Afula takes first prize in 6th annual Bnei Menashe soccer tournament
Bnei Menashe compete on the soccer field in annual competition
Rabbi Gurion Sela, a Bnei Menashe rabbi who created the first Mizo-language version of the Rambam’s Hilchot Teshuva as part of our Bnei Menashe Translation Project, is not just a scholar – he’s also an avid soccer player. For the past six years, Rabbi Sela has organized an annual soccer tournament for the Bnei Menashe in Israel with the support of Shavei Israel. It takes place during the intermediate days of the holiday of Sukkot and includes Bnei Menashe players from around the country.
The tournament’s participants represent all the Bnei Menashe communities in Israel – including a team for the new immigrants who have arrived in the last 12 months. Each community has its own team – there are eight in total – and there is even a team that originated in Manipur and was reconstituted in the Holy Land.
The tournament moves to a different Bnei Menashe community each year – this Sukkot, the event was held in Afula where a home-court advantage may have influenced the results: Afula F.C. came in first, followed by teams from Migdal HaEmek and Beit El. Also competing were teams from Akko (Acre), Ma’alot, Upper Nazareth, Kiryat Arba and a second “junior” team from Afula.
While playing the game is the official reason for the annual get together, Rabbi Sela explains that it’s also a great opportunity “for all of the Bnei Menashe to meet together, since during the year, we’re all so busy in our work and studies, we don’t have the time. It’s also a chance to meet the new immigrants from Manipur and Mizoram who have just arrived and to make new friends. This tournament truly unites the entire community of Bnei Menashe in Israel.”
You can see Rabbi Sela in the pictures below – he’s the man in the white shirt and tie – although normally he’d be in his jersey on the field. “I’m not the best player,” the ever-modest Rabbi Sela concedes, “but I love to play and I’m out there almost every year.”
