Dateline Jerusalem — Israel always has been a melting pot of ethnicities, cultures and traditions. When five women from the Chinese province of Kaifeng returned “home” to Israel this week, the homeland of their ancestors, it seemed natural. In just the last year, 30,000 Jews from all over the world made aliyah, immigration to Israel. According to Deuteronomy 30:1, all the Jews who have been scattered to the four corners of the earth will return to Israel at the end of time. Although only G-d knows when that will be, the Talmud states that it will be before the year 6000 of the Hebrew calendar. We are currently in year 5776. This is 2016 of the Gregorian calendar, a leap year, but so is 5776 of the Hebrew calendar.
In the last 10 years, 19 Kaifeng Jews made aliyah. Under Israel’s Law of Return, at least one grandparent must be Jewish. One thousand descendants of the Kaifeng community today, the former imperial capital of the Chinese Song dynasty, can trace their roots to Kaifeng’s Jewish community, established by travelling Jewish merchants in the seventh century. However, because the young women who arrived this week are unable to provide proof of their Jewish heritage, relying only on the word of their parents and grandparents’ stories of Jewish ancestry, they will have to convert to Judaism before becoming Israeli citizens. Kaifeng has not had a rabbi or synagogue in 200 years.
Becoming Invisible
Having travelled throughout the Caribbean, I was quite familiar with the Jews and hidden Jews of the Caribbean. The Jews of the Caribbean can trace their ancestry to Bnei Anousim who travelled with Columbus and other Spanish explorers while fleeing the Inquisition. Columbus was a hidden Jew. When I was an attorney, I had a client from Puerto Rico who converted to Judaism. I asked him why he converted. “Everyone in Puerto Rico knows they come from Jews,” he said. “I just wanted to make it official.” Besides Puerto Rico, Suriname, Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Curacao, and St. Thomas US. Virgin Islands have large communities with Jewish ancestry.
Ancient Synagogues
In Curacao, a Dutch Island in the Caribbean, I visited the oldest surviving synagogue in the Western hemisphere. It dates back to the 1650s and was established by Spanish and Portuguese Jews from the Netherlands and Brazil. I visited the synagogue in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, second-oldest synagogue on U.S. soil. Founded in 1796, I was fascinated by its sand floor which allegedly symbolizes the Exodus through the desert by Moses and the Israelites. It is also said to represent the Conversos — Spanish and Portuguese Jews forced to convert to Catholicism during the Inquisition. Many outwardly converted but would hide in their cellars and continue to practice Judaism. The cellar floors were covered with sand to muffle their prayers.
Remember This Rescue?
Israel has often taken an active role in rescuing Jews from around the world. One of the best known communities came from Ethiopia. Most Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel or Ge’ez, emigrated to Israel during the last century. Israeli officials decided in 1977 that Israel’s Law of Return applied to the Beta Israel. Secret airlifts such as Operation Moses, Operation Joshua, and Operation Solomon transported the majority of these Ethiopian Jews to Israel. The Falash Mura are descendants of Beta Israel, but they converted to Christianity. They have the right to come to Israel under its Law of Return, but cannot be considered Jewish citizens unless they convert to Orthodox Judaism.
In Africa, other communities claim Jewish roots with thoughts of making Aliyah.
One of the most interesting aspects of African Jews are those from the Bantu speaking Lemba tribe who also observe Jewish practices. Geneticists found many Lemba men have a distinctive Cohanim DNA chromosome attributed to the Jewish priests descended from Aaron. The Lemba tribe live in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and South Africa. Igbo tribes of Nigeria, for example, perform Jewish practices such as circumcision eight days after the birth of a male child, observance of kosher dietary laws, wearing of tallit and kippah, separation of men and women during menstruation, and celebrating Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. But there is controversy as to whether the Igbo are Jewish. The mainstream Jewish community does not recognize them as Jews. In Uganda, the Abayudaya people, “People of Judah” or “Children of Israel” in the Luganda language, practice a form of Judaism which includes keeping kosher and observing Shabbat. During the persecutions of the Idi Amin regime, their numbers dwindled from 3000 to 300. The Putti villagers are undergoing Orthodox conversion and practice Orthodox Judaism in the hope of making aliyah. Other Abayudaya are not as strict in Jewish observance. Allegedly Jewish tribes in Cameroon and Mauritania contend they are among the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and descend from the tribe of Issachar.
Others claiming to be among the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel include the Bene Menashe and Bene Ephraim of India. However, the chief rabbi of Israel ruled in 2005 that the Bene Menashe will only be allowed aliyah after formal conversion even though they were recognized as a lost tribe. The Bene Ephraim have only been practicing Judaism since the 1980s. However there are several accepted Indian Jews, namely the Bene Israel who came to India 900 years ago and the Cochin Jews. The majority of both those Indian Jews live in Israel today and did not have to undergo conversion.
In recent years there seems to be an increase in the number of people claiming Jewish ancestry or those interested in discovering their Jewish roots. Not all intend to make Aliyah, but many want to return to the Jewish homeland of Israel. With world politics and conditions the way they are today, it is no wonder so many believe that the End of Time is approaching. Perhaps the influx of those making aliyah and those returning to Jewish practices are just another indication that the day is coming soon.
L’hitraot. Shachar