Bnei Menashe tribe in India prepares for Passover by baking traditional Matzah

• Published date: 18 April 2024
• Author: JERUSALEM POST STAFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Shavei Israel, an organization that has been instrumental in helping Bnei Menashe members migrate to Israel for the past twenty years, describes how the tribe preserves several ancient customs. These include the removal of leaven from homes and abstaining from its consumption during the holiday, as well as the traditional Passover sacrifice

Additionally, the village's religious leaders engage in reciting a series of ancient prayers. Among these is the "Song of Miriam," a recounting of the Exodus story which details the liberation of their ancestors, the Menashe tribe, from slavery in Egypt, their journey across the Red Sea, and their ultimate arrival in Zion.

Michael Freund, the founder and chairman of Shavei Israel, reflects on the significance of these rituals: "Passover symbolizes the redemption of the Jewish people and thus resonates deeply with the Bnei Menashe," he said. "On Passover eve, thousands of Bnei Menashe in the remote areas of Northeast India will sit down to observe the traditional Seder, embodying the generations-old hope of leaving India to return to their ancestral land, the land of Israel."

Descent of the Bnei Menashe

The Bnei Menashe claim descent from the people of Israel, specifically as part of the Kuki-Chin-Mizo tribes from the states of Mizoram, Assam, and...