SIMEON GIN

Simeon Gin, born in 15 August 1961, married to Esther Thenjanem, was the eldest son of Moshe Isaac. From a young age, he had a fervent desire for anything related to religion. He grew up in a family of Presbyterian Christian, a sect which gives huge importance to its congregations undergoing certain kinds of spiritual trance in their daily services.

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At young age, during such prayer services, he was said to receive a revelation to keep Shabbat as a day of rest and also to abstain from consuming impure animals, such as swine. His father, Moshe Isaac, and his mother were astonished upon hearing the revelation.

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 In 1968, the family left the Presbyterian Church to join the Seventh-day Adventist which was under the spiritual leadership of Thangkamlo and Thangruma, and what follows was a complete transition in their religious beliefs. From then on, not only did they started observing the Shabbat, they also begin to refrain from consuming biblically impure animals, though still acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah.

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The early 70s saw a huge surge of interest and an awakening, the kind of which was never seen before, in the Shabbatical movement in NE India. On October 10, 1974, after splitting from the Manipur Jews Organisation (MJO), a large group of people with affiliation to the movement established a new organization, the United Jews of North East India (UJNEI). Their primary purpose was to unify numerous pro-Judaic groups (Refer to Chapter 12 of Menashe Manmasi's the Lost Tribe of Israel for further details).

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In 1976, the Gin family experienced a significant turning point when the UJNEI organization dispatched T. Daniel to Mumbai. This was T. Daniel's final trip to Mumbai and concluded the numerous trips related to his research project on lost tribes of Israel, during which he was to acquire a small Sefer Torah, tefillin, Tzitzith, and various Jewish texts.

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T. Daniel was accompanied by the Moshe Isaac family, who were embarking on their Aliyah to Israel.

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The Gin family was prompted by a revelation received by Miriam Gin (mother of Simon Gin) during her spiritual trance, which she believed was a genuine message from God. The revelation instructed her family to immigrate to Israel, or else it could lead to the potential loss of her youngest son.

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Nevertheless, the Gin family was unable to realize their ambitions as their hope of emigrating to the Promised Land was thwarted. Upon arriving in Bombay without legal travel documents (passport, visa, etc.), they were unable to proceed farther in their pursuit of the holy land.

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Furthermore, Israel was not yet accessible for the Bnei Menashe tribe during their observance of Shabbat and the laws outlined in the Tanakh, coupled with their belief in Jesus.

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Despite their disappointment, the Gin family remained undeterred by the unfolding circumstances. Instead, they renounce their belief in Jesus and embrace Judaism, and also undergo circumcision with T. Daniel.

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The Brith was performed by Dr. B. Kollet, a highly skilled mohel. It is noteworthy that although T. Daniel initiated the fundamental practices of Judaism after returning from Bombay in 1973 and expressed the necessity of circumcision while renouncing the belief in Jesus as the Messiah, he was only able to complete the procedure in 1976 together with the family of Moshe Isaac.

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 T. Daniel arrived in Manipur on Chol hamoed Pesach accompanied by a Sefer Torah and various Jewish sacred objects. A grand feast was held on 21st day of the month of Nissan, 5736 (21 April, 1976) to celebrate and honour the reception of the Torah by slaughtering an ox and two heifers, The day marks the rebirth of Judaism among the Bnei Menashe community, Moshe Isaac Gin and his family sojourned in Bombay for over a month prior to returning to Manipur on May 26, 1976.

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The year 1981 marked a significant event in Simeon Gin's life when the organization UJNEI received a message from Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail regarding the dispatch of youth to study in Israel. The community selected Gideon Rei Vankhuma and Simeon Gin, who departed from Imphal airport on January 8, 1981. Rabbi Avichail received them at Ben Gurion Airport on January 14, 1981, and subsequently enrolled them in Machon Meir Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

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On August 20, 1982 (Rosh Chodesh Elul, 5742) a Beit Din headed by Rabbi Yekhiel Yitzkhak Levi formally approved the conversion of Shimon Gin. He was the first Bnei Menashe to undergo Jewish conversion in Israel; the event should not be misconstrued as some groups claim to have undergone conversion in Mumbai in the late 1970s, as their conversion was not recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He was also conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) becoming the first Bnei Menashe to serve in the IDF.

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Simeon Gin returned to Manipur in November 1984, where his influence as a community leader was immediately felt. He left for Bombay in 1985 to study at the ORT Institute and returned in 1988 after completing a Diploma in Craftmanship there. Upon his return, he served as a leader of the Bnei Menashe community and head Khazzan until his Aliyah to Eretz Israel.

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 In December 1989, he wed Esther Thenjanem in a Jewish ceremony at Beith Shalom synagogue in B. Vengnuom.

In January 1997, nearly two decades after coming back to India, Simeon Gin makes Aliyah to Eretz Israel. This time with his beloved family, under the guidance and assistance of Amishav, an organization founded and led by the late Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail. The couple were blessed with four children, of which two  – Betzalel and Niang Ruby, were born in India, and the other two - Avraham Gin and Edna Lhingneihoi Gin, born in the holy land. The family settled and live in Kiryat Arba, Hebron since then.

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On November 19, 2010, tragedy struck Shimon Gin and his family. Shimon Gin and his wife, accompanied by his mom and a relative, visited Beit-el to attend a funeral. On their way back home, in the midst of the highway connecting Jerusalem and Kiryat Arba, an Arab terrorist rammed his vehicle onto theirs, resulting in the untimely death of Shimon Gin.

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The mortal remain of Shimon Gin was buried in the Givat Shaul Cemetery in Jerusalem. He was eulogized by the entire Bnei Menashe community worldwide, leaving behind an indelible legacy that will never be forgotten.