Syndication
Songs of a Lost Tribe’s Longing
Music
OBSERVANT: A Bnei Menashe in India who is getting ready for the Sukkot holiday.
WHEN WE REMEMBERED ZION: Members of India’s Bnei Menashe tribe pose for a camera to show their piety. Their new CD aims to promote their bid for Israeli immigration rights.
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More in Arts & CultureIn the Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, far in the northeast near the Burmese border, some 7,000 people observe the Jewish Sabbath, kosher dietary laws and rules of family purity. Already, 1,400 of these people, known as Bnei Menashe, have immigrated to Israel. The remaining 7,000 wish to join their brethren as soon as possible in relocating to the Holy Land, the act known in Hebrew as aliyah.
Their ambitions are proving more complicated than they thought, however, and so they have released a CD of their music. Titled “Aliya, Aliya…” it is intended to help make the case for their quest and, not incidentally, to help fund the move.
The Bnei Menashe claim descent from the ancient Israelite tribe of Menashe (Manasseh), one of the storied 10 Lost Tribes exiled from the land of Israel by Assyrian conquerors 27 centuries ago. The Israeli Chief Rabbinate affirmed in 2005 that these people are, indeed, of Jewish ancestry, but required that they undergo formal conversion before they can be deemed Jewish under rabbinic law — and thus qualify for immigration rights, in such areas as subsidies and citizenship, under Israel’s Law of Return. In the meantime, they must manage their resettlement on their own.
“Aliya, Aliya” features a collection of 15 songs, performed in Hebrew and in the Bnei Menashe’s local dialect, Thadou-Kuki, and is mostly devoted to Zionist and religious themes. The CD was produced and published by Shavei Israel, an organization that helps descendants of Jews from all over the world to reconnect with their Jewish roots.
According to Shavei Israel founder and chairman, Michael Freund, the Bnei Menashe are “a lost tribe of Israel. They live and practice Judaism, they keep Shabbat, they keep kosher, they keep the laws of family purity, they wear yarmulkes and tzitzit. They have built over 50 synagogues across Mizoram and Manipur.”
“Aliya, Aliya” combines Israeli and Indian styles, and, as its name implies, is a spirited plea for emigration. Some songs, like “Shokhen Ad,” are from the traditional Jewish prayer service, while others, such as the title track, echo the group’s attachment to Israel.
Although the disc showcases some exotic instrumentation, most of the songs are accessible and Western in musical style, with strong hints of modern Israeli music. In fact, though the expectation for a geographically far-flung disc may be a similarly unfamiliar style, the truth is just the opposite: The Bnei Menashe have produced a work that not only pines for the Holy Land, but also emulates Her sounds.
The result is pleasingly familiar, a percussion-heavy interpretation of Western fare. Not nearly as experimental as George Harrison’s famed Indian-style compositions, nor as traditional as the country’s classical raga style, “Aliya, Aliya” is surprisingly mainstream. With much of its material borrowed from Scripture and prayer, the album hits surprisingly close to home.
Shavei Israel is selling the CD through its Web site, www.shavei.org, and has been instrumental in assisting the Bnei Menashe. In addition to facilitating the aliyah of the 1,400 who have already moved to Israel, the organization has assisted with the building of synagogues and mikvehs in India. Shavei also operates two educational centers, one in Mizoram and one in Manipur, that instruct the Bnei Menashe in Hebrew and Jewish culture.
“I first learned of the Bnei Menashe over a decade ago,” said Freund, who served from 1996 to 1999 on the staff of Israel’s then-prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “I made contact with members of the community who’d managed to make it to Israel. I was very taken by them on a human level, with their sincerity and commitment to living as Jews.”
In 2004, at Freund’s urging, Israel’s Chief Rabbinate sent a delegation to India to try and determine if, indeed, the Bnei Menashe hail from a lost tribe.
“The rabbis spent time interviewing members of the community and meeting with some of the locals, learning more about their history and traditions and customs,” Freund said. The delegation submitted reports to Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, who in 2005, Freund said, “formally recognized the Bnei Menashe as being descendants of Jews — ‘zera yisrael’ [the seed of Israel] — and [said he] would do what he can to facilitate bringing them to Israel.”
Since the Jewishness of Bnei Menashe is not recognized by Israeli government officialdom, Shavei Yisrael has often had to navigate through layers of bureaucracy to get them to Israel. A typical strategy has involved obtaining permission from Israel’s Interior Ministry to bring groups of Bnei Menashe to Israel for the purpose of conversion and resettlement.
“I think the Bnei Menashe are a blessing for the State of Israel and the people of Israel,” said Freund, who made aliyah himself from New York 13 years ago. “They are honest, decent, hardworking people; they serve in the army; volunteer for combat units, and raise beautiful Jewish children. As much as we try to strengthen them, ultimately they strengthen us.”
The Menashe Neshama Ensemble Presents: Aliya Aliya…
Shavei Israel, 2008, $15.
www.shavei.org.
Joseph Leichman is a freelance journalist and musician. He writes a blog at www.verbalcalorie.com.
Comments
There is often suspicion on the part of the blue eyed and pale Ashkenazi rabbis as to who is a Jew. Such has been the case with the immigration of Ethiopian Jews and other Jews of color to Israel. The Mizrachi Jews are more accepting. American Jews who contribute so much money to Israel need to understand this so we can pressure the Israeli goverment not to pay heed to the Heredim who are the true outsiders. We Jews are all mixed up and a conglomeration of the lands in which we resided throughout the golah
Why does "Peartree" claim that the haredim are "the true outsiders"? Obviously, Peartree is calling for the acceptance of the Bnei Menasheh group - but he does so through the expression of animosity towards other Jews. The haredim are not outsiders; rather, they are equally part of the Jewish story. If it is worthy of mention that a rabbi is "pale" or has "blue eyes" or is "Ashkenazi" - then Peartree himself is admitting his feelings of prejudice.
The hesitation of the rabbinic establishment in accepting communities such as the Bnei Menashe (or the Ethiopians Jews in the past) is absolutely not a question of color, nor is it an Ashkenazi or Mizrahi issue. All the rabbis (haredi or leumi, Ashkenazi or Mizrahi) see the rabbinic (i.e. Talmudic) tradition as being the historic expression of Jewish continuity. When one encounters a community that is not Talmudic, always a question mark will be placed on the issue of their Jewishness, and most likely the question of their immigration to Israel will be resolved through some kind of conversion (i.e. acceptance of rabbinic tradition). Seeing the question of aliyah as an issue of color is simply applying the non-Jewish American world on Israeli society - and it shows very little understanding of the workings of a Jewish society.
Rabbinic Jewishism (white or European Jewish prejudice to non rabbinic groups)[RJ] have always been the problem. I know this personally. RJ has asserted that they have the sole claim on who Ha-Shem's people are(?). The African Hebrew Israelites had to struggle and refuse conversion. They prove themselves fruitful and reliable. The Israeli Gov't has awarded them 6400 acres of land after 40 years of struggle. B"H"Y! Israeli Gov't and RJ goal has been and still is to refusing African Americans to return who do not accept the Rabbinic or Talmudic conversion as the only way to be Jews (for the lack a better term). The truth is that in Israel today the majority of people are of color as Idan Raichel has demonstrated and as "Insight Guides:Israel" published by the Discovery Channel. By the way, The European jews are north and those of color in the south...go figure.
The International Federation of Christians and Jews (www.ifcj.org) -- a few years ago -- pledged their support for these Jews' aliyah. The Orthodox rabbis in Israel recognize them as Jews, but as usual, insist on mispurposeful and so meaningless ritual. Apparently, the rabbis -- as always -- get in the way because their focus is on themselves instead of on the mission. Israel would be well served to reform the role of orthodox rabbis, while also bringing more spirituality into secular life in ways like this spectacular but unfortunately still pending event.
The commentators so far have made a pretty serious mistake: the problem with the Bnei Menashe is not their giur. They are happy to be megayer l'chumrah and are fully observant. The problem, as far as the State is concerned, is that they are all intensely Zionistic and tend to want to settle in Judea/Samaria, especially in the area of Chevron. The government does not want to bring in another 7,000 committed "settlers" when it is trying to dismantle the enterprise. It doesn't have to do with their Jewishness--it has to do with their politics. For clarification, check out kulanu.org
What an interesting lot of comments this article has drawn. As a pale-skinned Ashkenazic Jew who has never practiced Jewish ritual to the letter of the law, I find it offensive that haredim, of whom my relatives are some, are stereotyped as "in the way" of other Jews' acceptance into the Holy Land, if that is indeed what it is. On the other hand, I fully sympathize with those who find emphasis on ritual to the exclusion of spiritual Judaism to be frustrating.
To Yehudis, I checked out kulanu.org and could find no reference to the desire of Bnei Menashe to settle in Hevron, or Israeli government reluctance to recognize them on that basis. What and where is your source for this?
Is there a archive of old field recordings available to ethnomusicologists?