yasu presented from the Talmud’s Masechet Chulin, according to which, shechita, if performed by a monkey, is not kosher (!).
