The Abdullah Investigation The Hidden Teacher Of Neville Goddard Part 3 Mokomba Mahalla The Names That Vanish

The Abdullah Investigation: The Hidden Teacher of Neville Goddard – Part 3: Mokomba, Mahalla & the Names That Vanish Please consider donating a coffee, to continue this research Part 1: Harlem’s Secret Fire — Esoteric Currents of the 1920s–30s Part 2: Obelisks, Lodges & Ethiopian Mystics Part 3: Mokomba, Mahalla & the Names That Vanish Neville Goddard’s Teacher: Abdullah’s Hidden Curriculum – Proof and Prosperity (Ads Unearthed 1920–23) Which Abdullah? Sorting Evidence from Myth in Neville Goddard Research Neville Goddard Research: Abdullah published “Science of Applied Mind Control and Wealth of Abdoullahistic Metaphysiology” (1923) Neville Goddard’s Abdullah: When ‘Modeste Guillaume’ Became G. Mahmud-Ahmad: The 1923 Pivot Part 4.5 – Houdini to Yogananda.n1613 ¶1

Following Neville Goddard’s Abdullah from Atlantic City to NYC. The Abdullah Investigation: The Hidden Teacher of Neville Goddard – Part 4: Abdullah Identified – The Baritone Mystic of Atlantic City and 30 West 72nd Street. The Final Link to 30 West 72nd: This Is Neville Goddard’s Real Teacher, Abdullah. The Music of “The Law”: How Abdullah Encoded Neville Goddard’s Teaching in Nine Lost Songs of 1935. Historical Photographs of Dr. Modeste Abda’llah Guillaume (Abdullah): Neville Goddard’s Teacher. Neville Goddard Lectures: “Abdullah How We Got Together Q&A”.n1613 ¶2

The Neville Goddard & Abdullah Library: Books From the Language of Abdullah’s Advertisements (1919–1928) © 2025 Cool Wisdom Books. All rights reserved. This article is still undergoing minor edits and building reference section.n1613 ¶3

Neville Goddard described Abdullah as an Ethiopian Jew which most likely referred to the Beta Israel community. Abdullah’s Hebrew fluency and mystical ideas and esoteric teachings outside biblical Judaism suggest that if he was born within the Beta Israel community, he must have left Ethiopia and entered broader metaphysical and intellectual networks. It is plausible that Abdullah encountered Sufi concepts, Coptic asceticism, or even the legacy of Jewish-Sufi mysticism through travel to Egypt or elsewhere. His name, “Abdullah,” and his symbolic mode of teaching further point to a cosmopolitan, cross-cultural knowledge that goes way beyond the isolated religious life typical of the Ethiopian highlands. Between the ancient lands of Ethiopia and Egypt stretched a migratory route where exile sometimes met revelation. This article traces that passage through which a man known as Abdullah (Neville Goddard’s elusive teacher) possibly landed in 1930s New York, carrying the mystical knowledge of the Kabbalah and Hebrew. We’ll look at the Beta Israel and the Jewish enclaves of Egypt through the unfolding of the diaspora. The Ethiopian Jewry Heritage Center – The Beta Israel The Beta Israel (historically Ethiopian Jews or Falasha) maintained a form of Judaism distinct from Rabbinic tradition, rooted primarily in the Hebrew Bible, apocalyptic literature, and an oral liturgical system.n1613 ¶4

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the community faced pressure from imperial and missionary forces, which led to social marginalization and many efforts at religious conversion. Some migrated first to Egypt, then, in smaller numbers, to Europe or the Americas and became part of a wider, often undocumented, pattern of African diasporic movement by necessity and historical circumstance. From the late 1800s to early 1900s, many faced persecution and conversion pressures.n1613 ¶5

Migration to Egypt and from there, to Europe or the Americas was not uncommon. Apocalyptic prophecy, Enochic traditions, and distinctive liturgical mysticism Ethiopia to Cairo to Alexandria to Marseille or New York Individuals appearing in U.S. censuses under altered names Abdullah may have carried the blending of pre-modern Judaism and esoteric Christianity through these migratory routes. Egypt and Mahalla al-Kubra: The Mokomba Hypothesis Part 2: Obelisks, Lodges & Ethiopian mystics history sometimes hides where geography blurs and myth stands in for memory. Between 1896 and 1905, scattered U.S. newspaper reports spoke of a man named , a so-called “Black Jew” from a mysterious colony north of Cairo. This place, variously called Mockombar or Macomby, was said to house thousands, maybe tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews: Hebrew-speaking, Sabbath-keeping, their customs intact, their lineage traced to the Lost Tribes of Israel. Sir Moses Montefiore founded a seminary, some say.n1613 ¶6

Others drew lines toward Nubia, Abyssinia, or Mahalla al-Kubra which was a real Egyptian city. “Mokomba” research suggests may be a phonetic distortion of Mahalla al-Kubra, a Nile Delta town with Jewish and Coptic populations. While symbolically potent, the Mokomba theory lacks concrete evidence. (المحلة الكبرى) is a major city in Egypt’s Nile Delta (lies roughly 90–100 miles northwest of Cairo, east of the Nile), within the , historically serving as a commercial and administrative hub. It was once the capital of the province until , when administrative control shifted to Tanta. Mahalla al-Kubra was a commercial hub with a documented Jewish and Karaite population, connected by rail to Alexandria.n1613 ¶7

Note: El Mahalla El Kubra, the “El” the common Egyptian pronunciation of “the” in that region. If it were transliterated from a more formal or Levantine perspective, it might be seen as “Al Mahalla Al Kubra”, but the meaning remains “The Great Encampment/Place”. “Mokomba” possibly a phonetic mis-hearing of Mahalla/Makhamba/etc. Connected by rail to Alexandria; ship routes to New York or Marseilles This cultural crossroads could have shaped a figure like Abdullah with knowledge of Kabbalistic, Qur’anic, and Coptic mysticism.n1613 ¶8

Historical Context: Mahalla al-Kubra as a Potential Origin Mahalla al-Kubra, a major city in Egypt’s Nile Delta, was a hub under Ottoman rule with a small but active Jewish community. By 1897, Mahalla had a Jewish population of ~200. A Zionist association formed in the early 20th century. Also had a Karaite Jewish community, one of several in Egypt (along with Port Said and Aswan). Karaite Jews follow the Tanakh only, rejecting the Talmud often overlooked in rabbinic circles but maintained Hebrew literacy. Home to Misr Spinning and Weaving Company (founded 1927) ~200 Jews in 1897, including Karaites; Zionist association formed 1897: ~200 Jews; 1927: 91 Jews; 1937: ~10 families Synagogue collapsed, later used as a dumping ground Possible phonetic corruption of “Mahalla” in oral records Mahalla’s Hebrew-literate Karaite community and proximity to cosmopolitan ports make it a plausible origin. Jewish Life in Egypt (Late 19th–Early 20th Century) The Jewish community in Mahalla grew to ~200 by 1897, with a Karaite presence and Zionist engagement. ~2,000 Karaites mid-19th century; ~200 Jews by 1897 Zionist association formed in early 20th century Routes of Arrival: Black Jewish Migration to NYC (1890–1925) Black Jewish and Afro-Arabic mystics reached America via maritime and educational networks, often changing names at each stop.n1613 ¶9

Kingston, Havana, Port-au-Prince to New York or Charleston Rare, visible in passenger manifests, especially British routes Dr. Faitlovitch first visited Ethiopia in 1904 as part of a research team. Ever since that visit he had dedicated his life to Ethiopian Jews and helped in establishing the personal identities for “Beta Israel” members. The Faitlovitch Collection, Sourasky Central Library, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Jacques Faitlovitch’s Ethiopian Student Program We should also briefly acknowledge figures like Jacques Faitlovitch, a Polish-Jewish scholar who studied Ethiopian Jewry extensively in the early 1900s and helped bring several Ethiopian Jewish students to European institutions. Faitlovitch’s outreach was supported by European Jewish funders like the Montefiore family and helped train a generation of multilingual, Judaic-literate Ethiopian emissaries. Faitlovitch’s students were real, traceable, and few. But none match Abdullah’s profile in age, in timeline, or spiritual orientation. Abdullah, estimated to be ~80 in 1929, does not align with these younger, education-focused students. Alliance Israélite Universelle in Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Cultures Online Author: Carsten L. Wilke Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU) in Egypt established schools in Alexandria and Cairo to modernize Jewish education, but no Ethiopian Jews are recorded before 1905. Kabbalah flourished in Ottoman centers like Safed (16th-century Lurianic Kabbalah), and Jerusalem retained mystical yeshivot (academies). Sephardic or Mizrahi teachers in the Ottoman sphere. Abdullah may have studied with Mizrahi or Sephardic rabbis, especially if he entered the Alliance Israélite Universelle or was sponsored through informal networks. Westernizing non-European Jews through secular/religious education No records of Ethiopian Jews before 1905; participants were young Abdullah’s age (~80 in 1929) and mystical focus do not align with AIU Maqqatam Mountains of Cairo Retreat for both Islamic and Jewish Sufis André Palmieri General Research Division The New York Public Library Maqqatam Cairo 1887. While no direct evidence connects Abdullah to the cosmopolitan intellectual circles of Cairo, the city’s historical landscape allows us to imagine such a synthesis. In the 13th century, Abraham Maimonides and his descendants developed a Jewish-Sufi mysticism rooted in Qur’anic interpretation which moved between Jewish and Islamic texts. Cairo’s proximity to Coptic monastic culture added more spiritual crosscurrents. The Cairo Genizah preserves fragments that testify to this and Judeo-Arabic scholars engaged with both Islamic philosophy and mystical ideas.n1613 ¶10

One fragment of Cairo Genizah includes calendrical or letter‑substitution notations tied to Kabbalah Many Beta Israel or Afro-Jewish migratory routes from Ethiopia passed through Cairo and Alexandria, especially when continuing to Marseille, Genoa, or New York. Alexandria’s Jewish population surged due to immigration from Southern Europe and the Ottoman Near East. Alexandria had diverse Jewish groups, Sephardi, Karaite, Maghrebi, and Levantine. The Cairo Genizah (a storehouse of Jewish manuscripts) contained mystical writings and even fragments of early Kabbalistic texts. Abdullah, Sufis, and the Jewish Mystics of Cairo , meaning “Servant of God. This alone has led many to assume some Islamic influence.n1613 ¶11

But given what we know about the spiritual landscape of Ethiopia and Egypt in the centuries prior to his emergence, it is worth asking whether his identification as In the mid-1800s, the Beta Israel community in Ethiopia maintained a rigorous religious life despite systemic marginalization under Christian imperial rule. They preserved Hebrew literacy, ritual purity laws, and a priestly caste with echoes of Second Temple practices. But they were not isolated. Medieval Ethiopia had long been a meeting point of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic influences, and by the 13th century, Sufi orders had spread. It is not unlikely that a young Ethiopian Jew would have encountered Sufi teachings, whether directly or indirectly. If Abdullah did eventually migrate to Cairo, as some evidence suggests, he would have entered a city with centuries of precedent for Jewish-Sufi interaction. In his 2017 study, , Paul B.n1613 ¶12

Fenton documents a striking pattern of proximity, participation, and shared practice between the two groups, even in an era of rising orthodoxy and sectarian tension. (lodges) were not only present throughout Cairo, but some were physically located within or adjacent to Jewish neighborhoods. One such lodge, founded by the North African Sufi Šams al-dīn Ibn Nu‘mān al-Fāsī (d. 1284), stood near the Mu‘allaqa Church in the heart of the Jewish quarter. Public processions often saw Jews and Sufis walking side by side. In 1393, Sufi brotherhoods chanting were joined by Jews in a collective ritual. During the plague of 1419, Jews carried Torah scrolls in the streets in ceremonies that mirrored Sufi supplications.n1613 ¶13

More revealing still is the intellectual exchange. The Cairo Genizah discovered in the Ben Ezra Synagogue contained not only fragments of rabbinic literature but also Sufi texts copied or translated into Hebrew characters for Jewish study. These included excerpts from al-Ġazālī, al-Qushayrī, and Ibn ‘Arabi, three of the most influential Sufi thinkers. Such texts were not collected as curiosities; they appear to have been integrated into serious spiritual study.n1613 ¶14

Fenton also highlights the Jewish Pietist ( ) movement that emerged under Abraham Maimonides (1186–1237), a figure who saw no contradiction in adapting Sufi forms for Jewish spiritual renewal. Abraham and his followers referred to their path as . They practiced prostration, rhythmic invocations of God’s name ( ), and even viewed the master-disciple relationship in a manner structurally identical to Sufi lineages. For Abraham, this was not borrowing but reclamation. He argued that these practices had once belonged to the Israelite prophets and had merely been preserved by the Sufis in the interim. If Abdullah encountered this legacy in Cairo, a city that had long housed both Jewish mystics and Sufi saints, it is plausible that his spiritual path echoed that of the Pietists. Like them, he may have seen in Sufism not an alien creed but a preserved thread of ancient wisdom. His adoption of the name would then signify not Islamic orthodoxy, but alignment with the concept of servanthood to the divine, a core tenet in both traditions. This hypothesis is not conclusive. But it is supported by the documented presence of Jewish-Sufi overlap in both Ethiopia and Egypt, by the syncretic metaphysics of the Pietist movement, and by the kinds of teachings Abdullah later conveyed in New York, teachings that bore resemblance to Sufi metaphysics and Jewish Kabbalah. Jewish Communities in Egypt: Cairo vs. Alexandria (Late 19th–Early 20th Century) Gradual growth, primarily from North Africa, Iraq, Yemen; included Karaites and Mizrahi Jews. Rapid influx of Jews from Southern Europe, the Ottoman Balkans, and Levantine port cities.n1613 ¶15

Strong traditional Rabbinic institutions; parallel Karaite leadership and courts. Modeled on European Jewish communal norms; dominated by Francophone elite and AIU frameworks. Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU) schools from the 1890s; also local yeshivot and mystical study circles. AIU and secular French-style schools were dominant; local Jewish tradition deemphasized. Active Sufi-Jewish interaction; Genizah evidence of Sufi texts in Hebrew; legacy of Maimonidean Pietists. More rationalist, Western-leaning Judaism; mysticism played a minor cultural role. Internal Rabbanite–Karaite tensions; occasional Muslim-Jewish friction amid urban density. Episodes of antisemitism (e.g., 1881 Fornaraki blood libel); class divisions within Jewish society. Major center for Jewish printing, Kabbalistic publication, and Hebrew scholarship; linked to Sufi networks. Commercial capital; Jews prominent in business and philanthropy; Eliyahu HaNavi Synagogue iconic. Likely exposure to esoteric teachings, pietist traditions, and Jewish–Sufi syncretism.n1613 ¶16

Cambridge and the Hidden Curriculum: Joseph Murphy’s Testimony One of the few people besides Neville Goddard to mention Abdullah by name was Joseph Murphy. In a French-language interview later translated into Joseph Murphy Se Raconte à Bernard Cantin , Murphy made a passing remark that opens up a surprising lead. He said: “The research of Professor Abdullah, who never wrote books but became famous in England for the extraordinary Hebrew courses he gave at the University of Cambridge, aligned with Ann Mussmann’s on the Sabbalah or the interpretation of the Bible, its allegories, numbers, and symbols. The title “Professor” is almost certainly informal. No university records from Cambridge (researched) show a faculty member by that name. Still, Murphy speaks of a man known for his Hebrew instruction, not in a religious setting, but in the context of symbolic and allegorical interpretation. The reference to Ann Mussmann and her focus on what he calls “Sabbalah” may point toward a fusion of Sabbatean, Sabaean, or Kabbalistic traditions, though the term itself is obscure. Either way, Murphy positions Abdullah firmly in the world of metaphysical exegesis rather than academic language study. Joseph Murphy’s book, If we take Murphy seriously, several possibilities open up.n1613 ¶17

Abdullah may have taught in Cambridge circles, but outside the formal university system. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was no shortage of informal salons, Orientalist reading groups, and spiritualist societies in and around the university. Someone like Abdullah who was fluent in Hebrew, grounded in esoteric traditions, and carrying oral teachings would have been positioned to teach privately to small groups interested in the symbolic dimensions of scripture.n1613 ¶18

His Hebrew instruction, if we trust the alignment with Mussmann, was not only about grammar or even Jewish theology but the hidden structure of sacred texts. Allegory, number, symbol. These were central concerns in both Kabbalistic and Sufi traditions, and also in the fringe esoteric circles that linked language to spiritual power. Murphy’s comment also hints at Abdullah’s connection to a small but active network where Hebrew was understood as more than a historical language. It was treated as a living system of cosmological meaning. Cambridge at that time was not immune to this kind of inquiry. Figures like G.R.S. Mead, Evelyn Underhill, and Arthur Waite moved easily between formal academia and esoteric experimentation. In this environment, a man like Abdullah could have taught without being recorded in the official faculty rolls. He may have been brought in as a guest, a consultant, or a spiritual guide to a private circle. This does not prove anything conclusive. But it gives us a plausible bridge between Cairo and New York.n1613 ¶19

If Abdullah passed through England, Cambridge would have offered a place where Jewish and Sufi metaphysics could still be spoken in the language of scholarship quietly, off the record, and exactly the kind of atmosphere that would later echo in the teachings in New York. The Jewish scholar Solomon Schechter is best remembered for his work on the Cairo Geniza. of the Ben Sira fragment on King’s Parade in Cambridge set off what would become a full-scale academic and popular fascination with lost Jewish texts. By 1897, Schechter was at the center of a lively scholarly scene, hosting weekly Hebrew study circles that brought together leading intellectuals from theology, Semitic philology, folklore, and comparative religion. These meetings included James Frazer, William Robertson Smith, J. Rendel Harris, and Agnes Lewis and Margaret Gibson—the same sisters who had brought him the fragment from Cairo. When Westminster College moved from London to Cambridge in 1899, it became a physical meeting place for these interfaith study sessions. Though not a Cambridge University college, Westminster operated in close theological and linguistic collaboration with the university’s Semitic scholars. The college was known for its interest in biblical languages, particularly Hebrew and Aramaic, and would have welcomed visitors or lecturers with linguistic or mystical credentials, especially during this period of Geniza fever.n1613 ¶20

It is in this window from 1897 to 1902 that the conditions were right for an outsider, a Hebrew-fluent mystic, possibly from Cairo or Ethiopia, to enter this world. Schechter’s own background and social habits support this. He entertained across religious and intellectual lines and welcomed input from non-traditional voices. His friends included folklorists, Syriacists, Orientalists, and women scholars working outside formal structures. If Abdullah had recently arrived from Egypt, and if he carried knowledge of the Hebrew language, biblical symbolism, or oral mystical traditions, this moment in Cambridge would have provided both audience and entry point. He may have offered informal instruction, participated in discussions, or even attracted private students on the margins of these gatherings. Joseph Murphy’s later testimony that Abdullah taught Hebrew in Cambridge, with a focus on biblical allegory and number symbolism, aligns precisely with the climate of interest Schechter’s work created. The Geniza materials themselves would have appealed to someone trained in both Kabbalistic and Sufi traditions. And Schechter’s authority to remove thousands of documents from the Ben Ezra Synagogue (in 1896–97) would have made Cairo-based Jewish mystics newly visible to the British scholarly world. It’s entirely possible that Abdullah, coming from that region, was known to or met those involved in the transfer of texts, whether in Cairo or after their arrival in England. At the very least, this period helps narrow our lens. If Abdullah was in Britain, 1897–1902 was the moment when Cambridge was porous to exactly the kind of teacher Joseph Murphy described, uncredentialed but authoritative, orally trained but deeply literate, and moving between Cairo, biblical exegesis, and the growing English interest in mystical Judaism. The Abdullah Investigation: The Hidden Teacher of Neville Goddard – Part 2: Obelisks, Lodges & Ethiopian Mystics If we accept that Abdullah taught in England at some point, the more pressing question becomes how he got there.n1613 ¶21

The most plausible point of origin remains Cairo, where Jewish and Sufi esoteric traditions had shared physical and intellectual space for centuries. Cairo was not only home to remnants of the Maimonidean pietist legacy but was also, by the late 19th century, a city interwoven with Sufi brotherhoods, Hebrew scholarship, and Afro-Asian migration. The Muqattam hills offered a literal and symbolic landscape for withdrawal and spiritual discipline, and the Jewish communities of the city had a long tradition of mystical engagement, as evidenced in the Genizah fragments. By that time, Egypt had become deeply entangled with British academic and colonial institutions. Orientalist scholars, many of whom were also Freemasons or Theosophists, were actively collecting manuscripts, sponsoring research, and moving freely between Cairo, London, and university towns like Cambridge and Oxford. Individuals with expertise in Hebrew, Arabic, and esoteric traditions were often invited into these networks not always formally, but as private instructors, translators, or spiritual guides attached to clubs, salons, or study circles.n1613 ¶22

Abdullah’s profile would have fit. Fluent in Hebrew and grounded in symbolic modes of interpretation, he may have entered England as a guest or affiliate of one of these societies. It is not unusual that no formal record survives. Figures like Abdullah Black, uncredentialed by Western institutions, yet carrying deep oral and mystical lineages often moved through history’s footnotes rather than its ledgers. At some point, he made his way to New York (we will see more in the next installment Part 4: Where He Taught — Studios, Lodges & Hebrew Schools , where the same qualities that made him valuable in private circles in England would have resonated with a new generation of spiritual seekers.n1613 ¶23

In New York in the 1920s and 30s, Abdullah appears as a teacher of Hebrew and metaphysical law. According to Joseph Murphy, he gave instruction rooted not in liturgy or grammar, but in symbol, allegory, and inner transformation. Neville Goddard, who studied with him for years, echoed this in his lectures, describing Abdullah’s emphasis on imagination, biblical allegory, and the inner creative power of consciousness.n1613 ¶24

The Ethiopian Jews in Israel: Personal Stories of Ethnic Identity https://www.academia.edu/110655542/The_Ethiopian_Jews_in_Israel Böll, Verena, Andreu Martinez, Ezhenia Sokolinskaia, and Steven Kaplan, eds. Ethiopia and the Missions: Historical and Anthropological Insights Erlich, Haggai, Hagar Salamon, and Steven Kaplan. (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Open University, 2002. Russian translation published in 2006. Fenton, Paul B.n1613 ¶25

“Paul B. Fenton, ‘Sufis and Jews in Mamluk Egypt,’ in Stephan Conermann, Ed., Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Middle Islamic Period, Jews in the Ayyubid and Mamluk Sultanates (1171-1517) (Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2017), 41-62,” n.d. Movements in Ethiopia, Ethiopia in Movement. Volume 1 . “Basel and Abyssinia, 1830–1855: Protestant Mission and Jewish Identity in Abyssinia,” by Daniel Lis.n1613 ¶26

Centre français des études éthiopiennes, 2016. Moses Montefiore: Jewish Liberator, Imperial Hero . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010. Herman, M. “Relating Bet Israel History in its Ethiopian Context: Defining, Creating, Constructing Identity. JASO (Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford) Hatke, George. “Again the Question of Judaism in Ancient Ethiopia.n1613 ¶27

Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes https://www.academia.edu/93029591/Again_the_Question_of_Judaism_in_Anci… The Israelization of Ethiopian Immigrants The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia: From Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century . New York: New York University Press, 1992. Reprint 1995. The Monastic Holy Man and the Christianization of Early Solomonic Ethiopia . Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1984. Surviving Salvation: The Ethiopian Jewish Family in Transition . New York: New York University Press, 1992.n1613 ¶28

Kaplan, Steven, Tudor Parfitt, and Emanuela Trevisan Semi, eds. Between Africa and Zion: Proceedings of the First International Congress of the Society for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry Kaplan, Steven, and Hagar Salamon, comps. Ethiopian Jews: An Annotated Bibliography, 1988–1997 Kaplan, Steven, and Kay Kaufman Shelemay, eds. “Creating the Ethiopian Diaspora. Special Double Issue of Parfitt, Tudor, Emanuela Trevisan Semi, and Steven Kaplan, eds. Indigenous Responses to Western Christianity . New York: New York University Press, 1995. Kivisild, Toomas, M. Reidla, E. Metspalu, et al. “Ethiopian Mitochondrial DNA Heritage: Tracking Gene Flow Across and Around the Gate of Tears. Kohnert, Dirk. “On the History of Jews in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of South Africa, Nigeria, DR Congo and Ethiopia. Academia.edu, 2024. [URL if available] Lazin, Fred. “Israel and Ethiopian Jewish Immigrants. The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews: A History of the Beta Israel (Falasha) to 1920 . The Ethnohistory Series.n1613 ¶29

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992. The Hyena People: Ethiopian Jews in Christian Ethiopia https://www.academia.edu/64641426/The_Hyena_People_Ethiopian_Jews_in_Ch… https://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/Beta_Israel Beta Israel Students Who Studied out of Ethiopia 1905–1935 . Paper presented at the 16th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Trondheim, Norway, 2007. https://www.academia.edu/4023193/Beta_Israel_Students_who_Studied_out_o…. Genealogies and Gene-Ideologies: The Legitimacy of the Beta Israel (Falasha). https://www.academia.edu/94742987/Genealogies_and_Gene_ideologies_The_L…. Relating Bet Israel History in Its Ethiopian Context: Defining, Creating, Constructing Identity. https://www.academia.edu/35492760/Relating_Bet_Israel_History_in_its_Et…. Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia: Caribbean Radicalism in Early Twentieth-Century America A.n1613 ¶30

Timeline & Age Estimation of Abdullah Based on Neville Goddard’s Accounts Neville described Abdullah as “in his late eighties” when they met in 1929–1931. Some immigration candidates arrived in the 1840s–1880s (e.g., Ab Samuel, Abdula Semashu). Conflicting dates in Neville’s lectures (1929, 1930, 1931); all place Abdullah in his 80s. Claimed to have met him again around 1956; secretary said he left for Ethiopia in 1957.n1613 ¶31

Returned to Ethiopia “to put the body back where he picked it up”. Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Middle Islamic Period, Jews in the Ayyubid and Mamluk Sultanates (1171–1517) (Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2017), 41–62. B.n1613 ¶32

The Nature of Reality and the Divine Sufis and Jews in Mamluk Egypt The document points to the influence of the monist school of Ibn ‘Arabi ( ), which believed that every religious form could be a manifestation of Reality (163, 164). A key teaching from the Akbarian school (followers of Ibn ‘Arabi) is mentioned, based on the : “I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known; so I created the creatures and made Myself known to them; so they knew Me” (185, 186). The Sufi mystic al-Tilimsānī explains that God’s being is concealed in everything like a hidden treasure, which the mystic must bring forth through contemplation (176). This monist view led to seeing all people “united in kindness” and without scorn in the presence of Reality, as expressed by the Sufi shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahim Ibn Şayyāġ (175, 176).n1613 ¶33

The Jewish Pietists named their discipline (“the Way to God”), which are expressions reminiscent of the Arabic Sufi term Both Jewish Pietists and Sufis stressed that the spiritual path must be pursued under the guidance of a master. Abraham Maimonides stated that the “useful course that leads to true union ( ) of a person who has already attained the goal (307). He warned that one who pursues the path without a mentor will likely encounter obstacles, deviate, or falsely believe they have reached their goal (321). This view is presented as almost identical to that of the Sufi master al-Ġazālī, who wrote that a disciple ( ) to guide him, otherwise the Devil will lead him astray (325, 326). The Sufi practice of a master conferring his tunic ( ) upon a disciple was seen by Abraham Maimonides as originally practiced by the Israelite prophets, such as when Elijah cast his cloak over Elisha (285, 286, 287).n1613 ¶34

The Goal of the Path: Union and Perfection The ultimate goal of the path is described as “true union” (307, 315). ‘Obadyah Maimonides’ mystical manual, , is explicitly about how the spiritual wayfarer can obtain union with the intelligible world (343). The Pietists are described as being in search of the “life of the Hereafter” (281). Abraham Maimonides believed the master’s symbolic gesture of investiture was an annunciation that his perfection would be transferred to the disciple (286).n1613 ¶35

‘Obadyah Maimonides uses the Sufi allegory of the heart being like a cistern that must be purified before it can receive the “revitalizing waters of gnosis” (344). Abraham Maimonides describes the spiritual path as a “war against the self”, noting that Sufis combat sleep in this war, a practice he derives from Psalm 132:4 (“I will not give sleep to mine eyes”) (301). The practice of solitude in dark places is said to be for the purpose of atrophying the “sensitive part of the soul” so that it becomes unable to even see light, allowing inner illumination to take over (276, 277). This is a significant ritual adopted by the Pietists (269). It involves withdrawing from society for prolonged periods in isolated and dark places for prayer and meditation (269). This practice is combined with the invocation of divine names ( This is described as a typically Sufi practice undertaken during the solitary retreat ( C.n1613 ¶36

Possible Migration Routes and Origins Abdullah’s potential origins likely involve a trajectory from Northeast Africa through Egypt and Europe to New York. Mahalla al-Kubra or similar; early Jewish/Karaite education Alexandria or Cairo; exposure to AIU schools, Freemasonry Europe (France, Italy, UK); advanced Hebrew/religious studies Ports like Halifax, Boston, New York, or Newport News New York City (Harlem, Upper West Side); mystical/Jewish circles The Beta Israel faced challenges prompting migration in the 19th century. Social marginalization, forced conversions, slavery Early Zionist aspirations, contact with European Jewish communities E.n1613 ¶37

Possible Institutions Where Abdullah Taught Abdullah likely taught in Black Jewish or esoteric circles in New York. Abdullah never claimed a public pulpit, yet he operated in a city teeming with mystical orders, Black synagogues, and esoteric study groups . If we follow the threads of Hebrew instruction, Afro-Judaic identity, and Masonic-style symbolism, a few probable teaching grounds emerge. Too Ashkenazi, excluded non-European Jews More inclusive, but required credentials Open to mystical ideas, but culturally Ashkenazi Celebrated Black Jewish identity; taught Hebrew, Kabbalah Strong Ethiopian ties; blended Jewish and African heritage Accepted Black initiates; taught symbolic Hebrew Interested in Kabbalah and non-Western mysticism. If Abdullah moved in broader esoteric circles, these are plausible. But they may have drawn F.n1613 ¶38

Beta Israel Migration Routes (19th – Early 20th Century). Beta Israel districts in N Gondar & Tigray (plus some from Addis). Over‑land caravans to Sudan – Nile Corridor – Cairo / Alexandria. Famine, local persecution, forced conversions; Egypt offered relative safety and established Jewish aid networks. Alexandria’s port & Karaite community made it the classic first stop; missionaries & Alliance Israélite correspondents recorded small Falasha groups here. Marseilles (FR), Genoa (IT), London (UK) Scholarships (AIU), rabbinic study, or onward tickets; Europe served as education & paperwork gateway. Jacques Faitlovitch routed several Ethiopian pupils to Florence & Paris during 1905‑1935. Trans‑Atlantic liners via Ellis Island; occasionally via Halifax New York (Harlem / UWS), Boston, Charleston Economic opportunity; Black intellectual & esoteric circles in NYC; easier racial climate than Europe. Passenger manifests (1890s‑1920s) list a handful of “Abyssinian” or “Ethiopian Hebrew” arrivals – some later surface in Harlem congregations. Small Afro‑Jewish pockets in Kingston, Curaçao, Havana Work on merchant vessels; link to West‑Indian diaspora in Harlem. Rare but documented: a few Beta‑Israel‑identified sailors logged Caribbean → NYC in 1910s‑20s; cultural echoes appear in Rastafarian symbolism. If this free archive of Neville Goddard’s lectures has helped you on your journey, consider helping keep it alive for others. The Abdullah Investigation: The Hidden Teacher of Neville Goddard – Part 3: Mokomba, Mahalla & the Names That Vanish Was Abdullah, Neville Goddard’s teacher, an Ethiopian Jew shaped by hidden migrations through Egypt? This chapter traces mythic names, vanishing colonies, and Afro-Judaic crossroads from Mahalla al-Kubra to New York, uncovering the diasporic trail of a man fluent in Hebrew and Kabbalah, yet absent from every archive.n1613 ¶39