From the Amazon to Israel: A Tribe’s Journey to Judaism

Gamliel Shiloh was born in Peru to an indigenous family. His parents named him Gamliel at birth. In his community, it was completely normal for children to be given names from the Bible. In fact, this community lived their lives according to the Torah as they understood it, even though they were not yet Jewish.

How did a group of indigenous Peruvians become so devoted to Torah? Gamliel says it all began in 1948. "It started with my grandparents and their friends," he explains. "They were very religious Catholics. But they didn’t only study the New Testament. They studied the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible) deeply, and the more they studied, the more questions they had. They couldn’t understand how Christian teachings could say things that were so different from what they read in the Tanakh."

They started exploring other Christian groups, hoping to find answers. "They moved from Catholicism to different Protestant churches, but still didn’t find what they were looking for," Gamliel says. Eventually, they left Christianity completely and formed their own group made up of several hundred families, committed to following the Torah.

They studied the Tanakh regularly and tried to live by its teachings. Over time, they added more practices they found in the text. When Gamliel was six months old, the community leaders decided that their children shouldn’t grow up among outsiders. "They called anyone not in our group ‘gentiles,’" Gamliel explains. "They truly believed we were the people of Israel, because we were doing everything we could to live by the Torah."

To raise their children in a Torah-focused environment, the group moved to the Amazon and created a kibbutz-style settlement called Hebron. They shared agricultural work and profits, and dedicated themselves to Torah study. But after five years, it became too difficult to support themselves, and they returned to the city.

Still, the years of studying Torah had left a deep impact. "By then, we knew a lot. But we also had more questions. Like the word 'totafot' in the Torah which refers to tefillin, but no one knew what it really meant in Spanish. We realized we needed to go to the source: Jews who could explain these things to us. That’s how we first connected with the Jewish community in Lima, the capital."

At first, the rabbis in Lima were hesitant to answer halachic (Jewish law) questions from an unfamiliar group, but they slowly began to understand how serious the community was. "Our first connection was actually with non-religious Jews," Gamliel says. "They introduced us to Jewish customs like the chalakah (haircut at age three) and archery on Lag BaOmer. They even taught us how to make Jewish foods like kugel."

Eventually, one rabbi began answering their questions. "I remember how excited we were when we received a Spanish translation of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (a guide to Jewish law). And we also got a Jewish calendar, so we could finally keep the holidays at the right times."

Over time, the community received many donated items, tefillin, siddurim (prayer books), and other Jewish items from Jews in Lima. When Gamliel turned 13, the group decided it was time for all the men to fulfill the mitzvah of brit milah (circumcision). "Finding a mohel wasn’t easy. Local doctors refused, but eventually, one mohel from the community agreed. He told us that circumcision was just one step, and full conversion needed immersion in a mikveh (ritual bath) and approval from a beit din (Jewish court)."

Even Gamliel’s grandfather, who was over 70, underwent circumcision. "We all understood this was our first step toward becoming real Jews."

How did the full conversion happen?

"We became something of a curiosity," Gamliel says with a smile. "Jews from all over Peru came to see us. Even the Israeli ambassador came. One visitor contacted the late Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, who had spent his life searching for the Ten Lost Tribes. He sent someone to live with us for two weeks and document our lives. We had a synagogue, we kept Shabbat, and we even read from a printed Torah scroll since that’s all we had."

The film convinced Rabbi Avichail that they were sincere and ready. He and two other Orthodox rabbis traveled to Peru, formed a beit din, and converted the first group, Gamliel’s family included, 26 years ago. Over time, five groups converted. Four have already made aliyah to Israel.

"We’re now about 270 people living in Israel, not including the children born here," Gamliel says.

Why did they decide to make aliyah?

"From the start, we knew this was our goal. To be full Jews, we needed to live in the Land of Israel. We converted in Av, and made aliyah that following Adar."

Gamliel’s group settled in Alon Moreh in Samaria. "We wanted to live there because Avraham, Yaakov, and Yehoshua all came to that place. Rabbi Avichail also looked for communities that would welcome us. Alon Moreh agreed. Later groups settled in places like Beit El and Gush Etzion. We love these biblical areas and are proud to strengthen the land."

At 22, Gamliel studied software engineering at Machon Lev and married an Israeli woman. "It was important to me that she be born in Israel. I felt that people born in the land, like the fruits of the seventh year, are filled with holiness."

His children are proud of their heritage. Inspired by them, Gamliel now lectures around the country, sharing the story of his community’s journey to Judaism.

And what about the older generation like his parents and grandparents?

"My grandparents were simple people. They were just happy to come to Israel. My parents gave up a lot. In Peru, they were wealthy. Here, my father worked with his hands. Life became physically harder, but spiritually it’s exactly what they were searching for. Seeing their grandchildren grow up as Torah-observant Jews in the Land of Israel is the greatest joy of all."