WATCH: Bnei Menashe on emotional first visit to Jerusalem
At the Western Wall: clip from new video documenting the Bnei Menashe’s first visit to Jerusalem
When the Bnei Menashe arrive at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport after the long flight from India, Shavei Israel’s buses transport them directly to their new life in the Kfar Hasidim absorption center in the north of the country. There, the new immigrants jump straight into a schedule of Hebrew ulpan for the adults, kindergarten and elementary school for the young ones, and a multitude of classes on key Jewish topics for both.
The one thing that’s missing in this hectic program is a visit to perhaps the single most important place that the Bnei Menashe have been dreaming about for so many years: Jerusalem.
Last month, that dream came true for dozens of Bnei Menashe who made aliyah to Israel earlier this year. The group, all from the Indian state of Manipur, spent a full day on a Shavei Israel-sponsored tour of the holy sites in the Jerusalem area.
They started with a visit to Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem, where they prayed at the grave of Rachel the matriarch, whose spirit it is said cried over the fate of her sons who were exiled from the Land of Israel, begging G-d to bring them home (as related in Jeremiah 31). The group continued to the Promenade near the Armon HaNatziv neighborhood, with its spectacular view over the entire Old City basin. With the desire of their longing in sight and so close, they broke out into a traditional Bnei Menashe song that speaks of their deep yearning for Zion.
Next it was off to the Old City itself, making an entrance through the Jaffa Gate, visiting the tomb of King David on Mount Zion and the Golden Menorah in the Jewish Quarter, before finally arriving at the Western Wall. For the first time in their lives, they touched the holy stones. Many wept.
In the Western Wall plaza after their visit, Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund addressed the new immigrants. “It’s a very moving experience for me to see you here in the Old City of Jerusalem, standing before the place where the Temple once stood.”
Freund pointed out that the Bnei Menashe would soon be moving out of the absorption center and into their permanent homes. “Shavei Israel will always be with you,” he stressed, “and we will continue our efforts until every last member of the Bnei Menashe in India is able to come and be with us here in Eretz Yisrael!”
In appreciation, the group presented Freund with an award signed by all of the Bnei Menashe members in attendance thanking him for his uncompromising efforts to bring them home.
The entire visit was captured on video. You can watch it here.