Brit-Am Now no. 2526

Ten Tribes Studies (9 November 2015, 27 Cheshvan, 5776)

The Tribes, special price, still available!

The present edition (no.4) is now available for $20 (for the next ONE day only).

The Tribes, special price, still available!
The present edition (no.4) is now available for $20 (for the next 2 days only, i.e. till 9th November, 2015).
The Tribes
The Israelite Origins of Western Peoples
http://hebrewnations.com/publications/books/the-tribes.html
http://www.britam.org/the-Tribes.html
http://www.britam.org/books.html

The Tribes, special price, still available!
The present edition (no.4) is now available for $20 (for the next ONE day only).
The Tribes
The Israelite Origins of Western Peoples
http://hebrewnations.com/publications/books/the-tribes.html
http://www.britam.org/the-Tribes.html
http://www.britam.org/books.html
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Brit-Am Now no. 2526
http://hebrewnations.com/features/now11/2526.html
Ten Tribes Studies
(8 November 2015, 26 Cheshvan, 5776)
Contents:
1. Answer Concerning Racial Color and Biblical Identifications
2. Question about the Levites and Judah
3. The Spanish- Still a Nation of Jew-Haters?
4. Japanese Celebrate Delivery of Isaac since he was the Father of Esau!
5. New Article. Hebrew Joe
Why the term "Hebrew" is especially pertinent to descendants of Joseph
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1. Answer Concerning Racial Color and Biblical Identifications
Stephen Phillips wrote:
Re
Brit-Am Now no. 2525
http://hebrewnations.com/features/now11/2525.html
#3. Proposed Biblical Racial Identifications

Shalom Yair

In response to your reply to Amnon Goldberg's question, I confirm that I agree with a lot of your identifications, but you are still going way off track, especially when you suggest that the Spanish are descended in part from the Canaanites. As I pointed out in a previous email, the only Canaanites to settle in Europe were the black Canaanite Berbers who conquered Spain at the beginning of the 8th century under the leadership of the Arab Ummayads (who were white-skinned Moabites), but who handed the land back to the Spanish in 1492 at the Treaty of Granada. Following this, they vacated Spain completely. That these Berbers were Canaanites, I would suggest that you read the entry under Berbers on the Jewish Virtual Library.

Someone recently pointed out to you that the name Moor is a corruption of the name Amorite, a people who appear as Amurru in the Mari Letters as well as in the Assyrian texts. I would strongly recommend that you take his comments seriously. Notice that the Amorites were Canaanites (Gen. 10:16), and whilst in Numbers 14:45 we are told that Israel was pursued to Hormah by Amalekites and Canaanites, in Deuteronomy 1:44, these selfsame Canaanites are called Amorites.

These Moors, who were black Canaanite Berbers, were in Spain for 700 years and after all that time, they still retained their black skins. ... please tell me where in Spain (or indeed, where in Europe) we can find any black-skinned people? - Apart, that is, from those immigrants who have arrived in the past century!
Regards,
Steve

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Brit-Am Reply:

Here is the source you referred to:

Ancient Jewish History: Berbers
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0003_0_02599.html
BERBERS, indigenous North African tribes who originally spoke dialects of the Berber language. Medieval Arab writers ascribed the ancestry of the Berbers to *Goliath the Philistine and maintained their Canaanite origin. The Phoenician colonization of Africa, the long Carthaginian domination, and the survival of Punic, a language closely related to Hebrew, supported these legends which spread among the Berbers themselves. Similar tales are found in the writings of Greek and Latin authors and in the Talmud which spread the legend that the Canaanites immigrated of their own free will to North Africa.

You seem to assume that Canaanites had all black skins and therefore anyone identified as Canaanite must be black!
The Canaanites according to the Sages were black but archaeology indicates that Nordic, Armenoid, and Mongoloid types were also present amongst sections of them.
At all events,
Apparently you did not read our recent article or missed its point:

Race Confounded! Similar Appearance versus Ancestry
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/race/jackals.html

There are three main racial types of mankind: White, Yellow, and Black.
There were three sons of Noah: Sem, Japhet, and Ham.
There is an overlap between the different types but this according to our understanding is coincidental and not intrinsic.

Sem is mostly white but darker types are also found, and maybe yellow as well.
Japhet is both yellow and white.
Ham is both black and white.

Racial color is an outcome of environment and other factors.

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2. Question about the Levites and Judah
Steve Mathe wrote:

Yair,
Why is the tribe of Levi not mentioned/counted in I Kings 12:23? I understand that most of Levi stayed in the southern Kingdom of Yehudah. Was it assumed that the Levites would automatically stay with Yehudah?
Thanks,
Steve
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Brit-Am Reply:
At the simple level I Kings 12:23 is referring to the period straight after the Division before the Levites had left the northern Kingdom and gone to the south.
1-Kings 12:23
21 Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin and to the rest of the people, saying, 24 Thus says the LORD, You must not go up and fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing has come from Me.

Some time later Jeroboam introduced religious changes in the religion and forms of worship. He then demoted the Levites.
1-Kings 12:23
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived[j]there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their LORD, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28 So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt. 29 He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 And he made houses on high places, and made priests from the fringes of the people who were not of the sons of Levi.

It was as a result of these changes that most of the Levites moved to Judah.
2-Chronicles 11:
5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built cities for defense in Judah. 6 Thus he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin. 11 He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and stores of food, oil and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in every city and strengthened them greatly. So he held Judah and Benjamin.
13 Moreover, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel stood with him from all their districts.
14 For the Levites left their pasture lands and their property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from serving as priests to the LORD. 15 He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs and for the calves which he had made. 16 Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the LORD God of Israel followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers. 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

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3. The Spanish- Still a Nation of Jew-Haters?

We overheard a News Commentary concerning recent attempts by the EU to isolate and condemn the State of Israel.
An expert on the subject was being interviewed.
He said that within the EU most of the anti-Israeli activity originates in the west in nations like Spain and Belgium.
The Spanish still have a pathological prejudice against Jews.
The same applies to most of Latin America.
See:

Spain: The "Most Anti-Semitic Country in Europe"
by Soeren Kern
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/2020/spain-anti-semitic
Spain is also the only country in Europe where negative views of Jews outweigh positive views; only 37% of Spaniards think favorably about Jews. By comparison, 36% of Poles have negative views of Jews while 50% have positive views; in Germany, 25% negative versus 64% positive; in France, 20% negative versus 79% positive; and in Britain, 9% negative versus 73% positive. (By way of comparison, according to Pew, 77% of Americans have favorable views toward Jews, compared to 7% unfavorable.)

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4. Japanese Celebrate Delivery of Isaac since he was the Father of Esau!

RE

LOST TRIBES - Japan. ISRAELITES CAME TO JAPAN
Arimasa Kubo
http://www.biblemysteries.com/library/tribesjapan.htm
Quote:
In Nagano prefecture, Japan, there is a large Shinto shrine named "Suwa-Taisha" (Shinto is the traditional religion peculiar to Japan.) At Suwa-Taisha, the traditional festival called "Ontohsai" is held on April 15 every year. This festival illustrates the story of Isaac in chapter 22 of Genesis in the Bible, that is, the story that Abraham was about to sacrifice his own son Isaac. The festival "Ontohsai" has been held since ancient days and has been thought of as the most important festival of "Suwa-Taisha."
Next to the shrine "Suwa-Taisha," there is a mountain called Mt. Moriya ("Moriya-san" in Japanese). And the people from the Suwa area call the god of Mt. Moriya "Moriya no kami" which means "the god of Moriya." At the festival, a boy is tied up by a rope to a wooden pillar, and placed on a bamboo carpet. A Shinto priest comes to him preparing a knife, but then a messenger (another priest) comes there, and the boy is released. It reminds us of the story that Isaac was released after an angel comes to Abraham.
At this festival, animal sacrifices are also offered. 75 deer are sacrificed, but among them it is believed that there is a deer with its ears split. The deer is believed to be the one God prepared. It may have some connection with the ram that God prepared and was sacrificed after Isaac was released. Even in historic times, people thought that this custom of deer sacrifice was strange, because animal sacrifice is not a Shinto tradition.
People call this festival "the festival for Misakuchi-god". "Misakuchi" might be "mi-isaku-chi." "Mi" means "great," "isaku" is probably Isaac (the Hebrew word "Yitzhak"), and "chi" is something for the end of the word. It seems that the people of Suwa made Isaac a god, probably by the influence of idol worshipers.
Today, this custom of the boy about to be sacrificed and then released, is no longer practiced, but we can still see the custom of the wooden pillar called "oniye-basira" which means "sacrifice-pillar."

Today, people use stuffed animals instead of performing a real animal sacrifice. Tying a boy along with animal sacrifice was regarded as savage by people of the Meiji-era (about 100 years ago), and those customs were discontinued. But the festival itself still remains today.

The custom of the boy had been maintained until the beginning of Meiji era. Masumi Sugae, who was a Japanese scholar and a travel writer in the Edo era (about 200 years ago), wrote a record of his travels and noted what he saw at Suwa. The record shows the details of "Ontohsai." It tells that the custom of the boy about to be sacrificed and his ultimate release, as well as animal sacrifices, existed in those days. His records are kept at the museum near Suwa-Taisha.

The festival of "Ontohsai" has been maintained by the Moriya family ever since ancient times. The Moriya family think of "Moriya-no-kami" (god of Moriya) as their ancestor's god. And they think of "Mt. Moriya" as their holy place. The name "Moriya" may have come from "Moriah" (the Hebrew word "Moriyyah") of Genesis 22:2.

The Moriya family have been hosting the festival for 78 generations. The festival of Ontohsai must have existed since ancient times.

I am not aware of any country, other than Japan, which has a festival illustrating the story of Isaac. I believe that this tradition provides strong evidence that the Israelites came to ancient Japan.
End Quote

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Brit-Am Comment:

Isaac was the father of BOTH Jacob and Esau.
The Japanese may well be celebrating the deliverance of Isaac since Isaac was the father of Esau.

See:
The Japanese are not Hebrews!
http://britam.org/Questions/QuesJapan.html

Esau. Edomites Today
http://www.britam.org/Esau.html

Genesis 22:
19 Now these are the records of the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham became the father of Isaac; 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, thesister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, 'If it is so, why then am I this way?' So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 The LORD said to her,
Two nations are in your womb;
And two peoples will be separated from your body;
And one people shall be stronger than the other;
And the older shall serve the younger.

24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
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5. New Article. Hebrew Joe
Why the term "Hebrew" is especially pertinent to descendants of Joseph
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/biblical-proof/joseph/josephhebrew.html
Extracts:

The terms Hiberi or iberi were applied to peoples of Celtic Culture in the west. Derivatives of the name Isaac were applied to the Scythians and part of the Celtic British.
The term "Yank" meaning "Jack" and short for Jacob is a name given to Americans. The Union Jack reresents Britain, etc.

Of these names the one name that was to live on and which was common to ALL the forefathers .e. to Abrahm and Isaac and Jacob was "Hebrew".

A leading Rabbinical Commentator, Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg ("Haketav ve-HaKabbalah", 1785-1865) understood that the name applied specifically to the sons of Joseph was "Hebrew".
He says that he received this understanding from the writings of a certain Rabbi Y. Ashkenazi.

Rabbi Mecklenburg comments,
"Let my name be named upon them" (Genesis 48:16):
All the Patriarchal Forefathers and their children and the children of their children were known as Hebrews. This was because they originally came from over the River (Euphrates). Joseph feared that his sons would not be known by this name but rather as Egyptians since they were born in Egypt. Jacob therefore blessed them that they would be called Hebrews just like the other Tribes.

The inhabitants of Britain before the Romans are known popularly as Celts. They however referred to themselves as "Iberi" meaning Hebrews. Their kinfolk on the Continent are also identified as Celts but there too according to place-names and the names of Tribes, etc., they also called themselves 'Iberi', i.e. Hebrews.

Jacob Tzvi Mecklenburg
http://www.etz-hayim.com/commentators/commentator.php?id=jacob-tzvi-mecklenburg
Biography:
Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg was a German Jewish scholar of the 19th century. He served as Rabbi of Koenigsburg, East Prussia for 35 years (1831-65.) He published Haketav Vehakabbalah in 1839. The work was intended to strengthen the faith of Jews in the authenticity of traditional Jewish sources, the Mishnah, the Talmud, the Midrash, and to prove the superior linguistic standard of all these sources.