Bnei Menashe celebrate Sukkot
Photo: Shavei Israel
Bnei Menashe get Israeli Lulavim
Northeastern Indian community claiming descent from one of Ten Lost Tribes celebrates Sukkot with hundreds of sets of palm branches, citrons sent from Holy Land
The Bnei Menashe
community of northeastern India plans to celebrate Sukkot
this year thanks to the generous support of the Shavei Israel organization, which sent hundreds of sets of Lulavim and Etrogim from Israel
to India prior to the onset of the holiday.
In their festival prayers, the Bnei Menashe will offer their customary special plea, asking to fulfill their age-old dream to make aliyah to Israel during the coming year.
According to Shavei Israel Chairman and Founder, Michael Freund, "The Bnei Menashe are anxiously waiting for Israel's government to pass a decision to allow them to come to Israel. We hope the New Year will bring good news and that the dream of the Bnei Menashe to come to Israel will soon become a reality”.
Photo courtesy of Shavei Israel
The Bnei Menashe (Hebrew for "sons of Manasseh") claim descent from one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, who were sent into exile by the Assyrian Empire more than 27 centuries ago. They live in India's northeastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram.
Their ancestors wandered through Central Asia and the Far East for centuries, before settling in what is now northeastern India, along the border with Burma and Bangladesh.
Throughout their exile, the Bnei Menashe nonetheless continued to practice Judaism just as their ancestors did, including observing the Sabbath, keeping kosher, celebrating the holidays and following the laws of family purity. And they continued to nourish the dream of one day returning to the land of their ancestors, the Land of Israel.
In recent years, Shavei Israel has brought some 1,500 Bnei Menashe back home to Zion, including 450 in the past three years who settled in the Upper Galilee. Another 7,200 still remain in India, waiting for the day when they too will be able to return to Israel and the Jewish people.
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