The Way BACK is Through Self-Realization (15 June 2016, 9 Sivan, 5776)
[Isaiah 11:12] HE WILL RAISE AN ENSIGN FOR THE NATIONS, AND WILL ASSEMBLE THE OUTCASTS OF ISRAEL, AND GATHER THE DISPERSED OF
JUDAH FROM THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH.
In the Brit-Am Commentary to Isaiah
http://www.britam.org/isaiah/Isaiah11to15.html
we said:
OUTCASTS OF ISRAEL, = The Lost Ten Tribes who will be found gathered together in specific areas.
THE DISPERSED OF JUDAH i.e. the Jews who are scattered all over the world.
[Isaiah 11:13] THE JEALOUSY OF EPHRAIM SHALL DEPART, AND THOSE WHO HARASS JUDAH SHALL BE CUT OFF; EPHRAIM SHALL NOT BE JEALOUS OF JUDAH, AND JUDAH SHALL NOT HARASS EPHRAIM.
Concerning who did Isaiah pronounce this prophecy? He was speaking only concerning Judah and Joseph. Said Rabbi Shmuel son of Nachmanin the name of Rabbi Yonathan, When Joseph and Judah were arguing the Holy Angels said to each other, Let us go down and see what is happening. Usually when a bull and a lion confront each other the bull retreats before the lion. In this case a bull (Joseph) and a lion (Judah) are arguing and there is a standoff. Jealousy will continue to abide between these two until the Messiah comes, as it says, "THE ENVY ALSO OF EPHRAIM SHALL DEPART, AND THE ADVERSARIES OF JUDAH SHALL BE CUT OFF: EPHRAIM SHALL NOT ENVY JUDAH, AND JUDAH SHALL NOT VEX EPHRAIM" [Isaiah 11:13]. (Midrash Tanchuma, VaYigash, 4).
In the past Jeroboam the son of Nebat who was from Ephraim hated King Rehoboam who was from Judah. There was a controversy between them. In the future there will be peace between these two anointed leaders. They will not be jealous of each other. Concerning them, it says, "THE ENVY ALSO OF EPHRAIM SHALL DEPART, AND THE ADVERSARIES OF JUDAH SHALL BE CUT OFF: EPHRAIM SHALL NOT ENVY JUDAH, AND JUDAH SHALL NOT VEX EPHRAIM" [Isaiah 11:13]. (Midrash Brayshit Rabati page 147).
Everywhere you find these two tribes (Judah and Joseph) hating each other and antagonistic to each other, etc. May we infer from this that even the future Anointed Captain of War who will arise from Joseph and the Annoited Messiah who will arise from Judah will (Heaven forbid) be jealous of each other? No. There will be no antagonism between them, as it says, "THE ENVY ALSO OF EPHRAIM SHALL DEPART, AND THE ADVERSARIES OF JUDAH SHALL BE CUT OFF: EPHRAIM SHALL NOT ENVY JUDAH, AND JUDAH SHALL NOT VEX EPHRAIM" [Isaiah 11:13]. (Midrash Agadat Brayshit 63).
"EPHRAIM" represents all the Ten Tribes.
"WHO HARASS JUDAH SHALL BE CUT OFF": Anti-Semites will be punished.
"EPHRAIM SHALL NOT BE JEALOUS OF JUDAH": A lot of anti-Semitism is due to jealousy.
"JUDAH SHALL NOT HARASS EPHRAIM": Jewish do-gooders and hyper-active individuals etc sometimes antagonize other people.
This verse speaks of "Ephraim" (the Ten Tribes) and "Judah" (the Jews) as remaining separate entities sometimes antagonistic to each other right up to the end times.
In addition,
It may be noted that (Isaiah 11:13) in Hebrew is a bit different from the English Versions.
Isaiah 11 (NASB):
13 Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
And those who harass Judah will be cut off;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah will not harass Ephraim.
"The jealousy of Ephraim will depart," is juxtaposed to "Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah."
It appears however that the first instance means "the jealousy of others against Ephraim will depart."
Ephraim suffers from the jealousy of the heathen against it.
One of the causes of this is the jealousy that Ephraim feels towards Judah.
Ephraim strives to extends itself beyond what it is. Joseph should be Jospeh and Judah should be Judah.
The Jews are the Jews and they should be more religious and if anything more Jewish.
This is for the good of everyone.
cf.
Zechariah 8:
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'
"And those who harass Judah" in Hebrew, "Tsororai Yehudah" literally the "Oppressors of Judah.
This is juxtaposed to to,
"And Judah will not harass Ephraim. "
The expression translated as "harass" in "harass Ephraim" is "Yitsor" from the root "Ts-R-H" or "Ts-R-R" connoting rival, constrict. The linguist Isaac Mozeson would probably relate it to the English word "strait" and there is a connection.
Judah i.e. the Jews sometimes try to tell Ephraim what to do in the wrong context. Jewish do-gooders cause trouble. The people in question are usually non-religious Jews who try to both imitate and reform Ephraim. Sometimes they have a point but they should stay Jewish and channel more of their do-good inclinations into a Jewish context.
We briefly mentioned that fact that both Judah and Joseph represent universal principles and should strive to embody them.
cf.
Brit-Am Now no. 2617. Ten Tribes Studies
http://hebrewnations.com/features/now12/2617.html
#3. Spiritual Symbolism: Joseph, Sex, and Largesse
Each one has his own sphere.
Isaiah 11 with a few Comments:
Isaiah 11 (NSAB):
1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The future Messiah will be descended from Jesse the father of David (11:1).
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
He shall be Divinely Inspired and have outstanding personal qualities including especially the fear of the Almighty (11:2-3).
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
His ability to judge matters will verge on the supernatural (11:4).
5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze,
Their young will lie down together,
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
In the Messianic Era there will be peace and the strong shall not victimize the weak (11:6-8).
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea.
The entire world will have an awareness of God (11:9).
10 Then in that day
The nations will resort to the root of Jesse,
Who will stand as a signal for the peoples;
And His resting place will be glorious.
All peoples of the earth will wish to be ruled by the Messiah son of David (11:10).
11 Then it will happen on that day that the LORD
Will again recover the second time with His hand
The remnant of His people, who will remain,
From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath,
And from the islands of the sea.
The exiles of Israel will be brought back from Assyria, Mitsraim (Egypt or Russia?), Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the Isles (misleadingly translated in the KJ as "coastlands") of the Sea (11:11).
12 And He will lift up a standard for the nations
And assemble the banished ones of Israel,
And will gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
The "Outcast" Ten Tribes and the Dispersed of Judah will be gathered from all over the earth (11:12).
13 Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
And those who harass Judah will be cut off;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
And Judah will not harass Ephraim.
The extremism of Ephraim will depart and the jealousy of Ephraim by others will end:
The expression translated as "THE JEALOUSY OF EPHRAIM" (11:13) in Hebrew is "Kinath Ephraim" which means both his own extremism and the jealousy against him of others.
The Persecutors and harassers of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah and Judah will cease to perturb and compete with (Hebrew: "Tsor" translated as "vex") Ephraim. This indicates that right up to the very end some fiction will remain between Judah and Ephraim (11:13).
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west;
Together they will plunder the sons of the east;
They will possess Edom and Moab,
And the sons of Ammon will be subject to them.
Ephraim and Judah together will transfer the Palestinians by airflight to some place in the west. They shall plunder people of the east; put their hand on Edom and Moab (in the west?) and bring Ammon into subjection (11:14).
15 And the LORD will utterly destroy
The tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
And He will wave His hand over the River
With His scorching wind;
And He will strike it into seven streams
And make men walk over dry-shod.
16 And there will be a highway from Assyria
For the remnant of His people who will be left,
Just as there was for Israel
In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.
The Sea of Mitsraim (Egypt, Bosphorus?) will split into seven dry channels allowing the Israelites from the Ten Tribes who remain after the Exile of Assyria to pass through (11:15-16).