Bnei Menashe bar and bat mitzvah children celebrate in Jerusalem
Bnei Menashe boys putting on tefillin at the ceremony
Six young Bnei Menashe boys and girls recently celebrated their bar and bat mitzvahs in an emotional ceremony in Israel’s capital. The event was particularly moving for us at Shavei Israel – in the ten years that we have been involved with the Bnei Menashe, we have watched proudly as your help has enabled their children to grow and flourish in their new homes in the Jewish state.
1,700 Bnei Menashe currently live in Israel – so there are plenty more such celebrations to come. And soon, when the Israeli government gives the final approval for the remaining 7,232 Bnei Menashe still in India to immigrate to Israel, we will be celebrating the aliyah to the Torah of an entire community!
The recent bar and bat mitzvahs took place at the Sephardi synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. The event was part of a larger program organized by three non-profit groups – The Organization of Sephardim Worldwide; The Organization of Sephardim and Mizrachim in Jerusalem; and Yuvalim, an educational group that works to narrow social gaps in Israeli society. The ceremony included a total of 40 children from all corners of Israel, speaking a mix of Russian, English, Amharic, Hebrew, and a variety of European languages.
Mordechai Tlau was one of the bar mitzvah boys. He arrived with his parents and 5 out of 7 of his siblings in Israel in 2006 (his 2 older sisters are still in India). His older brother Yonatan, servies in the IDF now. Mordechai says that having his bar mitzvah in the Old City, so close to the Western Wall, was just “beautiful. It felt great being in such a wonderful place.”
His father, Peer, concurs, adding that, “even though we did not understand all the Hebrew, we were still very happy inside of our heart. Oh, how did Shavei Israel choose our son? We are so proud!”
Perhaps the most emotional moment came when Harel Sela was called up to the Torah. Harel’s father, Robin Sela, was tragically killed in a car accident two years ago. His brother, Gurion Sela, is a leader in the Bnei Menashe community in Israel and is the first Bnei Menashe from Mizoram to be ordained as a rabbi.
After the ceremony and a visit to the Western Wall, the entire group drove to the Jerusalem “Tayelet” (a lovely landscaped promenade, which has a spectacular view of the entire Old City), before settling in at the picturesque Tzipori Center located in the heart of the Jerusalem Forest. The children had an opportunity to swim before the evening festivities commenced.
The bar and bat mitzvah kids dressed up in traditional Sephardic clothes for the event; there were a number of songs and dances set to Moroccan and Middle Eastern music and a candle lighting ceremony. “I never saw anything like this before,” says Mordechai Tlau. “All of the dancing and music made me very happy!”
Dina Samte performs at the Bnei Mitzvot ceremony
The evening concluded with a performance by Dina Samte, a blind Bnei Menashe girl who sings and writes her own music. We profiled Dina last year.
We have more pictures on our website.
Please help us to prepare the next generation of Bnei Menashe bar and bat mitvah children to be called up to the Torah. Click here to support this important project.