Bene Israel Community of India
and their Survival
A important topic was brought to my attention that is serious enough that needs to be addressed NOW. Becasue there is still time to FIX it .... if the community as a whole believes it is WORTH SAVING.
Until now I have been disappointed about the poor interest from the people of great wisdom of our community as they never tend to speak up in public forum. I will try to do what I can while I have the strength and motivation. But with the lack of response goes the motivation. So please respond and show us the light at the end of the tunnel :).
POSTING FROM GROUP : BENE ISRAEL JEWISH YOUTH WORLD
Disclaimer: Sorry in advance if I insult anybody unintentionally with my comments.
I
want every Bene Israel to see this post. Even more important, I want my
children to see it. We all need to work on this collectively and form a
unity amongst ourselves.
Subscribe to one of the Facebook
groups that relate to Bene Israel Jews listed below. Make your opinions heard on how
you can help in the survival of the Bene Israel.
FACEBOOK POST STARTS HERE
-
-
Shirley: Good
Questions..no one will comment or answer you,more they will call you
arrogant, rude, as mostly everyone has a mix bhel in india bene Israel
families..
-
Shirley: And
what is conversion exactly, just go and say one line of prayer, here my
cousin whole life is a Jew now having problem...so for me conversion
means, accepting the religion from heart and following it... do all
those converted really follow?
-
Oren: there
should be a strict conversion rule like israel....in india.it should be
done according to strict rules of our jewish religion and should be
checked by the chief rabbi of israel.
-
Sammy: I
have been involved with a few conversions that happened at Magen and
can vouch that they are adequate, even though not as stringent an the
ones mandated by the Israeli chief rabbis. Chief Rabbis cannot govern
the conversions of the Jews of the entire world.
If
Bene Israelis of Mumbai have any unity, which they don't, then they
will form a committee of people who can perform the conversions and
monitor the progress of the new Jew via other community Jews. If 5
non-related Jews can vouch for a person that they are following the
Jewish tradition then it will be a good verification.
To answer you original question .. next comment ...
Shirley: Israeli
Rabbis cannot govern the conversions of jew of entire world but the
rules and regulations must be same.. be the conversion done in India or
Israel or any other country..
Sammy: Shirley
I will agree with you only if you want every Jew to be Ashkenazim and
there is no tolerance for people who do not want to be orthodox. Even
born Jews of "dattis" don't follow the rules their entire life, that the
converts are forced to follow. The rules look great on book, but have
no value when nobody including the most religious will not follow them.
-
Sammy: You can trust your phone to crash on you when responding to important posts
To
answer the main concern if there will be any Bene Israel Jews left in
the next generation. It is up to the parents to teach their kids and
each individual youth to follow the traditions.
Are you proud to be a Jew?
You
are among the approximately 5000 out of 1 billion Indians. That means
Jews are about 0.005 percent of the Indian population. That makes you
pretty RARE person. At least be proud of that. But you can claim that
title only if you are following the traditions and rules of Judaism.
My
guesstimate is , there will as many as HALF Bene Israelis left in the
next generation in India. However there will be TWICE AS MANY from
those Bene Israel families who live in Israel.
Indian
Bene Israel are less impacted by the small amount of conversions and
more threatened by their assimilation due to their own actions and
inabilities, or lack of motivation, or it is "very hard to do what
needs to be done in India" or whatever may be the case. I see they have
forgotten the basic 2 commandments;
- I am you God.
- You shall have no other gods before me.
I
see most Bene Israel going to church and temples to seek miracles when
they are in trouble. They will eat non kosher foods freely. They will do
nothing to keep Shabbath day holy. Have christmas tree in their homes
and celebrate diwali and chaturti as if it were their own festivals.
Sad
part is they will not celebrate Jewish festivals like purim, sukkoth,
shavuot, fast of the first born, destruction of the holy temple, just to
name the less significant ones. I know most people will do something on
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Channukah.
Less
than 10% of the older generation and maybe 10 % of the youth follow the
Jewish laws as best as they can. Other 80% is at risk of losing their
Jewish identity, if it has not already happened.
How to reverse this? More after I return from dropping my daughter to school .
Sammy: How to reverse the tide of assimilation of Bene Israel in India?
This
is a difficult issue to tackle and not sure if I am even qualified. I
scratch my head as I think hmmm .... it is a problem like .... I can
drag the horses to the water .... but I cannot force them to drink?
I
look up to our elders and more learned to help us in this matter. Put
down the indifference and grudges we harbor amongst ourselves and let us
work together for the common benefit of the community. Otherwise we are
all doomed to extinction.
I
have seen a great force at work at Magen by our senior members where
people get together for Shabbath morning prayers and people are
encouraged to attend prayers, discourses and snacks.
The
other way is to have the youth to spearhead this movement and unite
themselves using the help of organizations such as ORT, AJDC, etc. I am
sure there will be funding available for getting together for Shabbath
dinners and other events where the Jews can get together more often and
celebrate our festivals. This gives them an opportunity to meet each
other and choose a partner who will be Jewish.
I
will keep thinking about this but I need others to suggest ideas and
ways that can preserve our Bene Israel community in India, help it
flourish and multiply.
-
Oren: sammy
benjamin i do not agree with your comment telling shirley that converts
are forced to follow the religion..it has never happened an di would
like you to please clarify this with proof and if not take those words
back.please stic to the points and not go in to different things of the
topic..the reality in india regarding the ben israel jewish youth is not
so good according to my information and so i commented...
Sammy: I
am creating a separate forum about this as your concern about Indian
Bene Israel is valid. That does not make guys living in Israel any
superior than them. It does makes them luckier and smarter that they
ended up in Israel. I am lucky too but I want to help them rise to a new standard which will make them proud of being Jews.
All
these matters are complex and inter-connected and hence they come up
in such forums and have to be addressed. To get a factual answer to your
question, talk to a Bene Israel person living in Israel who has
converted or is being asked to convert. Then compare the Jewish
religious law requirements with the laws most average youth in Israel
are following who are born to Jewish mothers and get automatic
citizenship to Israel. You will see the difference.
Please
post your results if they are different than what I have reported. I
will verify them and then take back what I have written. Shalom.
Sammy: A
comment from a respectable Bene Israel who lives in India. Hoping that
our elders will suggest and recommend ways to address this issue. I am
sending this out this forum to all the Bene Israel I know to reach out
to a wider community.
Shabbath Shalom.
David: Dear Sammy,
I
think what you have said is the harsh reality. It may not turn out to
be so bad after all and we may surely have a good number still following
the religion. Like for example we know quite a few Jewish boys and
girls taking up the religion and prayers in a big way. Also family like
ours where we do endeavor to follow the religion incl all festivals,
etc. Here the children will receive the religion and following same as
part of the legacy.
But
the overall picture does look grim and unless we all choose to migrate
to Israel, UK., USA, Canada, Australia, etc we may have difficulty in
following the religion, It may get difficult to get the Minyan or even
kosher food, etc. I do not wish to think about those days but then we
cannot hide from facts and feel the next generation will have difficult
times if we continue to stay in India and then following Judaism may not
be an option at all.
Best regards,
Subscribe to one of the Facebook groups that relate to Bene Israel Jews listed below. Make your opinions heard on how you can help in the survival of the Bene Israel.
FACEBOOK POST STARTS HERE
- Shirley: Good Questions..no one will comment or answer you,more they will call you arrogant, rude, as mostly everyone has a mix bhel in india bene Israel families..
- Shirley: And what is conversion exactly, just go and say one line of prayer, here my cousin whole life is a Jew now having problem...so for me conversion means, accepting the religion from heart and following it... do all those converted really follow?
- Oren: there should be a strict conversion rule like israel....in india.it should be done according to strict rules of our jewish religion and should be checked by the chief rabbi of israel.
- Sammy: I have been involved with a few conversions that happened at Magen and can vouch that they are adequate, even though not as stringent an the ones mandated by the Israeli chief rabbis. Chief Rabbis cannot govern the conversions of the Jews of the entire world.
If Bene Israelis of Mumbai have any unity, which they don't, then they will form a committee of people who can perform the conversions and monitor the progress of the new Jew via other community Jews. If 5 non-related Jews can vouch for a person that they are following the Jewish tradition then it will be a good verification.
To answer you original question .. next comment ...
Shirley: Israeli Rabbis cannot govern the conversions of jew of entire world but the rules and regulations must be same.. be the conversion done in India or Israel or any other country..
Sammy: Shirley I will agree with you only if you want every Jew to be Ashkenazim and there is no tolerance for people who do not want to be orthodox. Even born Jews of "dattis" don't follow the rules their entire life, that the converts are forced to follow. The rules look great on book, but have no value when nobody including the most religious will not follow them.
- Sammy: You can trust your phone to crash on you when responding to important posts
To answer the main concern if there will be any Bene Israel Jews left in the next generation. It is up to the parents to teach their kids and each individual youth to follow the traditions.
Are you proud to be a Jew?
You are among the approximately 5000 out of 1 billion Indians. That means Jews are about 0.005 percent of the Indian population. That makes you pretty RARE person. At least be proud of that. But you can claim that title only if you are following the traditions and rules of Judaism.
My guesstimate is , there will as many as HALF Bene Israelis left in the next generation in India. However there will be TWICE AS MANY from those Bene Israel families who live in Israel.
Indian Bene Israel are less impacted by the small amount of conversions and more threatened by their assimilation due to their own actions and inabilities, or lack of motivation, or it is "very hard to do what needs to be done in India" or whatever may be the case. I see they have forgotten the basic 2 commandments;
- I am you God.
- You shall have no other gods before me.
I see most Bene Israel going to church and temples to seek miracles when they are in trouble. They will eat non kosher foods freely. They will do nothing to keep Shabbath day holy. Have christmas tree in their homes and celebrate diwali and chaturti as if it were their own festivals.
Sad part is they will not celebrate Jewish festivals like purim, sukkoth, shavuot, fast of the first born, destruction of the holy temple, just to name the less significant ones. I know most people will do something on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Channukah.
Less than 10% of the older generation and maybe 10 % of the youth follow the Jewish laws as best as they can. Other 80% is at risk of losing their Jewish identity, if it has not already happened.
How to reverse this? More after I return from dropping my daughter to school .
Sammy: How to reverse the tide of assimilation of Bene Israel in India?
This is a difficult issue to tackle and not sure if I am even qualified. I scratch my head as I think hmmm .... it is a problem like .... I can drag the horses to the water .... but I cannot force them to drink?
I look up to our elders and more learned to help us in this matter. Put down the indifference and grudges we harbor amongst ourselves and let us work together for the common benefit of the community. Otherwise we are all doomed to extinction.
I have seen a great force at work at Magen by our senior members where people get together for Shabbath morning prayers and people are encouraged to attend prayers, discourses and snacks.
The other way is to have the youth to spearhead this movement and unite themselves using the help of organizations such as ORT, AJDC, etc. I am sure there will be funding available for getting together for Shabbath dinners and other events where the Jews can get together more often and celebrate our festivals. This gives them an opportunity to meet each other and choose a partner who will be Jewish.
I will keep thinking about this but I need others to suggest ideas and ways that can preserve our Bene Israel community in India, help it flourish and multiply.
- Oren: sammy benjamin i do not agree with your comment telling shirley that converts are forced to follow the religion..it has never happened an di would like you to please clarify this with proof and if not take those words back.please stic to the points and not go in to different things of the topic..the reality in india regarding the ben israel jewish youth is not so good according to my information and so i commented...
Sammy: I am creating a separate forum about this as your concern about Indian Bene Israel is valid. That does not make guys living in Israel any superior than them. It does makes them luckier and smarter that they ended up in Israel. I am lucky too but I want to help them rise to a new standard which will make them proud of being Jews.
All these matters are complex and inter-connected and hence they come up in such forums and have to be addressed. To get a factual answer to your question, talk to a Bene Israel person living in Israel who has converted or is being asked to convert. Then compare the Jewish religious law requirements with the laws most average youth in Israel are following who are born to Jewish mothers and get automatic citizenship to Israel. You will see the difference.
Please post your results if they are different than what I have reported. I will verify them and then take back what I have written. Shalom.
Sammy: A comment from a respectable Bene Israel who lives in India. Hoping that our elders will suggest and recommend ways to address this issue. I am sending this out this forum to all the Bene Israel I know to reach out to a wider community.
Shabbath Shalom.
David: Dear Sammy,I think what you have said is the harsh reality. It may not turn out to be so bad after all and we may surely have a good number still following the religion. Like for example we know quite a few Jewish boys and girls taking up the religion and prayers in a big way. Also family like ours where we do endeavor to follow the religion incl all festivals, etc. Here the children will receive the religion and following same as part of the legacy.
But the overall picture does look grim and unless we all choose to migrate to Israel, UK., USA, Canada, Australia, etc we may have difficulty in following the religion, It may get difficult to get the Minyan or even kosher food, etc. I do not wish to think about those days but then we cannot hide from facts and feel the next generation will have difficult times if we continue to stay in India and then following Judaism may not be an option at all.
Best regards,
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-
Added August 8, 2013
INFERENCE:
Reality is I can get more attention when I post funny pictures and jokes than when I am trying to save the world. I will have to be be content that I have made my points and nobody has refuted them as of yet.
Either my message is not getting to those who can help or I opened a can of worms that nobody want to deal with. My whole life I tried to lay down the facts on the table so we all know what the full problem is, and it can be solved by knowing the facts and not hypothetical assumptions.
We will have to let time take its course and see how Bene Israel fare in the next generation. Maybe the youth are listening and will make the small sacrifices required to preserve the Bene Israel. I myself feel I am in exile where my family is probably the only Bene Israel family in the 500 miles around me. The nearest ones in NY city 507 miles away. In my school days in Vile Parle, Bombay, I used to say there is only one other Jew in the whole school from kindergarten to 10th standard. He is my brother. :)
Thanks to my family's Jewish upbringing, father's strong religious observances and my stubbornness to remain Jewish, I learned the capability to follow most of the traditions at home and have done so since I left India . It exposes my children to the traditions and awareness to where their roots are. I congregate with the local Chabad chapter for the high holidays as we do have a connection with the Jews worldwide, whether they recognize it or not.
Shalom and let us Fare Well.
----------------------------------------------------------------------Added August 8, 2013
BONUS For those who followed this post:
Links that promote Bene Israel information.
I would like to stay in touch with all the Bene Israel people and find out where they are located today. I post many more posts on my personal FB page. If you want to be my friend, send a invite and I will accept. (https://www.facebook.com/sammybenjamin1)
CLICK HERE >> Sammy Benjamin
1. Who is a BENE ISRAEL:
http://www.b-inet.com/sammy/who-is-a-bene-israel/
2. Article by Siona Benjamin in Asian Jewish Life.
http://asianjewishlife.org/pages/articles/AJL_Issue_6/AJL_Cover_Siona_Benjamin_interviews.html
3. A Tourist Stop for The Believers:
I personally do not indulge in such folklore and tend to believe it departs from some basic Jewish beliefs when we start offering coconuts and make it feel like a Hindu adopted tradition.
4. What is left of the Bene Israel in Navgaon and vicinity:
http://jewsofindia.org/photos/displayimage.php?pid=108
SLIDESHOW:
http://jewsofindia.org/photos/displayimage.php?album=9&pid=116&slideshow=5000#top_display_media
PHOTO GALLERY LIST:
http://jewsofindia.org/photos/index.php?cat=7
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