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Shedding Light on Medieval Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) Monasticism:An Examination of Sources and Suggestions for Future StudyBar Kribus, Hebrew University of JerusalemSupervisors: Prof. Steven Kaplan and Prof. Joseph PatrichThe Beta Israel monastic movement is the only Jewish / Judaized monastic movement known to have existed in medieval and modern times. Similar to their Christian counterparts, Beta Israel monks were celibate, observed ascetic practices and lived in monasteries. This movement was traditionally founded in the fifteenth century, and virtually ceased to exist in the second half of the twentieth century.The Beta Israel did not, as a rule, record their history in written form. Therefore, what is currently known about their monastic movement is based primarily on nineteenth and twentieth century eyewitness accounts recorded by Westerners, and on the oral traditions of the Beta Israel community and the personal experiences of some of its members. A number of scholarly works address the issues of the origins of Beta Israel monasticism and of its impact on Beta Israel society. However, relatively little is known about the characteristics and history of this monastic movement in medieval times.This paper will examine the sources which shed light on medieval Beta Israel monasticism and propose methods for future research which could potentially enable an in-depth examination of this monastic movement during the least-well-known centuries of its existence.