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I Volunteered for This?! Life on an Archaeological Dig
mind is will the economy succeed in assimilating them while their skills and knowledge are up to date and their selfesteem intact.
“Many Soviet Jews have come for the sake of their children, but they want to make a contribution, too,” said Inid
Wortman, director of the Jerusalem office of the Council for Soviet Jewry. “Already, many new orchestras have sprung
up. I think the quality of musical education will go up, the quality of medical care will improve. Soviet Jews will really
change the face of the country.”
Ethiopian olim seem the opposite of the urban, highly educated Soviet Jews. Most Ethiopian Jews come from
small, remote farming villages. The majority are illiterate but extremely devout, faithfully adhering to laws and traditions
that developed during 2,400 years of isolation from mainstream Judaism.
Ethiopian Jewry’s origins are uncertain. According to legend, their ancestors were Israelites who joined the entourage
of the Queen of Sheba when she returned from her visit to King Solomon. Some historians believe them to be descendants of the ancient Jewish community in Upper Egypt that had been founded before the Babylonian Exile. In any case,
their separation from mainstream Judaism appears to have occurred before the destruction of the First Temple in 587
B.C.E. Certain post-Biblical additions to the Jewish calendar are unknown to them such as the Fast of Tisha B’Av, which
commemorates the destruction of both the Solomonic Temple (the first Temple) and the Herodian Temple, and the Feast
of Purim and Hannokah. Having lived in a way that has changed little since Biblical times, the Jews of Ethiopia now face
the problem of jumping forward two millennia within a single generation.
An observer described the dramatic completion of Operation Solomon in 1991. “Planes touched down and people
in Biblical attire got off. The Ethiopian Jews were extremely disciplined. Throughout the entire operation I didn’t hear a
baby cry. And when they were led into a room where food and drink had been set up, not one person touched a drop
until it was placed in their hands.”
It was not hard to imagine my co-worker David behaving in this way. Endlessly cheerful, patient, friendly and considerate, he was a joy to work with and invariably made our tasks quicker, smoother and more fun. I will always remember working with David as well as trying to answer Denis’s questions about the United States.
In thinking back over my summer as a volunteer, of what I learned about the ancient Near East, the endless conquests and migrations that have enriched as well as troubled this narrow corridor between empires, I cannot help but
think of my friends Denis and David as modern examples of that ceaseless movement. Like so many before them, they
came to this part of the world filled with dreams. I can only wish them well in fulfilling those dreams. I know they have
helped to fulfill mine.

© 2006 Biblical Archaeology Society

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