Research Sources from Brit-Am Now nos. 1624-1700 (5 August, 2015, 20 Av, 5775)
Contents:
1. 1627.2. New Entry: Early Israelite Origins Belief in England.
2. 1647. 3. Bagpipes in the Bible. Rashi; A New Source
3. Traditions of Israelite Descent in England
4. Messiah son of Joseph identifies who belongs to which Tribes?
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1. 1627.2. New Entry: Early Israelite Origins Belief in England.
Thomas Tarry 1650
Thomas Vernier 1657
British Israel, Edward Hine
The following entries have been added to our article:
Traditions of Israelite Descent in England
http://www.britam.org/countries/england.html
Extracts:
In a tract published in 1650, Tarry describes himself as a descendant of the tribe of Reuben and High Priest of the Jews. Shortly afterwards he was drowned when he set out in a small boat in order to call the Jews of Holland to organise an expedition to reconquer the Holy Land.
# A simultaneous phenomenon was the rise of British-Israelism. Its origins go back to the beginnings of Puritanism and, at a later stage, to Richard Brothers (see p. 43), but as a sect British-Israel did not come into being until the middle of the nineteenth century. The year 1845 saw the publication of the first systematic work of this eccentric school, John Wilson's Our Israelitish Origin. The followers of the new creed claimed that the ancestors of the Saxon races appeared in the seventh, or eighth century B.C.E.: at the very place in Asia to which the inhabitants of the Israelitish Kingdom had been removed early in the eighth century. For Israel thus rediscovered in the English people the originators of the theory laid claim to the blessings of Abraham and asserted that it would also perform the Restoration of the descendants of Judah and Levi. "The Jews most assuredly will return to Judaea, but not until we ourselves restore them", said Edward Hine, one of the exponents of British-Israelism.
1643. 2. Cristian Sildan: Israelites and Others in Rumania.
Peace to everybody,
Concerning Matthew's question, there is a quite interesting element to that, here in Romania there are many Scythian and various megalithical tumuli and other remains.
In our folklore, our peasants refer to them as "the cities of the Jews/Giants, the tombs of the Jews, the remains from the time we were Jews".
I think the idea of the Dacians being a variety of Scythians/hebrews is quite exact.
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2. 1647. 3. Bagpipes in the Bible. Rashi; A New Source
In the past we wrote on several occasions concerning the bagpipe in the Bible, e.g.
http://britam.org/samuel-10.html
[1-Samuel 10:5] AFTER THAT THOU SHALT COME TO THE HILL OF GOD, WHERE IS THE GARRISON OF THE PHILISTINES: AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, WHEN THOU ART COME THITHER TO THE CITY, THAT THOU SHALT MEET A COMPANY OF PROPHETS COMING DOWN FROM THE HIGH PLACE WITH A PSALTERY, AND A TABRET, AND A PIPE, AND A HARP, BEFORE THEM; AND THEY SHALL PROPHESY:
The Prophets would play music to make them happy and enable them to reach spiritual enlightenment.
Happiness is conducive to the spirit of Prophecy (Talmud, Shabbat 72), cf. 2-Kings 3:15.
## PSALTERY ## Hebrew "Navel" which presumably derives from the root "HeVeL" meaning air, or hot air and therefore the word is related to a wind instrument. On the other hand "navel" also means the stomach of a sheep that was used to hold water or wine (see above, 1-Samuel 10:3). The bag-pipes are also based on the principle of blowing through a pipe into a sheep's skin. There are those who say that "Navel" means bag-pipe.
See the Brit-Am Commentary to Daniel 3:5.
The bag-pipes did originate in the Middle East area. On the other hand the term "Navel" in Second Temple Times may also have been applied to some kind of stringed instrument though in the light of present findings "bagpipes" appears the most probable.
Recently we happened across a source that made us look at the subject again:
The question hinges around the meaning of the word "navel" also transliterated "Nabal", "nevel, or "nebel".
Iben Shushan (New Concordance) explains "nabal" to mean a stringed instrument.
Jastrow ("Dictionary of the Talmud") tries to cover all the options:
1) leather bottle...
2) a hollow musical instrument lyre (with a leather body)...
3) a leather wind instrument, a sort of bellows...
Recently I heard the opinion that "nabal" means bagpipes such as those used in Scotland.
This opinion was expressed while explaining the source below.
The Talmud (Zevachim 68;a) speaks of the ram while alive makes only one sound but when it is dead it makes seven.
Rashi explains that from the body of a ram seven musical instruments are produced:
# Its two horns make two trumpets,..its skin makes drums, its intestines make nabalim [i.e. bagpipes], its small intestines to make musical strings, ...
A certain Rabbi giving a lesson on this source said that nabalim (plural of "nabal") means bagpipes such those used in Scotland.
He also said that the earliest Scottish bagpipes were made from the intestines of sheep. We have not been able to corroborate this source so have refrained from quoting the Rabbi by name.
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3. Traditions of Israelite Descent in England
1660. 3. Additions to Article:
Traditions of Israelite Descent in England
http://www.britam.org/countries/
england.html
Notable adherents
http://www.britam.org/countries/
england.html#Notable
Notable Adherents Added by Brit-Am.
http://www.britam.org/countries
/england.html#2Notable
Extracts:
Lord John Fisher (1841-1920)
British admiral, First Sea Lord before and into World War-1, closely associated with Winston Churchill.
# The argumentative, energetic, reform-minded Fisher is often considered the second most important figure in British naval history, after Lord Nelson.#
His belief that the British were from the Lost Ten Tribes and brothers to the Jews was well-known and is mentioned on the first page of "The Six-Day War" by Winston Churchill, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill.
Colonel Richard Henry Meinertzhagen
CBE DSO (1878 - 1967) was a British soldier, intelligence officer and ornithologist. Great courage and innovative unconventional military skills of historical significance. A fervant supporter of the Jewish people and of Zionism.
Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson, DSO (1867 - 1947).
...a major figure in Zionism as the commander of both the Zion Mule Corps and the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (aka Jewish Legion[3] of the British Army) in World War One, which would eventually serve as the foundation of the Israeli Defence Force....
Major-General Orde Charles Wingate, DSO and two bars (1903 -1944)
... A highly religious Christian, Wingate became a supporter of Zionism, seeing it as his religious duty to help the Jewish community...
William Morris "Billy" Hughes,
CH, KC (25 September 1862 - 28 October 1952), Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia....
Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936) was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist.
Israel Zangwill (1864 - 1926) was a British Jewish humourist and writer important in Jewish circles.
ED KOCH, former Jewish Mayor of New York City......
Professor Roger Rusk (1906-1994), brother of former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk.....
Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911- 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981-1989)....
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4. Messiah son of Joseph identifies who belongs to which Tribes?
1664.3. Interesting Source of Value: "Yechezkel" by Rabbi Moshe Eisemann.
Messiah Son of Joseph to determine Tribal origin of Israelites?
This is an English-language "Artscroll" Commentary on the Biblical Book of Ezekiel. It is quite good.
The commentary on Ezekiel 37 and 38 was of great interest to us. It includes information and opinions of value concerning the Return of the Ten Tribes and the Wars of Gog and Magog as well as much else of great value.
It is commonly held that the Messiah Son of David (or his agents) will tell each and every Israelite which Israelite Tribe they pertain to.
This is referred to in the Talmud and Maimonides declares this as a legal principle! They quote from Malachi 3:3 which speaks of the Levites but by implications encompasses all of Israel.
Eisemann however quotes (p.579) from a Midrashic source (Pirkei Heichalos 39:1) that due to the Messiah son of Joseph,
# all of Israel will be identified by their correct families. #
It is obvious that the Midrash is of less authority and of uncertain reliability. Nevertheless, who knows?
Perhaps the Messiah son of Joseph will begin the process and the Messiah son of David complete it?
Or give it final authoritization?