Kes (Judaism)

A Qss at the Sigd in Jerusalem, 2008.

Kahen (Ge'ez: "ካሀን", Hebrew: "כהן"‎ "priest"; plural "Kahant", Hebrew: "כהנת", "priests") ^[1] or in the popular name Qss (Ge'ez: "ቀሰ" Hebrew: "קס", "priest") ^[2] is the spiritual leader of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), similar to a Kohen or Rabbi. Their duty is to maintain and preserve the traditions and customs of the people. This has become more difficult by the people's encounter with the modernity of Israel, where most of the Ethiopian Jewish people now live.

• Liqa Kahnet (High priest) is the leader of the priests. The present Liqa Kahnat is Raphael Hadane. ^[3]

References

1. ^ Wolf Leslau, "kāhən" in Comparative Dictionary of Geʻez (Classical Ethiopic): Geʻez-English, English-Geʻez, with an index of the Semitic roots, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1987, ISBN 9783447025928, p. 278
2. ^ "qss", Ibdi, p. 447
3. ^ Chief Kes (High Priest) of the Jews of Ethiopia, Raphael Hadane's October 1998 Letter from Israel to the Jewish Community in Ethiopia Student Struggle