Are Gentiles commanded to keep the Sabbath? What about Joes? (1 January, 2014, 29 Tevet, 5774)
The Ten Tribes in the West are descended from Israelites. All Israel was commanded to keep the Sabbath as well as the rest of the Law.
Should descendants of Lost Israelites today do so?Â
Contents:
1. Introduction: Who is obligated by Torah Law?
2. Letter from "Andrew Hoy" about Joes and non-Joes Keeping the Sabbath
3. Reply to Andy on General Matters
4. Different Laws for Israelites and non-Israelites
5. The Sabbath and Passover were exclusive to Israel
6. The Sabbath is a Covenant between the God of Israel and Israel.
7. What should Descendants of the Ten Tribes who are not Jewish do?
8. Conclusion and the Task of Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations
9.YouTubeClip. Should the Ten Tribes Keep the Sabbath?
Addenda. We are not against Hebrew Roots Practice!
 
1. Introduction: Who is obligated by Torah Law?
This article was written in response to an e-mail from Andrew Hoy, quoted below. It raises the question as to whether all humans are obliged to keep the Sabbath or only just Israelites. A related query concerns whether or not non-Jewish Gentiles who believe they are descended from the Ten Tribes of Israel should, or should not, consider themselves obligated to observe the Seventh Day.
2. Letter from "Andrew Hoy" about Joes and non-Joes Keeping the Sabbath
RE: Brit-Am Now no. 2191. Ten Tribes Studies.
Yair,
I wholeheartedly agree with the comments of Michael Dubuss. But I do find
it to be disappointing/frustrating when Judaism is presented as "the
uncorrupted faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob". History and archaeology
seems to demonstrate that the Israelites (including descendents of Judah),
as well as the patriarchs, didn't confine themselves to black and white
clothing consistent with 17th century Europe. After living in Israel for
almost a year and spending time with the Orthodox community since then, it
is plainly evident to me that Judaism includes countless pieces of wisdom
and sod level insight within its traditions and teachings - but I think it
would be an exaggeration to say that Judaism is not without its own flaws.Â
I love the Torah and I love Jews, and have [been] blessed greatly by their
hospitality and insight, but some doctrines (especially Noahide laws) I
believe are contrary to your end goal of reunification of the brothers. I
am grieved to see "Sabbath goys" working within the gates of Israel and
hired to work within the gates of Jewish synagogues (or at the Kotel [Western Wall]). No
amount of halacha [Religious Law] justifies such sub-human and sub-animal treatment of
people - even if the Rambam or Rashi came back from the dead and proclaimed
it to be acceptable.Â
Ex 12:49 The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living
among you."
Ex 23:12 "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that
your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and
the alien as well, may be refreshed.
Dt 13:1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and
announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder,
Dt 13:2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he
says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us
worship them,"
Dt 13:3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The
LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your
heart and with all your soul.
Dt 13:4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere.
Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.
Dt 13:5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached
rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and
redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way
the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from
among you.
Shalom, and may HaShem bless you,
-Andy
====
3. Reply to Andy on General Matters
Andy Shalom,
We met up whilst we were in Israel. You came to visit me at our headquarters in Jerusalem. We are on friendly terms. You express yourself quite freely. I therefore assume that you will not be overduly offended if I express myself quite freely as well. You say you agree with the comments of Michael Dubuss.  Michael complained about the terms "Jewish" and ":Judaism" being applied to Israelites and the Torah Commandments. He also expressed his opinion that descendants of the Ten Tribes should be considered as obligated to keep the Law just as much as the Jews are.  In response to these comments we wrote articles addressing the issues. See:
Terminology. Are the Terms Jewish and Judaism Prejudicial Towards the Ten Tribes?
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/jew/terms.html
Keeping the Law. The Need for the Ten Tribes to Re-Unite with Judah
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/jew/need.html
Some of the Ultra-Orthodox do wear "black and white clothing consistent with 17th century Europe", but so what?
One gets used to it and even finds it more aesthetically pleasing than the jumble of colors and styles more up-to-date people indulge themselves in. No-one says that you have to dress like that BUT who is to say one should not?
Most of my earlier life I was accustomed to dress in an informal manner. Nowadays I usually wear a dark suit and white shirt sometimes even with a tie. It might be only psychological but I feel better for it. People seem to treat me with more respect. This is the way we are.
We in Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations never stressed the so-called Noahide Laws and hardly ever even mention them.
We do not think they are suited to Gentiles of Israelite origin but others may disagree.
Please do not confuse us with others.
As for the "Sabbath goys" meaning non-Jews who do work for Jews on Sabbath in certain specific circumstances, Â to a degree we may agree with you.
There are a lot of criticisms that may be made of Israeli society.
I personally would not want to change places with these "Sabbath goys". They themselves however do not necessarily suffer.  They are not the only ones who work for a living or who may have had to work hard. We all have had to, at some time or other.
The so-called "Sabbath goys"Â invariably prefer to continue working for Jews rather than for their fellow Gentiles who often treat them much worse.
You quoted a mixture of Biblical verses taken out of context from different parts of the Bible. You listed these verses one after another as if to give the impression that there was a connection between them.
This could be considered misleading (perhaps unintentionally)Â on your part.
4. Different Laws for Israelites and non-Israelites
The Commandment to keep the Sabbath is part of the Ten Commandments:
Exodus 20:
8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 For six days you shall labour and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work, you,your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
The key words for our discussion are "alien resident" in verse 20:10 above. In Hebrew it is "gereca". Literally this should more correctly be translated  as "your sojourner" meaning the alien foreigner who dwells with you. It is derived from the word "ger" meaning "sojourner". There were two types of "ger" in Ancient Israel: There was the "ger" who agreed to be circumcised and live according to the Laws of Moses. The word "ger" is sometimes translated as "stranger". In Later Hebrew such a person would be referred to as a "Ger Tsedek" or righteous sojourner. It was commanded that this type of person be treated with equally as to other Israelites. God declares HE loves this person and commands the Israelites to do the same.
Deuteronomy 10:
17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, 18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. 19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Then there was the "ger" or alien who remained an alien but had rights of protection and social sustenance. This was a "Ger Toshav" or "sojourner with living rights". He remained a non-Israelite and did not have to observe all the commandments though he had minimal rights and obligations of his own. An example of a Ger Toshav" is the alien residing in your town who was to be given the carcass of an animal that had not been ritually slaughtered as mentioned in Deuteronomy 14:21 quoted below.
Scripture often uses the same term "ger" to refer to both categories of sojourner. We may determine which of the two is intended by the context. In the Ten Commandments  the alien resident in your towns (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14) is clearly referring to the one who became an Israelite. This is determined not only by the context but also by the fact that the Hebrew uses the expression "gereca" meaning "your sojourner", as mentioned. [This expression "gereca" occurs 5 times in Scripture and every time it is referring to a "Ger Tsedek" meaning someone who has become an Israelite, Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14, 24:14, 29:10, 31:12).Â
Different Laws did apply even in Biblical Times for those who were Israelites and those who were not.
e.g.
Deuteronomy 14:
21 You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to aliens residing in your towns for them to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
5. The Sabbath and Passover were exclusive to Israel
Concerning the Sabbath it says:
Exodus 31:
12 The Lord said to Moses: 13You yourself are to speak to the Israelites: You shall keep my sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, given in order that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the sabbath, because it is holy for you; everyone who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any work on it shall be cut off from among the people. 15 For six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. 16Therefore the Israelites shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign for ever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.Â
The Israelites were commanded to keep the Sabbath.
It is a perpetual covenant and a sign between Israel and God. It is not obligatory on other peoples who are not Israelites.
Concerning the Passover it says:
Exodus 12:
43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the ordinance for the passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but any slave who has been purchased may eat of it after he has been circumcised; 45 no bound or hired servant may eat of it. ... 47 The whole congregation of Israel shall celebrate it. 48 If an alien who resides with you wants to celebrate the passover to the Lord, all his males shall be circumcised; then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it; 49 there shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you.
These laws of Passover more or less sum up the whole situation. What applies to the Passover is applicable to the Torah in general.
Ordinary Alien Foreigners are separate and different laws apply to them.
Slaves that belong to you have similar rights and obligations as you have even though they are not of the same origin as yourself.
An alien foreigner who wants to be the same as you can be accepted BUT he has to be circumcised and become one of you. After that he has to be treated the same as you. If the alien foreigner does not become as one of you through the said process he is forbidden to be treated the same way and should not be allowed to partake of the Passover sacrifice. This is what the Torah says.
Andy quoted:
Ex 12:49 The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living
among you."
Ex 23:12 "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that
your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and
the alien as well, may be refreshed.
These are two different verses taken out of context and separated in the Bible by realms of additional text.
Ex 12:49 is taken from the Laws of Passover that we quoted above. From the context it is clearly referring to an alien who has been circumcised and been accepted by the community.
Ex 23:12 refers to the Sabbath and to the slave "born in your household, and the alien as well". The alien here is also clearly one who is circumcised and who has become part of the community as outlined in Exodus 12: 48-49.
This same section of Exodus 12 clearly excludes aliens who are not circumcised and have not been accepted (12:43). It also excludes uncircumcised alien slaves (12:44-45).
Regarding the non-Israelite uncircumcised alien, it says explicitly,
"no bound or hired servant may eat of it" (Exodus 12:45). This is referring to non-Israelite foreigners in general even when they dwell with you and  are working for you but have not been circumcised and have not accepted the Law as required. The Talmud (Yebamot 71) examines this text and proves through it and through logical comparisons and common sense that non-Israelites are being referred to.
6. The Sabbath is a Covenant between the God of Israel and Israel.
 "It is a sign for ever between me and the people of Israel ... (Exodus 31:17).
The Sabbath indeed commemorates the fact that God Almighty created the heavens and the earth.
It should therefore apply to all of creation and be observed by everyone. The Torah however has limited, for the time being, the observance of the Sabbath to Israelites.
In Deuteronomy ch.5 the Sabbath is linked to the delivery of Israel from servitude in Egypt.
It does not pertain to non-Israelites.
Neither do most of the other Laws of the Torah.
Deuteronomy 5:
12 Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 or six days you shall labour and do all your work. 14 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work; you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. 15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.Â
7. What should Descendants of the Ten Tribes who are not Jewish do?
What should Descendants of the Ten Tribes who are not Jewish do?
Technically from a religious point of view they are non-Jewish and not absolutely proven to be of Israelite origin.
For this and other reasons they are considered Gentiles.
That, from a religious point of view, is the way most of them would want it.
In the future they shall re-unite with Judah. They will then Keep the Law of Moses.
If individuals amongst them wish to Keep the Law of Moses at present they must find their own way.
At present, we lack the sanction from heaven or from man to adjudicate on this matter.
Nevertheless, a realization of Israelite Ancestry may be the first step and should be taken. For this we have the right and obligation to declare things as they are: The Ten Tribes are amongst Western Peoples.
Brit-Am Hebrew Nations should be assisted.
The Prophet Malachi addressed these matters.
Malachi 4:
4 Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
6 He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.
Elijah (and others motivated by the same spirit as Elijah) will come and amongst other things confirm descendants of the Ten Tribes of their ancestry. This may be one aspect of turning "the hearts of children to their parents".
The word translated above as "parents" in Hebrew is "ovot". This also means "ancestors". Descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes should know who their ancestors were.
Then we shall ALL be obligated to keep ALL the commandments.
Meanwhile there things that our peoples  DEFINITELY  should do and others things that they should not.
Homosexuality should not be tolerated.
Sexual Promiscuity should not be encouraged.
Violence and Dishonesty should not be countenanced.
The list could go on. A whole litany of vices and sins that should not be allowed but are could easily be enunciated.
We should not dismiss this.
We all need to repent and so do our peoples.
The first step is to realize who we are and who are our ancestors were.
Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations is working at this.
They who are seriously concerned for the betterment of themselves and all the Israelites nations should help us as they can.
Whosoever helps us shall be rewarded.
8. Conclusion and the Task of Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations
Most of the  Torah laws were obligatory upon the Israelite nation in its entirety. This is the way it shall be in the future. Meanwhile they who believe they are descended from  the Ten Tribes cannot be absolutely certain of their Israelite Ancestry. Due to the uncertainty of ancestry and other issues they cannot consider themselves definitely obligated as Israelites to Keep All the Law. Soon this may change. Meanwhile we all need to do what we can as well as we can and endeavor to walk with the Almighty.
Our task is to prove where the Ten Tribes are, bring this knowledge to world attention, and work towards reconciliation between Judah and Joseph.
We should be assisted in this. We also work towards enhancing appreciation of the Hebrew Scripture in general. They who really believes in these matters should help us promote knowledge concerning them.Â
Malachi 3:
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,
Says the LORD of Hosts,
If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
9. YouTube Clip. Should the Ten Tribes Keep the Sabbath?
Duration: 21.17 minutes
We are not against Hebrew Roots Practice!
By Hebrew Roots we remain the practice of Christian non-Jews adopting Biblical practices such as worship on the Sabbath etc.
We think this is positive. We merely wish to distinguish between declaring certain practices in our time as Legal Religious Obligations for non-Jews or simply something that may be recommended as efficacious. We understand that they are not obligatory for non-Jews even if they are of Lost Ten Tribe descent. Biblical -type Practices may well however be needed at present to enhance Biblical Understanding and to draw close to Biblical Concepts. These are decisions that we are not to be involved in. The Bible does say that the Ten Tribes will return and will once again keep the Torah. It therefore stands to reason that the more familiarity that is acquired with Biblical Requirements, the better.
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