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Newsletter : 0fax0211.txt
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>JN Feb. 11, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 26
Rabbi: No Snowmen on the Sabbath
By IsraelWire
Former Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Mordehai Eliyahu, has ruled that it is forbidden to build a snowman on the Sabbath. In the wake of the recent snowstorm around the country, Eliyahu issued a pronouncement on "snow in Jewish law." He also ruled that it is permissible to play in the snow, and to have a snowball fight, but only if both sides agree, and that throwing snowballs on passersby is forbidden.
Battle Continues Against Hizbullah Targets
By VOA's Meredith Buel in Jerusalem
Israeli warplanes continue to bomb suspected Hizbullah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon, but tensions along Israel's northern border are easing. Residents have emerged from bomb shelters after feared rocket attacks failed to materialize.
For a third consecutive day, Israeli warplanes pounded suspected terrorist positions in Lebanon. During the air raids, planes fired missiles into areas near the Israeli-occupied zone in southern Lebanon. Hizbullah said they attacked Israeli positions inside the zone, but no casualties were reported.
Hizbullah has killed six Israeli soldiers in recent weeks, sparking massive Israeli air raids that hit power stations and suspected guerrilla hideouts. In the past, such fighting has led to guerrilla rocket attacks, but so far the border area remains somewhat tense but peaceful.
The violence has also renewed calls to pull Israeli soldiers out of southern Lebanon. The soldiers occupy Israel's self-styled security zone--a nine-mile-wide buffer strip designed to protect residents of northern Israel from cross-border attacks.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak has promised to bring the troops home by next July but wants to do so as part of peace agreements with Syria and Lebanon. A newspaper (Yedioth Ahronoth) poll published Thursday in Jerusalem found 57-percent of Israelis favor a withdrawal from south Lebanon -- even if no peace treaties have been signed with Syria and Lebanon.
Lost Tribe Returns to Israel
By IsraelWire
Thirty-seven descendants of the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel are due to arrive from Bombay at Ben-Gurion Airport this morning after centuries of exile.
The new arrivals, members of the Bnei Menashe, are coming to Israel under the auspices of the Jerusalem-based Amishav Organization, which is dedicated to locating descendants of the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel and returning them to the Jewish people. They join an additional 450 Bnei Menashe (children of the Tribe of Manasseh) already residing in the country.
"This is an historic moment for the Jewish people," said Amishav founder and chairman Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, who has devoted his life to finding and assisting the descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. "After a lengthy and difficult separation, the Bnei Menashe are being reunited with the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. Their return to Zion marks the closing of an historical circle. This is a triumph of faith."
The Bnei Menashe arriving in Israel originate from two states in eastern India: Manipur and Mizoram. Members of the Shinlung tribe, they have a rich oral tradition tracing themselves back to the Israelite tribe of Manasseh and continue to practice many uniquely Jewish customs.
Two decades ago, Avichail learned of the Bnei Menashe through an Indian Jewish acquaintance, and he traveled to India several times to investigate their claims to Jewish ancestry. After careful study of the historical record and consultations with leading rabbinical authorities, Avichail concluded there is convincing evidence linking the Bnei Menashe with the Jewish people.
Avichail notes, "The Bnei Menashe have an ancient tradition handed down orally from generation to generation which speaks of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They circumcise male children on the eighth day after birth in accordance with Jewish tradition. The Bnei Menashe conduct a sacrificial ceremony on an altar reminiscent of the ancient Jewish Temple in which their priest uses the Hebrew name of God as it appears in the Torah. In this ceremony, their priest invokes Mount Sinai, Mount Moriah and Mount Zion."
The Bnei Menashe are descended from the Israelite tribe of Manasseh, one of the 10 Tribes of Israel exiled by the Assyrians in the 8th century BCE. The exiles of Manasseh reached Assyria and from there, according to Bnei Menashe tradition, went to Afghanistan. From Afghanistan they went to the "Himalayi" (believed to be a reference to the Himalayan mountains), on to Mongolia and from there to southern China. In China, the group was persecuted because of its faith and forced to hide in caves (as a result of which they have come to be known as Shinlung, which means "cave covering"). Some 500 to 600 years ago, the Shinlung, or Bnei Menashe, began to wander toward their current home located on the border between India and Burma.
Upon arrival in Israel, the Bnei Menashe will engage in full-time study of Judaism and the Hebrew language to reacquaint themselves with the faith of their forefathers. To remove any doubts about their status, the Bnei Menashe will undergo formal conversion ceremonies performed by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and upon completion will be granted new immigrant status by the Interior Ministry.
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