The Bnei Menashe Jewish community in northeastern India began preparing matzah for Passover on Tuesday at the Shavei Israel Hebrew Center in Churachandpur.
The Chief Rabbinate initially did not consider the Bnei Menashe to be Jewish, and their immigration was halted at the beginning of the 21st century.
In 2005, however, then-Sephardi chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar formally recognized the Bnei Menashe as descendants of one of the 10 Lost Tribes, although they were still required to convert to Judaism upon arrival in Israel.
The original claim of the Bnei Menashe to be descendants of the tribe of Menashe, exiled from the Land of Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire, has aroused criticism in the past.
“Passover symbolizes the Jewish people’s deliverance and it is a festival that resonates deeply for the Bnei Menashe,” said Shavei Israel founder and chairman Michael Freund. “In the far-flung regions of northeastern India, thousands of Bnei Menashe will sit down on Passover eve to conduct the traditional seder, which embodies the hope they have been nurturing for generations: to make aliyah and return to the land of their ancestors, the Land of Israel.”
Within their "exile," the community observes and practices Jewish tradition (i.e., observes the sabbath, keeps kosher and celebrates the holidays of the Jewish calendar).