Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Hundreds of 'Lost Tribe' Bnei Menashe Jews Make Aliyah from India

Hundreds of Indian Jews flew into Ben-Gurion Airport to make aliyah this week, as Israeli ministers promised to help the rest of the Bnei Menashe community emigrate shortly.

Following a special government edict, 252 new olim from northeast India made Israel their new home on Tuesday in an operation supported by Israel’s Minister of Aliyah and Integration Pnina Tameno-Shete. 

As reported in The Times of Israel,

The relocation was coordinated over many months between the ministry and the Shavei Israel organisation, whose founder Michael Freund was delighted.

“The aliyah of the lost tribe of Bnei Menashe after 2,700 years of exile is itself a modern-day Chanukah miracle,” he said.

“The story of this unique community that maintained its connection to the Jewish people and the land of Israel down through the generations is powerful and inspiring. I hope to see all the remaining Bnei Menashe make aliyah soon.”

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Hava Nagila at Oshodham, India

About 30 miles south of Delhi, India, the meditation center of Oshodham has blossomed, offering a clean, green, aesthetic and peaceful environment for those on the inner journey of meditation. In tune with nature, a beautiful space has been created for group and individual meditations both indoors and outdoors. 

The cherubic sound of gurgling water bodies and fountains with the chirping of birds help the meditators to go deep on the path of awareness through meditation. Today, meditators from all over India and abroad converge here to meditate and celebrate. Over 150 people can be accommodated to take part in three-day or three weeks meditation camps and groups. Oshodham is open all round the year for meditations.

So what's the latest activity at this meditation center? It's Hava Nagila, introduced as a dance to followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, more recently known as Osho.

The meditation group was introduced to this song and dance number the previous evening after dinner during a video session showing young Jews dancing happily to it. Before the video, a brief background of the Jewish people, their suffering, determination and spirit of celebrating life was shared. The folk song traces its origins back 1800 years and surfaced just over a century ago moving from Russia to Austria and to Israel.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!
 
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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Jewish Life Holds On in Cochin on India's Malabar Coast

For 900 years there has been a small Jewish community in Cochin on India’s Malabar coast, living at peace with their Hindu, Muslim and Christian neighbors. It’s been a model of interfaith tolerance. 

But, as Fred de Sam Lazaro reports, the community has dwindled since the state of Israel was established and now one of the last Jewish survivors, who maintains the synagogue, says he plans to leave in a few years – for Israel. 

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Shalom Bollywood - The Untold Story of Jewish Superstars of India's Silver Screen

Shalom Bollywood reveals the unlikely story of the 2000-year-old Indian Jewish community and its formative place in shaping the world’s largest film industry. When Indian cinema began 100 years ago it was taboo for Hindu and Islamic women to perform on screen, so Indian Jewish women took on female lead roles, which they dominated for decades. 

The film focuses on the lives of five of the great Jewish actors. Infused with music and dancing, the cheekily told documentary unabashedly oozes Bollywood as it uses film motifs to drive the narrative.

The film had its world premiere in October 2017 at the Mumbai Film Festival. It is playing now in Washington DC at the Washington Jewish Film Festival. It will be playing at the Jewish Motifs Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland from May 23 to May 27. 

Film selection at Jewish Film Festivals worldwide is now in process, and we expect this film to be featured at many festivals in 2018 and 2019. We'll be watching for announcements of upcoming festivals and we'll let you know when Shalom Bollywood is scheduled to be shown in your area.

In the meantime, enjoy the trailer.

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: The Kuki People of India - One of the Lost Tribes?

In northeastern India, a small ethnic group claims to be one of the lost tribes of Israel. 

The fervor of the Kuki people has persuaded the Chief Rabbi of Israel to approve their immigration to the Promised Land. 

Kuki men are traditionally fighters, so once in Israel most of them become soldiers, while their wives try to adjust to their new lives in the settlements.

Reporters from France 24 TV traveled to the valleys of West Bengal, where India meets Bangladesh and Burma, home of the mysterious Kuki tribe. These Asian Jews say they were forced into exile in this remote valley almost 27 centuries ago. Today, they practice an archaic Judaism and claim to be one of the lost tribes of Israel referred to in the Old Testament, a little like the Ethiopian Falashas.

Tensions have grown in recent years with the Indian and Burmese governments and for the Kuki people, the lure of a better future in Israel is stronger than ever. In recent years, some of them have been able to emigrate to Israel and make Aliyah. 

The men, who are traditionally fierce fighters, often join the Israeli army, while their families find a new home in the occupied West Bank settlements. France 24 TV correspondents went to meet some of those who have left everything behind for a new life in the Promised Land.

Here is a video report of what they found.

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places - Hava Nagila at a Family Party in Mumbai (Bombay), India

Globe Studios is one of the leading media content creation organizations in Mumbai, India. It has been an integral part of the audio and digital media industry in Mumbai for over 25 years.

The company is headed by Charles Siqueira Vaz, an accomplished music producer & audio director, who worked closely with renowned artists & banners in the music and film industry.

He recently hosted a party for family and friends in his home in Mumbai. Picking up a guitar, he led the group in singing and dancing. What song? Hava Nagila, of course!

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: The Muslim Gatekeepers of Synagogues in Kolkata, India

For generations, the caretakers of Kolkata's Jewish synagogues have been Muslims. For a case study in communal harmony, we need look no further than Kolkata's Jewish Synagogues. At one point as strong as 6000, the Jewish community has dwindled to less than 20 members in the city of Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta.

Muslim caretakers have maintained the three main Jewish synagogues in Kolkata. Anwar and Rabbul manage the Maghen David and Beth El Synagogues, a role that has been in their families for generations. With communal tensions in the country raised, this is a shining testament to the bonds that hold the communities together.

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Welcoming Shabbat with Bnei Menashe Girl Singing Adon Olam

The Bnei Menashe (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.

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 sojourn in exile, the Bnei Menashe continued to practice Judaism just as their ancestors did, including observing the Sabbath, keeping kosher, celebrating the festivals 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.

To welcome Shabbat this week, we're sharing a version of Adon Olam sung by Israela Haokip, a young member of the Bnei Menashe community. 

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Hevenu Shalom Aleichem as a Chanting Mantra in India

Over the years we've come across renditions of the Hebrew song Hevenu Shalom Aleichem in unexpected locations around the world. But none has been as unique as our discovery of this version in a chanting mantra in a part of India that you probably never heard of.

The video below was made in Auroville, an experimental township in Viluppuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, near Puducherry in South India. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (known as "The Mother") and designed by architect Roger Anger. As stated in Alfassa's first public message about the township, "Auroville is meant to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity."

Although originally intended to house 50,000, as of May 2014 the actual population was 2,345 (1,804 adults and 541 minors), coming from 50 nationalities including 86 Americans and 31 Israelis. The community is divided up into neighborhoods with Tamil, English, French and Sanskrit names like Aspiration, Arati, La Ferme, Auromodel and Isaiambalam.

So if Hevenu Shalom Aleichem were to appear as a chanting mantra anywhere in the world, it shouldn't come as a surprise that it would happen in Auroville, India. The chant is led by Israeli singer Niva Harel.

Enjoy!

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Indian Band Amrutam Gamaya Performs Beautiful Version of Hava Nagila

If you think you’ve heard the most beautiful rendition of Hava Nagila, you may have to rethink it. Recently the Israeli folk song was performed on, of all places, the popular Indian talent show Music Mojo by a band by the name of Amrutam Gamaya. 

We've posted more than 50 versions of this song in the 6+ years that we've been publishing Jewish Humor Central, and all of them will be included in our book, Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places, which will be released in a second, updated edition in February.

While the tune is normally fast paced and uplifting, this version definitely stands apart from other versions of the song. Although the tune does quicken near its end, the song is less upbeat and Amrutha Suresh, the lead singer of the group, has a hauntingly beautiful voice.

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: An American Jewish Comedian Visits the Jews of India

Entwine is an initiative of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, commonly known as ''the Joint."  It's a movement for young Jewish leaders and offers them service experiences in Jewish communities around the world.

The JDC is the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization. It works in more than 70 countries and in Israel to alleviate hunger and hardship, rescue Jews in danger, create lasting connections to Jewish life, and provide immediate relief and long-term development support for victims of natural and man-made disasters.

Entwine sent American comedian Noah Gardenswartz to India to meet the local Jewish community. They asked him to film everything. In today's video, we follow Noah to Mumbai and Cochin and share his experiences.

Enjoy and Shabbat shalom!

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Comedy Showcase: Indian-Jewish Stand-up Comedian Samson Koletkar in Chinese Restaurant

What better way to show that comedy is ethnically inclusive than to have an Indian Jewish comedian perform in a Chinese restaurant on Christmas day?

That's exactly what Samson Koletkar did in 2013 as a member of the Kung Pao Kosher Comedy cast at a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown.

The show has become a San Francisco institution, having just completed its 22nd season and already promoting its shows for a 23rd season in December 2015. 

Koletkar is the world's only Indian Jewish Stand-up Comedian.  Born and raised in Mumbai, and now living in San Francisco, his comedy is a unique perspective on life as an Indian Jew in the West.

We featured two of his stand-up routines in 2010 and 2013.

In this clip from Kung Pao Kosher Comedy, he focuses on disbelief that he is really Jewish and stereotypical reactions to his unusual ethnic background.

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: A Hindi Version of Fiddler on the Roof in New Delhi

Parampara! What, you don't speak Hindi? Parampara is Tradition in the Hindi language. As we continue to collect videos of international productions of Fiddler on the Roof in its 50th year, we came across an Indian version of the now classsic production that made its debut in New York City in 1964.

As Ben Frumin reported ont the New Delhi production in an article in the Forward in 2008,

“The character is so universal, he could be an Indian for all that it matters,” said Rakesh Gupta, the 48-year-old civil servant who plays Tevye in the production. The issues facing the play’s protagonist are of enormous importance in India, a nation where most marriages are still arranged, where families commonly save for their entire lives to afford dowries, and where many communities still place taboos on interfaith and intercaste marriages.

“It’s a very Indian thing,” Gupta said. “The problems being faced by Tevye, the problems being faced by the family about traditions, these challenges are faced by all people, all families. It sounded very familiar.”

Enjoy!

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Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: The Tribe of Menashe, a Lost Tribe of Israel, Returns

The Bnei Menashe (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.

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 sojourn in exile, the Bnei Menashe continued to practice Judaism just as their ancestors did, including observing the Sabbath, keeping kosher, celebrating the festivals 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 1,700 Bnei Menashe back home to Zion. 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. 

The video below shows scenes of the Bnei Menashe arriving at Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv and their daily activities in communities around Israel.

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Israel Dances to Indian Bollywood Music

In April 2010 we shared a video of Indian dancers performing a Bollywood style production of Hava Nagila in an Indian film.  This April and May it was Israel's turn to reciprocate.

As a kick start to the month-long cultural Festival "Celebrating India in Israel, a Bollywood Dance workshop was organized on April 29 at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv, the most important dance establishment in Israel. Several hundred Israelis enthusiastically participated in the workshop. The workshop was conducted by Gilles Chuyen.

Trained in France in Folk, Modern Jazz, Ballet and contemporary dance styles, Gilles Chuyen has been working in India since 1994 with various dance forms such as Chhau Mayurbhanj, Kathak and Bharata Natyam. His repertoire includes contemporary solo works such as Rasa - the dance of emotions with which he toured France and India, and many group pieces such as Colours and Prakriti with his dance company In Step.

He has been choreographing plays directed by the most prestigious Indian directors, which have taken him all over India and to the U.K., Singapore, Pakistan, Mexico and Colombia. His Bollywood career comprises of ad campaigns, stage shows in China, Hong Kong, the U.K., Australia, and South Africa. He is the choreographer and artistic director of Bollywood Love Story- A Musical directed by Sanjoy Roy which has been touring Switzerland, Austria, Germany, South Africa, Spain and Italy for the last few years. His association with Bollywood comprises also of work on feature films as a choreographer and actor -- dancer.

As can be seen in the video below, Israelis love to dance, and enjoy adapting to the different motions and steps in the Bollywood style.  Let's dance with them!