A new synagogue opens in Manipur, India
New Beith Shalom synagogue in Manipur
For 25 years, the Bnei Menashe in the Beith Shalom community of Churachandpur, India, prayed in a dilapidated synagogue built out of bamboo and wood, supported by walls made of mud and covered with a fraying thatched roof. It was no match for the monsoon rains and blazing temperatures of an Indian summer.
But material discomforts didn’t stop the Bnei Menashe in this bustling town in the Indian state of Manipur from thriving spiritually and culturally, growing both in numbers and commitment to the Jewish people and tradition. And now, the Bnei Menashe have a new reason to rejoice: earlier this month, during the Sukkot holiday, Beith Shalom dedicated a brand new synagogue.
“The community is growing up,” explains Shavei Israel’s Director of Bnei Menashe Aliyah and Absorption Rabbi Hanoch Avitzedek. “So they needed some new clothes, so to speak.”
Rabbi Avitzedek was present at the groundbreaking for the new synagogue in November 2010. Over the next two years, the Bnei Menashe community raised nearly all the money needed for the construction by itself, using a Bnei Menashe tradition of family “charity boxes” from which money is collected the first week of every month. Additional funding came from Bnei Menashe already living in Israel, and from Shavei Israel, which provided a zero-interest loan to the community for the remaining amount.
In addition to the upfront capital costs, most of the construction workers building the synagogue came from the Bnei Menashe community. The result is more than a synagogue: it is a two-story structure with an open hall for community events downstairs and the synagogue itself – which contains two Torah scrolls – on the top level.
The dedication took place during the intermediate days of hol ha-moed Sukkot when Jews traditionally take out a Torah scroll and walk around the room in synagogue while carrying their arba minim (the “four species” – see our article from last week here). We have pictures of the first service held in the new synagogue on “Hoshana Raba” – the last day of hol ha-moed; 115 people joined the festive prayers.
During the formal dedication ceremony, hundreds more attended. Yochanan Phaltual, our emissary to the Bnei Menashe in Manipur, reports that there were “speeches, blessings sent from Israel, song and dance, the afternoon mincha prayer, and a grand dinner for all, hosted by the Beith Shalom community.” Here are some pictures.
The synagogue’s construction would not have been possible without the generous assistance of many Bnei Menashe living outside of India.
— The synagogue’s Torah Ark was donated by Rivkah Lhungdim (who made aliyah to Israel in 2007) in memory of her husband T. Daniel Lhungdim z”l.
— The bench in the synagogue was donated by the family of Miriam Lhanghal Samra, who made aliyah in 1992 and now lives in Australia with her husband Dr. Myer Samra, in memory of her father Yosef Jangkhothang Lhanghal z”l.
— The bimah (the raised platform from which the Torah is read) and the main mezuzah at the entrance to the shul were donated by Esther Gin in memory of her husband Shimon z”l, who tragically lost his life in a 2009 traffic accident in Israel. Shimon Gin made aliyah in 1983 and served as one of Shavei Israel’s emissaries to the Bnei Menashe community.
— The land on which the synagogue was built was donated by Samuel Haokip in 1977. Pu T.Amihud Phaltual was in charge of the entire construction project.
Mazel tov to all of the Bnei Menashe who contributed – financially and physically – to this significant project. This year in Churachandpur. Next year in Jerusalem!