OLEH KHADASH BY PROFESSION?

What After Aliyah ?

G-d willing we are on the verge of making Aliyah, no matter what we will still make it one day. However just wanting to be in Israel should not be our aim. What after Aliyah will you do to make a living? Where in Israel will you stay after Conversion? What is the profession that which is in demand? etc. We need to ask ourselves every possible question prior to Aliyah.

Aliyah in one hand is making a spiritual journey towards holy hand. On the other its just going abroad (our of India). The difference is that we don’t have to worry about our tickets and lodging for 6 months. In any case we have to work for our livelihood wherever we are. What after six months are we going to do? Do we really think that we have to start from the scratch? Its high time for us to think of the future. Its crucial for every individual to get ready to face life out there.

Do we really intend to work as maid nurse? Or in a hotel? I don’t think so, I knew well that no Bnei-Menashe think of such in their life to work as a maid servant, not even in their wildest dream. But we do now in Israel. Many Bnei-Menashe woman works in Israel as a maid nurse. (I don’t mean to criticize them, but using them as an example) Do we ask why?

First, we work in such industry out of love for Israel and of being a Jews. Anyhow we have to work for our livelihood. We really don't care where we work as long as we are in Israel. We have no definition to express our love for Israel.

Second, we have no professional background to obtain respectable job. Can we ask further why don’t we have professional background? The answer is simple, it is the product of spending our time and our life in pursuit of leisure in Manipur (India). We never know what ‘work’ is all about. We now realize those were the days we could have use our time to garner and learn some professions which will help us live a better live in Israel.

Most of us seek on how to procrastinate time; analyzing and speculating the time for aliyah will not bear any fruit for us. Let time decide it. Its none of our business either. Its not too late to choose our  profession and anyone not too old to learn.

So Far So Good :

I am sorry to reflect Bnei Menashe in a critical point of view. Every coins has the other side. The good things that we achieved is that we never fail to be present at the synagogues and public gatherings and conferences. (May be to advertise ourselves and fear of marking absent?) In the past 6 years we can see development in the field of religion. Most woman take part in celebration of Rosh Chodesh every month and the number increases. Use of Mikveh, Torah and Hebrew classes, seminars, public gatherings on high holidays are worth mentioning.

Bnei Menashe in general are honest and shy, but they are fun-loving people as well. They love to get-together, visiting one another is common practice, sharing opinions and moreover they are creative in nature. Youths are the central figure of the community; they take responsibilities in religious circles.

After reasonable period of years of say ‘misunderstanding’ amongst different communities, we now compromised and we all come under one umbrella, not because we forget what we did, but we forgive each others.

Ever since, with the thought of aliyah and longing to go to Israel raise amongst Bnei-Menashe, 95% of the population practices Orthodox Judaism. The drive to lead all the communities under orthodox is conducted under the wings of Shavei Israel known as ‘Shavei Fellowship’. This fellowship is responsible for the growth and development of Bnei Menashe in religious field and each member are bound to teach Torah and basic tenets of Judaism, which I am part of it.

The trend of more Bnei Menashe heading toward Orthodox Judaism indicates their longingness to return. It’s not a good living condition or good life that we desire, but a religious environment, or simply to live in Israel is what necessitate us to long for. When the love for Israel becomes high, you will be blessed with a mind which will initiate the strong will within self to think of a way out to go to Israel. That is what I’ve experienced. The desire and yearn for Israel was so strong that I made it to Israel to have a glimpses of it, to breath its air, I feel like I finally got freedom. My experience in Jerusalem was amazing. I think I’ve got a taste of once in a life time experiment.

I return to India after 3 months of rigorous study of Torah in Yeshivat Mechon Meir, to impart the knowledge to my Bnei Menashe brethren.

Lastly, we the people of Bnei Menashe has the right to return in our forefather’s land. We feel we have been denied thisrights for a long period of time. We pray to our Jewish brethren to acknowledge the plight of us.

Help us to achieve what we have longed for thousands of years.




Shalom !
Yonathan Haokip

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ALIYAH EXPECTATION HANGOVER

Essential For Bnei Menashe in India.

  

The road to aliyah for Bnei Menashe will not be long. However we don’t know when. But there has to be answer for every question. Forget the “Hows” and “Whys” question, most Bnei-Menashe asked “When” will there be aliyah, will I be included? For the past 3 years (post aliyah of 2007) this question keeps every young and old with anxiety and self-doubt. This may be because we are too compulsive and in desperate need of physical and mental well being. It keeps our mind perplexed, a pathetically cool diseases seems to be affecting young people, which sometimes results in our life to engage in a unique social experiment.

Everyone seeks answers to this Aliyah Expectation Hangover. I know many of them over the phones, blog, tweets and facebook, to share their aliyah speculation anxiety with others who has the same crisis.

We youngsters are over-exposed to all these aliyah expectation stuffs and never ask ourselves How or Why questions. We must never forget that concern persons are working on it. They want to expedite the Aliyah process more than we want it to be. I do know many roads to Israel, which I believe anyone knows too, however the roads which Shavei Israel Organization is searching for all of us is ‘A Roadmap in Life’ as well.

Levels of expectation to be on board aliyah each year is on higher side every year. This keeps us in neglecting our normal ways of life in Manipur, surviving on a modest budget to keep us alive merely waiting for aliyah and not knowing whether we will be on board or not. Not knowing the answer to those questions leads to feeling of panic, confusion and lack of motivation to keep our live goes on. We must know that aliyah is not a way out from problem in life. We need to learn to accept the way things are. Why make ourselves victim of this diseases and allow our self to suffer when we can recognize ourselves that we are a slave of our own mind. Release those feelings and start a new life; a life of accepting the things that we cannot change. Else, I may termed our disease as a “Crossroad in Life” or that we are within an area or a time when a real world hits and we feel like we were forced with decision that we do not know how to make, Or say an ‘extraordinary depressing life’ ?

We are not concern about the determination of some people to silence the subject regarding the struggle of Bnei-Menashe to return. After 5 years of misunderstanding within Bnei-Menashe, decision makers of Shavei Israel acknowledge the problem faced by us. So in Aug 2007 (after suspension of Aliyah for nearly a decade), Shavei Orgn bring home about 300 strong Bnei-Menashe families. After 3 years passed no one but Shavei Israel still is the only one who denied ignoring the affliction of the people who are left behind.

We who are left behind can be awarded for our long ‘struggle and patience’ to return to the Promised Land. Everyone set his/her own expectation for the next aliyah. No one knows who will be on board. The whistle blow harder as time passed by. Increasing numbers of youngster get married to be entitled to get the benefit of aliyah, as no youngster without families are allow, for some reason. In some respect this relationship offers both young couples a perfect way to coup up with the life and present situation. But there is a gloomier side to choosing marriage as an option to get on board aliyah. What if things go wrong and they are excluded? Overall of my experience taught me that things like this go wrong when couples did not live up to the mark that they have been expected of.

I sometime wondered why G-d wants us to wait for more than 20 years in India. There are many people asking the same question. How long do we wait? May be the time for us is not ripe yet. May be G-d wants us to do something more or to accomplish certain task for the benefit of Bnei-Menashe. G-d has His own reason we cannot comprehend. May be G-d long for our prayer even more or reform our life better? With this in mind we comfort ourselves and keep calm. However, sometimes these product of thoughts did nothing to lessen the severity or duration of longing for the Holy land, which overtime leads to frustration and the thought of going astray; especially vulnerable to the youngster whose minds readily coup with anti-social elements.

So marriage is next to a “good thing” to deal with longing-for-aliyah situation among Bnei-Menashe. In one hand those married at least have opportunity to go to Israel compare with other parties whose fiancée or betrothed are in Israel, who are waiting for all these years, hoping for aliyah each year by saying “Leshana Ha zoth be Yisrael”.

May G-d bless us and hasten the redemption of the exiled.

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