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Kessim and Ethiopian Community Rabbis — By City
The official Ministry of Religious Services list: kessim and Ethiopian-community rabbis serving in the religious councils, organized by city, with contact details exactly as published.
75 entries in total — 46 kessim and 29 rabbis, across 31 cities.
Looking for a kes to officiate?
The 2018 government decision recognized the status of the kessim and integrated them into the religious councils — but it is not an automatic permit to officiate a wedding, which is granted personally. The marriage registration guide explains what to check, whom to ask, and in what order.
Go to the marriage registration guideWhich ceremonies a kes is approached for
Mourning, funeral and memorial (tazkar)
This is the most common reason to look for a kes, and the most urgent. The kes leads the funeral prayers, accompanies the family through the mourning days, and conducts the tazkar — the memorial held at set intervals after a death, which gathers the extended family. In practice, when there is a death in the family the city's religious council is the first address, and it is the council that connects you to the kes serving the area. Do not wait for office hours — the burial society and the religious councils answer outside them too.
Weddings — the traditional ceremony alongside the registered one
The kes blesses the couple, recites the traditional blessings and leads the Beta Israel wedding customs — among them the kushera, binding coloured cords around the groom's forehead. Note the distinction that saves disappointment: the 2018 recognition of the kessim's status is not a permit to officiate a registered wedding. That permit is personal, granted by the city rabbi or by the Chief Rabbinate's committee. Most families combine the two — a rabbi officiates the registered ceremony while the kes leads the blessings and the tradition. Ask the religious council by name who holds the permit, before you book a date and a venue.
Birth, brit mila and naming
The kes performs the brit, blesses the baby and the mother, and accompanies the purification customs following birth. Many families also invite a kes for a blessing at home in the first weeks. If you are planning a brit, reach out early — the date is fixed in advance and has no flexibility, so arrange it with the kes in the first days after the birth.
Sigd and the community festivals
At Sigd it is the kessim who lead the ceremony: they read from the Orit — the Metzhaf Kedus, the community's scriptures — pray, and bless the crowd. The central ceremony is held on the Armon HaNatziv promenade in Jerusalem, overlooking the Temple Mount, with local ceremonies held in parallel in cities that have a community. The kessim also lead the festival prayers through the year. If you are looking for a Sigd ceremony near home, the city's religious council will know where this year's is held.
Home blessings, guidance and settling a dispute
The kes is Beta Israel's religious authority, ordained after years of study and examination. He is approached for a blessing on a new home, a blessing before a journey or an operation, and questions of law and custom. Traditionally the kes also mediates and rules in family and community disputes — a role with no equivalent in the official system, and one that continues in the community in Israel.
What to ask before you commit
- Does the kes serve through the religious council, and in which city? The official list records who serves where, and that determines whom you coordinate with.
- For a wedding — does he hold a personal permit to officiate a registered ceremony? Ask explicitly, and verify with the religious council. Do not assume.
- Is there a fee, and who pays it — the family or the religious council? This varies between councils and between ceremonies. Ask up front, by phone, before committing.
- What language will the ceremony be in — Amharic, Tigrinya or Hebrew? And if relatives do not speak Amharic, will someone translate?
- What does the family need to prepare — clothing, food for the ceremony, a venue, equipment? In traditional ceremonies part of the preparation falls to the family, and it is better to know in advance.
- How far ahead do you need to arrange it? For a funeral or a memorial the answer is entirely different from a wedding.
How to arrange one
Start at the religious council, not at the kes's phone
The numbers in the list here are office and religious-council numbers — that is how they were published, and not by accident. The religious council knows who actually serves today, who is available on the date you need, and who is authorized for what. It is also the address that can tell you if the kes you were looking for no longer serves in that city.
Verify before you travel
The official list was last updated in October 2024, and we re-checked it against the source in September 2026 — it has not changed since. But a list that has not been updated in two years is not the same thing as a correct list: people retire, move city, and die. Call and verify before you travel or set a date. If you find a detail that is out of date, tell us and we will correct it against the source.
If there is no kes in your city
The official list covers 31 cities, and the community lives in more than that. If your city is not on the list, that does not mean there is no answer: ask your own religious council for a referral to a kes or a community rabbi in the area, or contact the council in the nearest city that does appear. Many kessim serve several towns in a region. We do not invent entries for cities that are not on the official list — if a city is missing here, it is missing there too.
Source
Source: Ministry of Religious Services, the national list of Ethiopian-community rabbis and kessim. Updated 2024-10-13.
The list reflects the state of the data as of the update date above and may change. Before reaching out, verify the contact details with the religious council in that city.
We re-checked this list against the source on 2026-09-16: all 75 records match, and no version newer than 2024-10-13 exists.