News website of Bnei Menashe - Visit www.menashehayom.com

ALIYAH EXPECTATION HANGOVER

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Essential For Bnei Menashe in India.
  
The road to aliyah for Bnei Menashe will not be long. However we don’t know when. But there has to be answer for every question. Forget the “Hows” and “Whys” question, most Bnei-Menashe asked “When” will there be aliyah, will I be included? For the past 3 years (post aliyah of 2007) this question keeps every young and old with anxiety and self-doubt. This may be because we are too compulsive and in desperate need of physical and mental well being. It keeps our mind perplexed, a pathetically cool diseases seems to be affecting young people, which sometimes results in our life to engage in a unique social experiment.

Everyone seeks answers to this Aliyah Expectation Hangover. I know many of them over the phones, blog, tweets and facebook, to share their aliyah speculation anxiety with others who has the same crisis.

We youngsters are over-exposed to all these aliyah expectation stuffs and never ask ourselves How or Why questions. We must never forget that concern persons are working on it. They want to expedite the Aliyah process more than we want it to be. I do know many roads to Israel, which I believe anyone knows too, however the roads which Shavei Israel Organization is searching for all of us is ‘A Roadmap in Life’ as well.

Levels of expectation to be on board aliyah each year is on higher side every year. This keeps us in neglecting our normal ways of life in Manipur, surviving on a modest budget to keep us alive merely waiting for aliyah and not knowing whether we will be on board or not. Not knowing the answer to those questions leads to feeling of panic, confusion and lack of motivation to keep our live goes on. We must know that aliyah is not a way out from problem in life. We need to learn to accept the way things are. Why make ourselves victim of this diseases and allow our self to suffer when we can recognize ourselves that we are a slave of our own mind. Release those feelings and start a new life; a life of accepting the things that we cannot change. Else, I may termed our disease as a “Crossroad in Life” or that we are within an area or a time when a real world hits and we feel like we were forced with decision that we do not know how to make, Or say an ‘extraordinary depressing life’ ?

We are not concern about the determination of some people to silence the subject regarding the struggle of Bnei-Menashe to return. After 5 years of misunderstanding within Bnei-Menashe, decision makers of Shavei Israel acknowledge the problem faced by us. So in Aug 2007 (after suspension of Aliyah for nearly a decade), Shavei Orgn bring home about 300 strong Bnei-Menashe families. After 3 years passed no one but Shavei Israel still is the only one who denied ignoring the affliction of the people who are left behind.

We who are left behind can be awarded for our long ‘struggle and patience’ to return to the Promised Land. Everyone set his/her own expectation for the next aliyah. No one knows who will be on board. The whistle blow harder as time passed by. Increasing numbers of youngster get married to be entitled to get the benefit of aliyah, as no youngster without families are allow, for some reason. In some respect this relationship offers both young couples a perfect way to coup up with the life and present situation. But there is a gloomier side to choosing marriage as an option to get on board aliyah. What if things go wrong and they are excluded? Overall of my experience taught me that things like this go wrong when couples did not live up to the mark that they have been expected of.

I sometime wondered why G-d wants us to wait for more than 20 years in India. There are many people asking the same question. How long do we wait? May be the time for us is not ripe yet. May be G-d wants us to do something more or to accomplish certain task for the benefit of Bnei-Menashe. G-d has His own reason we cannot comprehend. May be G-d long for our prayer even more or reform our life better? With this in mind we comfort ourselves and keep calm. However, sometimes these product of thoughts did nothing to lessen the severity or duration of longing for the Holy land, which overtime leads to frustration and the thought of going astray; especially vulnerable to the youngster whose minds readily coup with anti-social elements.

So marriage is next to a “good thing” to deal with longing-for-aliyah situation among Bnei-Menashe. In one hand those married at least have opportunity to go to Israel compare with other parties whose fiancĂ©e or betrothed are in Israel, who are waiting for all these years, hoping for aliyah each year by saying “Leshana Ha zoth be Yisrael”.

May G-d bless us and hasten the redemption of the exiled.

Read more...

HISTORY OF BNEI MENASHE: THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Thursday, December 16, 2010


Neglected History Revisited 
Yonathan Haokip


In this article, I want to share my own introspection regarding the setback of Bnei Menashe in regards to their own history and tradition. My aim is to reflect the ‘mirror of Bnei Menashe’ to the best of my experience.

Everything was going fine, just fine until, suddenly in the midst of warm summer in 2010, did I realize the need to educate the young generation of the Bnei Menashe about their own history and tradition – at least in brief.

Today’s young generation of Bnei Menashe need to realize the importance of learning their history. Many of us ignored or did not care to study; they rely on our elders of the community for this. Many of us stick religiously with Judaism or being Jews. I heard a report from my friend another day that a journalist came to interrogate one of the young man well-educate from Bnei Menashe, because he speaks English. When the journalist ask him about their history, his answer was ‘I don’t know’ I was bemused by this report and insist what I heard was untrue. So, I asked my friend what he would say if he were in place of that young man. Now, my friend was no better. This surprises me and saddened me more.

So now the question arise, Who is responsible? If a well-educated young man can’t answer a simple question. Its obvious that most of the young generation won’t be able to face such question again in India and in Israel. We have no idea of where we came from, who we are? Moreover forget the history, I hate to admit that those children who made aliyah a decade ago did not understand their own language.

The question is where will they learn from? Who is to educate them?  It is incumbent for every person to know and to make it known to everyone. We should not forget that we are recognized by what we are and where we came from.

If we don’t know who we are, then we don’t have to right to claim who are we.

After analyzing, I observed that there are various reason why history is neglected. First, the young generation did not bother to take the pain to study their own history. Second, no parents dare teach history at home. Third in most public gatherings, only Torah and halakha are the point of discussion. This is no room left for our history. Even if there is time to discuses history, no one would take a step to attend it. So in most case, History of Jews or History from the Bible is main topic. Worse of all, no one put a question on the subject. Everyone thinks they knew it, but they just don’t care.

If this goes on, what would be the outcome, I think we should aim to beautify ourselves. We all should be in a position to explain every definition of our history. Understand our own history is vital instrument for our promotion as well.

Neglecting history will not only makes ourselves doubt to others, but even to our self. When we think deeply, this could be the curse of our love for negligence.

Let us interrogate ourselves, how far are we going to move without knowledge of our own history. Most of today’s youngsters’ minds are inculcating with the seed that has sown and drift further away from story of their originator. Who is to blame? Not a single soul is left to be spared, to be held responsible; we all are the convict and victim of our own negligence.

I am not a social scientist. However when I think about the future of Bnei Menashe I debate myself on how to  reform our ways of promoting our identities. We have been blessed with culture, history, tradition and language. Of course, we are proud to be a Jews. However to know one’s identity is vital, without which no nations thrive to exist. We need to give space in our life to retain our identities wherever we are. We have customs, legends, history of our own and language as well. We have our own ways of making Matza. I’ve heard that Morrocan Jews (If I am not wrong) still practice making their own Matza (hand made) which they still retain this tradition even in Israel today. We have our own too.

Language: Barrier of Intimation:
Likewise, its important to retain those tradition which keeps are still  alive. Maintaining our own language in Israel is vital. Its an expression of bond that exist between people and family as well.  Its is sad to learn that our children in Israel can’t understand their own language. Are we going to give hope to ourselves that they will follow us when our own children did not speak their own language when they are young? Did anyone think that he/she will love his/her brethren when he/she does not speak their language? Man in nature has the tendency of love towards their fellow beings who speaks the same language. Children are bound to know Hebrew even if you forbid them. So parents can be a linguistic teacher at home. Language has to be the focal point for unity and love amongst us.

I have few suggestions to come out of this Disease of Negligence of our own history and languages. Negligence is not a crime to be punished, but a disease to be cure. History must be studied at home before aliyah, everyone should be well versed in it. At home-town in Manipur, we have Shavei Israel Fellowship who conducts Siur every week. They can impart the knowledge, but it is the congregation/public who has to initiate a request to Shavei leaders.

Secondly, it if the community did not make any request for special class on history, then, as authority vested in them, member all Shavei Fellowship has the rights and responsibilities to educate their own community. My experience has taught me that only Torah and Halakha etc are taught in most Siur programe and history and other issues in regards to culture and traditions are neglected.

Thirdly, each one of us, everyone, including me, have to put effort to know more of our own history. It depends on individual as well. If we don’t know our history, who will?

 So I took the pain to post History of Bnei Menashe in brief on by blog http://www.history-of-bnei-menashe.co.cc/ in English. I would like anyone to translate it in Hebrew for youngster in Israel. I am working on the same to post in our Bnei Menashe languages as well in near feature.

Finally, I am happy to know that tradition of naming a baby is still prevalent. Its customary to start the first syllable of a baby boy, from the last syllable of the name of his granddad. So the name itself can be used to trance the roots from where he came from.

To wrap up, its not an easy job to judges someone on something, someone is going to like it and someone not.

If we are good to point other’s failure we must also be good in rectifying the failure.

We all have to take part in it, to strengthen Bnei Menashe.

Yonathan Haokip
Member Shavei Fellowship, 2010.
Mumbai

Read more...

  © Blogger template On The Road by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP