LI ARCADIA -- Home Care & Staffing Home Care at the Highest Standard A full service agency providing quality care for your loved ones. • Live-In or Hourly • No minimum hours • Complimentary Assessment • Ongoing Care Coordination • All employees are bonded & insured Two young children of the Bnei Menashe in India celebrate Israel Independence Day with Israeli flag face paint. Caregivers Assist With: •Medication Reminders •Safety Monitoring •Transportation Call Lynn Feinberg and Andy Roisman •Bathing & Dressing •Kosher Prepared Meals •Companionship (248) 594-4574 L 1942620 Rehabilitation designed to get patients back to living. Heartland skilled nursing and rehab centers provide a comprehensive regime of specialized rehabilitation services, each one designed to move you one step closer to your recovery goals. Recovery begins with our state-of-the-art rehab gym where our team can treat patients recovering from orthopedic injuries, stroke and neurological, cardiac, oncology and pulmonary issues. We offer: • Complex medical care • Intensive rehabilitation • Skilled nursing 13 locations in the Greater Detroit area Allen Park Ann Arbor Bloomfield Heights Canton Dearborn Heights Grosse Pointe Woods Livonia Livonia NE Oakland Plymouth Sterling Heights West Bloomfield Marvin & Betty Danto Health Care Center 800.800.CARE heartlandnursing.com Heartland 1996170 38 May 7 • 2015 Akiva students learn about one of Israel's lost tribes. Zoe Korelitz Teen2Teen Writer visit us online • arcadiahomecare.com I Jews Of India aura Ben-David spoke to middle- school students at Akiva Hebrew Day School in Southfield April 24 about her experiences working with the Bnei Menashe, a tribe of Jews from India. Ben-David, who moved to Israel from Florida over a decade ago, works for an organization called Shavei Israel. Started in 2002 by Michael Freund, a deputy communications director under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the organi- zation assists descendants of Jews and lost tribes of Israel in reclaiming their roots. The Bnei Menashe are a group of Jews in Northeastern India; they believe they are descendants of Menashe, one of the 12 tribes. Around 2,700 years ago, 10 of the 12 tribes, including Menashe, were exiled from Israel. It is theorized the Bnei Menashe made their way through China to India. In this isolated area, they were cut off from mainstream Judaism. Still they were able to observe many customs and holidays, such as Shabbat, Passover and kashrut in a primitive sense. They did not know how these laws had been adapted and changed. In fact, they were still giving korbanot (ritual sacrifices) exactly as Jews did thousands of years ago. When Christian ministries visited India to try to convert people, they visited the Bnei Menashe and gave them a Torah. The lost tribe was able to recognize some of their own customs and history, but believed they were the only Jews left. This all changed in 1948 with the establishment of the State of Israel. News spread worldwide, even to rural India, so the Bnei Menashe learned there were still many Jews. They tried to reach the Israeli government for many years, but did not receive contact until the 1990s. Israel was able to confirm that Bnei Menashe were descendants of Israel, but could not be sure they were technically Jewish. This is where Shevai Israel steps in. The organization helps bring the Bnei Menashe to Israel. The Right of Return — the privilege of all Jews to live in Israel — is only available to those confirmed to be Jewish. Because the lost tribe's roots can- not be traced, they do not have this right until they officially convert to Judaism. India will not allow them to convert there because of politics, but Israel allows small groups to come every few months. Ben-David had the opportunity to visit the community and bring 50 people to Israel. After four plane rides, she arrived to find an Orthodox Jewish community in rural India. She spent time there, includ- ing a Shabbat, to learn how the group lives. She says she was blown away by their beautiful community. Although they range from farmers to highly educated people, they all agree in their devotion Judaism and the desire to go the Israel. Several multi-generational families went with Ben-David to Israel. It was an emo- tional trip, especially after landing, when the group erupted in passionate singing. Shevai Israel set up the B'nei Menashe with essentials to begin their lives and learn Hebrew. Around five B'nei Menashe families move into an area with Israelis so they can both assimilate and maintain their communities and culture. Currently, 3,000 Bnei Menashe are in Israel, but around 7,000 are still in India waiting to make the journey. After three months, the official con- version is complete and the group has adapted to a more modern form of Judaism. Then the group visits Jerusalem, visiting many sites and ending at the Kotel (Western Wall). There the group once again bursts out into tearful song — they are finally home. ❑ Zoe Korelitz of Huntington Woods is an eighth- grader at Akiva Hebrew Day School. For more Information, visit www.shavel.org.