During the month of July, thirty Bnei Menashe couples were married at the Kfar Hasidim absorption center in Israel. For most of the happy brides and grooms, it was not their first wedding. But, having recently rejoined the Jewish people, it was the first ceremony...
Yaakov Misao’s grandfather may have been the first Bnei Menashe to set foot in the Holy Land in nearly 2,700 years when he visited Israel as part of the British Navy during World War Two. 70 years later, Yaakov is now living not far from...
The guide is centered around the full birkat hamazon (Grace after Meals), which is included in Hebrew, Italian and an Italian transliteration. The Sabbath Kiddush and Havdalah prayers appear as well. In addition, there are traditional zemirot (songs) for the Sabbath (with commentaries on each song’s...
Shavei Israel has published its first comprehensive guide in Italian to the prayers, songs and customs of the Shabbat table for use primarily by the Bnei Anousim in Sicily and southern Italy. The birkon (the title is from the Hebrew for “blessing”) is centered around...
There are few views sweeter than the sight of the Israeli coastline appearing on the horizon after miles of blue ocean, as glimpsed from high above on an airplane winging its way towards the Holy Land. How much more satisfying, then, for someone making aliyah...
Rabbi Avi Baumol, Shavei Israel's emissary to Krakow, Poland, accompanied our annual summer seminar to Israel for young Polish Jews. He describes his experience with the group in this article, which also demonstrates Rabbi Baumol's "other" career - he is now a licensed Israeli tourguide!...
Before World War 2, the population of the small Polish town of Wolbrom was more than a third Jewish. But, by the end of the Holocaust, the Nazis had murdered nearly the entire Jewish community. Of the 7-member Narcissus family, only the oldest, 16-year-old Naftali,...
Shavei Israel's support of the Bnei Menashe and their recent aliyah flights have been all over the Israeli news this week. The Israeli website Ynet published an article on the Bnei Menashe which includes a video interview. There is also coverage in the Yediot HaSharon...
“Is motivation essential for creating new lifestyles?” While the question may seem a general one, for Dr. Efrat Kedem, it has been anything but. Kedem has been researching the role of motivation with a specific group of young women who have immigrated to Israel with...
Polish seminar participants sift through archaeological treasures in Jerusalem[/caption]
What was the highlight of your summer vacation? While it’s still only early August, for 21 young Poles with Jewish roots, the answer is already clear: Israel.
Shavei Israel’s annual summer seminar in Israel for a group of “Hidden Jews” of Poland concluded last week. The group traveled up and down the country as they toured, studied and discovered the beauty of the Jewish people.
Their two-week itinerary included Shabbat in the Old City of Safed; scaling the heights of Mount Arbel and hiking in the Judean Desert (including up the “snake path” to uncover the mysteries of Masada); and taking a break from the heat by traipsing through a river near Beit Shean. The group had a full schedule of activities in Jerusalem: a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance museum and nearby Mount Herzl military cemetery, exploring the narrow alleyways of Nachlaot in the city center, plunging into the tunnels that run alongside and under the Western Wall, and sifting through archaeological treasures at Emek Tzurim near the City of David. 
