Shavei Israel Newsletter -Jaruary 12, 2011

Envisioning the Israeli flag: Bnei Menashe artwork takes center stage in new Shavei Israel calendar

Bnei Menashe calendar

In addition to the multilingual siddur we are preparing for the Bnei Menashe (see the article below), a new calendar featuring Bnei Menashe artwork has just rolled off the press.

The calendar is the result of a competition that Shavei Israel held with the Bnei Menashe in India on Israel Independence Day 2011, and includes 12 unique artistic interpretations of the Israeli flag. Through their art, we learn more about how the Bnei Menashe imagine their future home in Israel, and we delve deeper into their vision of aliyah, yearning and redemption.

Now you can get a FREE Bnei Menashe calendar with their beautiful artwork! We will mail out the calendar at absolutely no cost to the first 10 people who contact Shavei Israel. After that, we'll send you a calendar for a donation of $18 or more. All proceeds go to towards helping the Bnei Menashe community.

For more information about the calendar and to see sample flags, visit our website.

Details on Shavei Israel's study program for the Bnei Menashe in India during the next month

Shavei Israel Director of the Bnei Menashe Department Hanoch Avitzedek in India

On Tuesday of last week, January 3, 2012, five Shavei Israel staff members left Israel on a six-week visit to the Bnei Menashe in India where they will be teaching classes in Judaism and Hebrew.

The group includes two Bnei Menashe leaders who have already made aliyah - Rabbis Gurion Sela and Yehuda Gin - who will guide students in Torah study. Two young Israeli women - Yehudit Eyal and Dalia Netzer Safrir - will provide instruction in Hebrew.

The focus of the learning for this trip will be on deepening one's personal faith, and Rabbis Sela and Gin will be using Rabbi Moshe Haim Luzzato's classic book "Derech Hashem" (The Way of God) as their primary text.

Read more about this special study program in India here

Urgent need: 5,000 prayer books are waiting to be sent to the Bnei Menashe in India

Praying in India

We wrote last week about our publication of a new siddur (prayer book) for the Bnei Menashe. For the past 10 years, the more than 7,000 Bnei Menashe still living in India have been praying using a siddur

that has the Hebrew prayers spelled out phonetically in the Bnei Menashe languages of Kuki and Mizo.

The Bnei Menashe are now ready to move beyond praying using transliteration, and our brand new siddur includes the full Hebrew text along with commentary in both local languages.

With the help of a generous donation and our own funding, 5,000 copies of the new prayer book recently rolled off the printing presses. But now we are faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge: shipping the siddurim to India. A container of 5,000 books weighs nearly 4 tons. For only $4.00, you can ensure that one of these special books is delivered to an eager recipient in India.

Click to here read more about this special project and to make your donation.

Roots #30 - Jan. 12, 2012

We are an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

Shavei Israel reaches out and assists Lost Tribes and "Hidden Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people. These include the Bnei Menashe of India, the Bnei Anousim of Spain, Portugal & South America, the "Hidden Jews" of Poland and others. We welcome your support.

Follow us on: