Hundreds of members of the Bnei Menashe group gathered in the small village of Keithalmanbi in northeastern India last week to celebrate the dedication of a new synagogue for their community.
The Nachalat Yitzchak synagogue, located in the state of Manipur near the border with Burma, was built with the help of the Jerusalem-based Shavei Israel organization. Shavei Israel helps "lost Jews" who are trying to find their way back to the Jewish People.
The synagogue was named in memory of Isaac Kottler, a Holocaust victim murdered by the Nazis in the Auschwitz death camp, who was a relative of Shavei Israel chairman Michael Freund.
The synagogue is the 26th one to be built in the state of Manipur, which is home to more than 5,000 Bnei Menashe, who claim descent from a lost tribe of Israel. An additional 2,200 Bnei Menashe live in the neighboring states of Mizoram, Assam and Nagaland.
Over the past decade, some 1,500 members of the community have moved to Israel, in large part due to the efforts of Shavei Israel.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Freund explained that Kottler had left behind no survivors. "May the prayers that are said here, and the Torah that is learned within these walls, serve as his everlasting legacy," he said. "The construction of this House of G-d, here in the farthest reaches of India, is tangible proof of the power of Jewish memory".
After Freund affixed a mezuzah on the entrance to the synagogue, those assembled accompanied the Torah scroll to the Holy Ark with festive singing and dancing.
In recent years, Shavei Israel has built two mikvaot (ritual pools) for the Bnei Menashe in India and aided in the renovation and construction of dozens of synagogues in the country. The organization also operates three educational centers for the community to prepare them for life in Israel.
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Topic: New Synagogue Dedicated in India for Bnei Menashe (Read 1275 times)