Ten Lost Tribes Challenge - India: Ben Hur loves Zion

Today we went to visit Ben Hur Kaoki, a Bnei Menashe man who is one of the most important figures in the community here in Kohima. The dilemmas and challenges that arose from this visit are described in my previous entry.

Ben Hur is an interesting character. He wears a large knitted kippa and tsitsit. He traveled for three days to meet Moshe, our guide from Shai Bar Ilan tours, when Moshe was here on his own planning our trip. Ben Hur wasn't even in direct contact with Moshe, he had heard through the grapevine that an Israeli tour guide was in Nagaland setting up a trip for Israeli travelers to meet the Bnei Menashe. Not knowing exactly where Moshe would be, Ben Hur traveled to several villages and asked about Moshe until he finally caught up with him. He is really, genuinely excited that we are here. And, as he says all the time, he really hopes he can move to Israel soon.

He opened up his modest home tonight to our group of twenty, plus about the same number of Bnei Menashe who had come to meet us.

As soon as we were seated down in the living room [I imagine it to be an all-purpose room when we are not there] our group broke out into song, as they are prone to do, and I love it, the spirit in this group is almost always on the verge of breaking into a song [obviously there are also plenty of deep, meaningful sayings and phrases from the tanach (Old Testament) thrown around at will pretty much all of the time which imbues this journey with meaning]. This time the song is "Ivenu Shalom Aleichem" [We bring peace/ greetings unto you]. How do they always find the most apt song to sing? But I guess the group as a whole is really living the promise that this trip holds: a meeting with long lost Jews. Everything we do builds up to these meetings, and when they happen they create a lot of happiness.

Even the little things that looked out of place, like the mezuzah that was nailed to the actual door and not the doorpost, didn't faze the group [although obviously they all noticed it].

What unfolded in Ben Hur's home over the next few hours was emotionally and spiritually intense. The Bnei Menashe sang us a few of their songs, written by someone called Anthony, who was Ben Hur's brother, and someone they regard as their tribal poet. Using a guitar and a beating drum, several of the Bnei Menashe, standing arm in arm, sang songs that spoke of longing to return to Zion, 'land of my brethren', and a plea for long lost relatives to 'come find us.' Hannah, one of the tourists from Israel, joins them and even though she doesn't know the words, sways and hums with them.

The songs are translated by Ben Hur's daughter Ruth, who is 22, very smart and pretty. She seems like a rare success story in this otherwise hard-knuckle town.

She already has a Bachelor's degree, is an English and Science teacher in a grade school, and is studying for a second degree in Human Resource Management via distance learning, and has a Facebook profile [we agreed later to set up a Bnei Menashe group on Facebook]. Speaking flawless English, she is also the MC for tonight's event, and she calls up her father to speak.

"Even though I am from a lost tribe and in a different land I never forger the traditions of my forefathers. Since the death of my parents and brothers I have felt alone and lonely, but seeing you here makes me feel I am not alone," the man of the house says.

More songs from our hosts. One of our group turns to another and says, "it was worth all the effort, every moment of this trip was worth it for this." This seems to be the core experience of the expedition, and this is only our second day. Moshe says we will have many more of these types of events in Manipur and Mizoram in the coming days.

As the songs continue, it has become dark outside. After a while the florescent lights go out, and it looks like the whole neighborhood has lost power, not that there was much of it in the first place. This town is very really a large collection of squalid shacks and simple brick homes built on mountain slopes in the familiar eastern style. There is not much in the way of electricity and running water here. After a few minutes candles are brought in and the atmosphere in the room takes on a soft glow, like Shabbat. We are all singing in candlelight and enjoying being in each others' company. Another Bnei Menashe song, translated for us by Ruth: "He travels from village to village spreading the message that they, the villagers, are of the lost tribe of Menashe. We will keep the oath alive until we reach the promised land. Why am I being detained in a land of gentiles? I have no peace, so I will go to my homeland. Oh King of this land, you cannot detain me like Pharaoh detained my brothers."  

Looking around the room I see just how engaged my group is. I'm aware of my own thoughts and feelings here, which go something like this: if I could just let go of my cynicism maybe I too would feel just as enraptured. But I can't, and I'm incapable of fighting it. The words to the songs seem very one-dimensional to me, almost as if they were written by someone trying to convince the singer of the song of something.

Back in the hotel later that night, my roommate Israel asks me if I mind giving away to the Bnei Menashe the prayer-book we were all given by Shai Bar Ilan tours in our packs. My first thought was fine, take it, give it to them, I don't need it. So Israel took it and gave it to the Bnei Menashe who had joined us for dinner. The moment after Israel left the room I thought: hang on, giving them a prayer book is really like proselytizing, missionizing. As long as we were giving them flags of Israel or balloons or pictures of the Western Wall, then we were on safe grounds. We were Jewish tourists visiting our long lost tribe of Menashe. But giving them a Jewish prayer book is another story altogether. In the end, I didn't run after Israel to stop him. I rationalized it, saying that converting people to Judaism is ok if they're already Jewish no? Since the chief rabbis had recognized them as the descendants of Menashe, then they're Jews, right?  

Rabbi Yehoshua Porush, who is the wise old man of the group and one that always recommends a song, says the appropriate song now is 'Yevereha Hashem mi Zion' [God blesses you from Zion' - and he tells the Bnei Menashe that are crammed into the room with us, and those standing outside, that we bring them a blessing from Jerusalem, "and we hope very soon to see you in Jerusalem. We'll pray for it." After singing that song, somebody else starts singing Jerusalem of Gold. The tourists are in their element, and you can see the excitement and emotion building up. Some are already shedding tears.

Through the singing, so that I can't hear every word but just catch the gist, one of the members of the expedition tells me there is an argument between those who quote the Tanach and those quoting the Kabbalist text, the Zohar, over the fates of the ten lost tribes. Apparently, the Old Testament, the tanach, says that the lost tribes will forever remain lost because they forgot their Jewish traditions during their exile and assimilated with the nations of the world. According to this view, there is no going back for them, they will never reach Zion as Jews. According to the Zohar, the ten tribes will rise again and return to Zion.

Now its time for gifts. The Kuki Welfare Committee gives us all shawls to honor us. Each person is called up by name and is given a lovely shawl in either black, red or purple. Almost all of the tourists say something for thanks after they are given the shawl. One of them, Yehiam, overcome with emotion, tells two of the young Bnei Menashe girls in the room that he is inviting them over to Israel for a visit, and he will pay for their flights and everything else. He turns to Moshe, the guide, and asks him to organize it. The girls are in shock. Edgar, a tourist from Santa Fey, New Mexico, gets his shawl and says, "3,300 years ago all Jewish souls were together on Mt. Sinai. We were split up for many years, and in this room we are together again. And I hope we will all be together in Jerusalem."

Yehoshua, Jackie Mason of the group, the wise old man with a ready collection of songs and quips, gets his shawl and says he wants to cry tears of joy. As he speaks his voice breaks and he does cry tears of joy. "I want to cry tears of joy that God gave me the opportunity to celebrate with you. It was my dream since I was a child that I would join with the ten tribes." And, gathering his strength through his sobs, he says, "Shechiyanu ve kiyimanu vehegiyanu la zman hazeh!"

Eyal, our other guide from Shai Bar Ilan tours, gets his shawl and says: "I am from Beit El, the home of [the biblical] Benjamin [the brother of Menashe] near Jerusalem. We have a Bnei Menashe family in Beit El and I hope to see the Haukin [Ben Hur's family] family as our second Bnei Menashe family.

Some of the tourists feel like they haven't brought enough gifts with them, but those who brought even small gifts, like an Israeli flag [that drew a huge cheer from the hosts] and red bracelets with Stars of David on them, found that these were very much appreciated. Every time a tourist gave a gift, or finished his little speech, the Bnei Menashe would all cry out "Toda Raba" [thank you very much].

I was called out and given a purple shawl, a happy color for me. As thanks, I said the first thing that popped into my head: "I work at a newspaper in Jerusalem and I will help to tell your story." I was surprised at the roar that statement got. I was really just stating an obvious fact, but I guess I might have imbued it with a sense of empathy for these people. Have I crossed the line? Will my stories about them be fair?

Another song breaks out: Am Yisrael Chai! The tourist group sings, the Bnei Menashe clap and mouth the words.  

Amir Mizroch is the News Editor at The Jerusalem Post, a writer and an award-winning blogger. For all of Amir's blogs and articles, visit his personal blog Forecast Highs.

PREVIOUS ENTRIES:

• How did a small tribe from Samaria get all the way out here? - Nov 18,2008
• Conversation with a Bnei Menashe tribesman - Nov 18,2008
• Indian airports spell chaos - Nov 18,2008
• News from Amman - the first stop en route to India - Nov 17, 2008
• Dreams of reunification and travel preparations - Nov 16,2008
• Meeting the lost tribe of Menashe - Nov 16, 2008
• Government approves aliya of 150 Bnei Menashe - Nov. 12, 2008