{"id":51799,"date":"2015-11-04T14:49:47","date_gmt":"2015-11-04T19:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=51799"},"modified":"2015-11-17T16:09:37","modified_gmt":"2015-11-17T21:09:37","slug":"meet-your-long-lost-jewish-family-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/meet-your-long-lost-jewish-family-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Your Long-Lost Jewish Family\u2014In India!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Synagogue-300x200\"<\/a>
Magen David Synagogue in Mumbai.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Known for its exhilarating tours across the Holy Land, OU Israel thought it was high time for an off the beaten track adventure overseas. They\u2019ve set out to discover India\u2014Jewish<\/em> India. And unlike Columbus, they made sure to hire top-notch navigators.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky and Dr. Ari Greenspan, a globe-trotting duo for over three decades, are not your typical tourists. Ari and Ari specialize in \u201chalachic adventures,\u201d unearthing ancient Jewish communities where you never suspected to find them. For the first time ever, they\u2019re inviting the Jewish public to join them on an upcoming exotic escapade from February 3- 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be like no other trip they\u2019ve ever taken,\u201d promises Dr. Greenspan, who, when he\u2019s not traveling, is a shochet, mohel, sofer, and dentist in Jerusalem. \u201cIt\u2019s a synthesis of travel, Jewish experience and education.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the two, India has one of the oldest Jewish histories in the world dating 3,500 years ago, back to the time of the Ten Tribes. The group will meet the professed descendants of the tribe of Menashe in northern India; the Jews of Cochin, who arrived in 1400\u2019s and the Bene Israel, discovered in the 1700s who still keep Shabbos, kashrut and have payot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
An undated photo of the Bene Israel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The original members of Bene Israel to arrive in India were believed to have been shipwrecked on the Konkan coast of western India<\/a> more than 2,100 years ago. Losing all their possessions including their Torah scrolls and sefarim,<\/em> succeeding generations lacked knowledge of complete mitzvah observance. Some of them claim to be descendants from the ten lost tribes of Israel<\/a>, who disappeared from history after the northern Kingdom of Israel was overrun by the Assyrians in 175\u2013163 B.C.E. Whatever the actual story, throughout the centuries they\u2019ve managed to cling to the fundamentals of Jewish tradition including ritual circumcision, most of the fasts and festivals<\/a>, as well as recitation of the Shema<\/em>.<\/p>\n

From the approximately 67,000 Bene Israel living in India at the turn of the 21st century, only 3500 to 4000 remain; the great majority immigrated to Israel<\/a>. \u201cThis is a chance to see these ancient Jewish communities and their fascinating mesorah<\/em>,\u201d says Dr. Greenspan, \u201cbefore they disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants will also travel to the city of Erode to meet a former Christian minister and 1,500 of his congregants who decided to convert to Judaism.<\/p>\n

\"Tour<\/a>
Tour guides Ari and Ari.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

OU Israel enlisted the services of Ralphy Jirad, a Jewish tour operator from Mumbai. \u201cHe has dedicated his life to preserving the history of the Jewish people of India,\u201d says Rivka Segal, OU Israel program director. \u201cHe sees this as his mission; to remind people of what was. He knows anything related to Jews in India. He has the keys to every shul and he knows every OU Kosher Rabbinic Field Representative who has ever been to India. And it helps that he also has relatives and friends with every airline and bus company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Greenspan and his partner Rabbi Dr. Zivotofsky, is on the faculty of the Brain Science Program at Bar-Ilan University, hope to involve the participants in the day-to-day life of the Jews of India. The halachic adventure entourage will get to see Baghdadi communities through the eyes of Jewish locals; they\u2019ll share two Shabboses\u2014India-style\u2014with the natives, daven at a synagogue in the rainforest, learn to prepare traditional Indian\u00a0meals together with the community\u00a0women and take a memorable boat ride on the\u00a0backwaters of Cochin. In addition, the tour gives participants a rare opportunity to partake in a seudat shlishit<\/em> at the Chabad synagogue in Mumbai to honor the Jews who died al Kiddush Hashem<\/em> there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just a tour, or class; it\u2019s an experience, a halachic experience,\u201d says Dr. Greenspan. To that end, they will present enlightening talks and power point presentations on the halachic aspects of the places visited.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one has ever seen a real avoda zara<\/em> idol,\u201d says Dr. Greenspan. \u201cThey will in India.\u201d The erudite leaders plan to explain the halachic definition of avoda zara<\/em> and how it affects Jews.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll answer questions such as: Do the ten tribes still exist? Is Bnei Menashe really one of them?<\/p>\n

The OU Israel India tour will not only feature invigorating treks through fascinating and unfamiliar territory; the trip will also provide the creature comforts of home, such as five-star hotels with OU Israel-approved breakfast, lunch and dinners daily.<\/p>\n

Ari and Ari have traveled to over 40 countries together, researching the mesorah<\/em> of unusual kosher foods (i.e. cow udders and fried grasshoppers) and lectured worldwide on the exotic Jewish communities around the globe. Now, Ari and Ari look forward to sharing two unforgettable weeks in India with the Jewish public.<\/p>\n

OU Israel would love to introduce you to your long-lost mishpacha<\/em> in India. This could be the halachic adventure of your life.<\/p>\n

For more information about the tour contact\u00a0Chana Spivack at:<\/p>\n

ouindia@ouisrael.org<\/p>\n

050-229-4951<\/p>\n

718-506-9410<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Known for its exhilarating tours across the Holy Land, OU Israel thought it was high time for an off the beaten track adventure overseas. They\u2019ve set out to discover India\u2014Jewish India. And unlike Columbus, they made sure to hire top-notch navigators. Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky and Dr. Ari Greenspan, a globe-trotting duo for over three<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":52359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,1,83,163],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-israel","category-torah","category-travel"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Your Long-Lost Jewish Family\u2014In India! - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/meet-your-long-lost-jewish-family-in-india\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Your Long-Lost Jewish Family\u2014In India! - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Known for its exhilarating tours across the Holy Land, OU Israel thought it was high time for an off the beaten track adventure overseas. 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