The New World, Nachmanides, and Other Matters.
31 March, 2022; 28 Adar-B , 5782.
Contents:
1. TTs to Dwell in Corners of the Earth!
2. Nachmanides and the TTs being in the North of Europe
3. Who Was Nachmanides?
4. Nachmanides and Dwelling in the Land of Israel.
5. Living in the Corners of the Earth.
6. Biographical Notes of Rabbis Quoted.
7. Ends of the Earth.
8. The New World and Another Land.
9. The Lost Ten Tribes and the Atlantic Ocean.
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1. TTs to Dwell in Corners of the Earth!
We found an expression of interest in the Hebrew Bible. We checked the English Translations in BibleHub https://biblehub.com/.
The best and most accurate rendition was that given by the King James Bible. The KJB is based on the KJV and this seems to be consistent with Jewish sources more often than most other translations.
Deuteronomy (KJB) 32:
26 I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men.
The expression that concerns us is the one translated here as "scatter them into corners." The Hebrew word rendered as "into corners" is "Afeyhem."
The Rabbinical Commentators are divided as to what this word actually means BUT the major ones (Rashi, Rabbi Avraham Iben Ezra, Radak) relate it to the root "PEAH" connoting corner.
In Hebrew the "P" and "F" are interchangeable. The corner of a field is called a PEAH (Leviticus 26:22) and so is the corner of the head (Jeremiah 25:26, Leviticus 19:26), and frequently connotes the very end, the last corner (e.g. Numbers 35:5). The root of this word gives us the verbal form, "A-feyhem," i.e. "I will send them into corners."
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2. Nachmanides and the TTs being in the North of Europe
Nachmanides (RAMBAN on Deuteronomy32:26) DOES NOT explain "Afeyhem" to mean corners. He has a different explanation. Nevertheless his remarks on this matter are pertinent to our studies. He comments:
# Deuteronomy (KJB) 32:26 "Afeyhem"... there would not remain a remembrance of them among the nations. No-one would know where they are. This indicates the exile of the Ten Tribes who were sent to the River Gozen (2-Kings 17:6) that the Sages referred to as "Sabation" [Sambation, Talmud Sanhedrin 42;b]. #..
Nachamanides also said ("Sefer HaGeulah," The Book of Redemption, pt.1):
# The Israelites went into Exile and ever since then Ephraim and all [the Ten Tribes of northern] Israel have never [since] been in the Land of Israel. ...
# ..The Ten Tribes had already been exiled and they are still in Exile, in the area of the Canaanites, even unto Zaraphath:
'And this first exile of the children of Israel who are [now] from Canaan unto Zaraphath' [Obadiah 1:20].
#These places are at the extremes of the north. ...
# The general principle concerning these and all similar verses concerning the Redemption of Israel and the Fall of Edom and the like is that it is all for the future.
Nachmanides said the Ten Tribes in his time were in Zaraphath in the far north. "Zaraphath" in Rabbinical Exegesis and Jewish Tradition meant France (see Rashi) and the north or France and Britain together (Abarbanel). The verse in Obadiah 1:20 was understood as referring to the Lost Ten Tribes who were in Zaraphath (Rashi, Nachmanides).
Obadiah [from the Hebrew] 1: 20 AND THIS FIRST EXILE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WHO ARE IN CANAAN EVEN UNTO ZARAPHATH...
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3. Who Was Nachmanides?
Nachmanides (1194-1270) to Rabbinical scholars is known as the RAMBAN (not to be confused with the Rambam, i.e. Maimonides). He was born in Giron, Catalonia, in the northeast of Spain near the French border. Nachmandies has been described as "a leading medieval Jewish scholar, Sephardic rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator." He was trained to be a doctor of medicine. Nachmandies was recognized as a leading authority in Jewish Religious Law, principles of Faith, and on Jewish philosophic subjects. In his Commentary on the Torah Nachmanides stresses the duty of all Jews to live in the Land of Israel and to conquer it if they can. He also emphasizes that Keeping the Torah Law should be a prerequisite for living in Israel. He was critical of asceticism and took a sensible healthy approach to life.
In 1263, Pablo Christiani, a Jewish convert to Christianity, persuaded Kings James-1 of Aragon (who effectually ruled over Castile at that time) to force Nachmanides to publicly reply to charges against Jewish Belief. Pablo Christiani had been incited by the head of the Dominican Monks.
Nachmanides successfully refuted Christiani. The King and the Commission presiding over the Disputation acknowledged that the arguments of Nachmanides were the more convincing and awarded him a monetary prize. The Dominicans and the Pope however induced the King to banish Nachmanides from the Kingdom. After wandering in Spain and France for 3 years he went to the Land of Israel in 1267. He established the Ramban Synagogue that still exists today in the Old City of Jerusalem. [Actually the Jordanians destroyed it in 1948, and the Israelis have since rebuilt it. The same fate was visited upon all Jewish Synagogues under Jordanian rule, 1948-1967]. Nachmanides did much to regenerate the Jewish community in the Holy Land. He later moved to Acre (in the north of Israel) near Haifa.
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4. Nachmanides and Dwelling in the Land of Israel.
Nachmanides linked the surety of Israelites dwelling in the Land of Israel with Keeping the Law.:
AND THE LAND IS DEFILED: THEREFORE I DO VISIT THE INIQUITY THEREOF UPON IT, AND THE LAND ITSELF VOMITETH OUT HER INHABITANTS [Leviticus 18:25].
# Scripture is especially strict concerning sexual offences that if transgressed cause the Land to be polluted and vomit the offenders out of it. Are not sexual offences pertinent to the physical body rather than to the land? The secret of the matter, however, is contained in the verse,
WHEN THE MOST HIGH DIVIDED TO THE NATIONS THEIR INHERITANCE, WHEN HE SEPARATED THE SONS OF ADAM, HE SET THE BOUNDS OF THE PEOPLE ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL; FOR THE LORD'S PORTION IS HIS PEOPLE [Deuteronomy 32:8-9].
# The Almighty God created everything and made the power of [physical] things below dependent on [spiritual] things above.He distributed to every people and country its own angel. The Land of Israel, however, is the inheritance of God and unique to Him. God did not appoint over it any angel or other spiritual ruling power. God gave the Land of Israel to His special people, the seed of His beloved ones, as it says, YE SHALL BE A PECULIAR TREASURE UNTO ME ABOVE ALL PEOPLE: FOR ALL THE EARTH IS MINE [Exodus 19:5], and it says, SO SHALL YE BE MY PEOPLE, AND I WILL BE YOUR GOD [Jeremiah 11:4]. You shall not have any other higher spiritual beings [apart from God] over you, whatsoever. God sanctified the people who dwell in His land with the sanctity of sexual prohibitions and numerous commandments to be dedicated to His Name. It therefore says,
YE SHALL THEREFORE KEEP ALL MY STATUTES, AND ALL MY JUDGMENTS, AND DO THEM: THAT THE LAND, WHITHER I BRING YOU TO DWELL THEREIN, SPUE YOU NOT OUT [Leviticus 20:22]. And it says, YE SHALL INHERIT THEIR LAND, AND I WILL GIVE IT UNTO YOU TO POSSESS IT, A LAND THAT FLOWETH WITH MILK AND HONEY: I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHICH HAVE SEPARATED YOU FROM OTHER PEOPLE [Leviticus 20:24].
# God separated us from all other peoples who have guardian angels over them. God separated us by giving us His land and He being the only spiritual entity in charge of us [without any intermediary]. The Land of Israel, which is the inheritance of Almighty God, will vomit out those who pollute it. The Land will not tolerate the worshippers of idols, or the committers of sexual offences.[Nachmanides goes on bringing verses to prove that God has a special relationship with the Land of Israel and there it is especially important to worship ONLY HIM and keep His commandments].
Numerous other verses confirm and expand on the points raised by Nachmanides, e.g.
SO THAT I COME AGAIN TO MY FATHER'S HOUSE IN PEACE; THEN SHALL THE LORD BE MY GOD [Genesis 28:21].
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5. Living in the Corners of the Earth.
We saw Rashi (1040-1105), Iben Ezra (1089-1167), and Radak (1160-1235) all explaining "Afeyhem" to mean Corners of the Earth.
This is where the Ten Tribes were to be found.
Lost Ten Tribe centers include North America, South Africa, Australia, and New-Zealand, Scandinavia, and West Europe. These are all "corners of the earth."
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6. Biographical Notes of Rabbis Quoted.
[We received several requests to give more background information about the Commentators we quote from. Notes about Nachmanides are given above].
Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040-1105) was born and lived in the northern French province of Champagne. He maintained a center of learning and had vineyards. In 1096, the People's Crusade swept through the Lorraine (area of Rashi), murdering 12,000 Jews and uprooting whole communities. Rashi wrote several prayers of lamentation mourning the slaughter and the destruction of the region's great yeshivot. Rashi wrote commentaries on the Bible and on the Talmud. Christian Scholars were later very much influenced by the Commentary of Rashi.
Rabbi Avraham Iben Ezra (1089-1167) was born in Tudela in the Basque-dominated province of Navarre, in northwest Spain. He lived as some kind of itinerant scholar, scientist, and merchant. Iben Ezra wrote commentaries on several books of the Bible. He has been credited with inventing or improving upon astronomical instruments and wrote works on mathematics. Iben Ezra travelled very widely for someone of his time. He notes being in places as far apart as Egypt and India. He may have died in England.
Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi, 1160-12350 was a medieval Rabbi, Biblical Commentator, philosopher, and grammarian. Kimhi was born in Narbonne, a city in southern France. His father and brother were also well-known scholars. Radak supported himself by teaching Talmud to the young. His Hebrew style is of a very high literary level. The interpretations of the Radak are described as having become "the favourite of the translators of the King James Version."
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7. Ends of the Earth.
Related to being in the Corners of the Earth we also have the TTs being at the Ends of the Earth.
Most nations that contain a significant portion of Israelite descendants are situated at the "ends of the earth" as mentioned (Deuteronomy 33:17 "afsei-aretz," Isaiah 41:9, "katsvot haaretz", Isaiah 43:6) meaning the geographical extremities as measured from Jerusalem. This is how it was prophesied. Most of the "ends of the earth" belong to Israel. North America, the British Isles, West and Northwest Europe, Scandinavia, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, all may be considered "ends of the earth". In these areas most peoples of Israelite descent, from the Ten Tribes, are to be found.
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8. The New World and Another Land.
"Ends of the Earth" and "Corners" of the world are overlapping concepts. The concept of "corner" of the world has significance concerning the Classical Term "New World."
Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. At first he believed that the land he had come to was actually part of Asia. Other navigators followed Columbus and raised the possibility that it was not Asia but another Continent. Columbus himself in the course of time began to agree with them. Amerigo Vespucci, held the same opinion and in 1503 enunciated it. He referred to the Americas as "Mundus Novus," or "New World." Vespucci had participated in voyages along the coast of South and North America. The continent is named "America" after Amerigo (Americo) Vespucci.
The idea that "Another" or "New World," - a Fourth Continent lay in that area had existed long before Columbus but Columbus and the others proved its existence, described how to reach it, and established colonies within it thus liking it to Europe.
The term "New World" also has significance in agricultural terms:
Wikipedia tells us:
Asia, Africa, and Europe share a common agricultural history... the same domesticated plants and animals spread through these three continents thousands of years ago, making them largely indistinct and useful to classify together as "Old World". Common Old World crops (e.g., barley, lentils, oats, peas, rye, wheat), and domesticated animals (e.g., cattle, chickens, goats, horses, pigs, sheep) did not exist in the Americas until they were introduced by post-Columbian contact in the 1490s. Conversely, many common crops were originally domesticated in the Americas before they spread worldwide after Columbian contact, and are still often referred to as "New World crops"; common beans (phaseolus), maize, and squash, the "three sisters" as well as the avocado, tomato, and wide varieties of capsicum (bell pepper, chili pepper, etc.), and the turkey were originally domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples in Mesoamerica, while agriculturalists in the Andean region of South America brought forth the cassava, peanut, potato, quinoa and domesticated animals like the alpaca, guinea pig and llama. Other famous New World crops include the cashew, cocoa, rubber, sunflower, tobacco, and vanilla, and fruits like the guava, papaya and pineapple. There are rare instances of overlap, e.g., the calabash (bottle-gourd), cotton, and yam, and the dog, are believed to have been domesticated separately in both the Old and New World...
America is in effect a corner, a previously unknown "peah" of the Globe. It is also a "New World" or "Another Land" in Biblical terms. Rabbinical writers around this time (e.g. the Marharal, 1512 (or1526)-1609, also used the term "New World" when speaking of the Americas.
It is our impression that the Bible and the Sages in effect predicted that towards the End Times a good portion of the Lost Ten Tribes would be located in North America!
The Sages in the Talmud and related literature were not prophets. They never claimed to be. They usually disputed with one another sometimes in very harsh terms.Religious Jews do not have to accept what the Sages said. Only concerning how to keep the commandments do the Sages have to be obeyed. Nevertheless, even if a scholar comes to think the Sages were mistaken in some case or other he still has to do what they said.
The Bible gave them the authority to decide what the Law is (Deuteronomy ch. 17). Apart from that, students of the Sages come to realize that they did have a certain degree of Divine Inspiration. This does not mean one has to accept everything one or other of them opined but it all needs to be taken into respectful consideration!
Deuteronomy 29:
28 AND THE L-RD ROOTED THEM OUT OF THEIR LAND IN ANGER, AND IN WRATH, AND IN GREAT INDIGNATION, AND CAST THEM INTO ANOTHER LAND, AS IT IS THIS DAY.
The Sages (Talmud Sanhedrin 10) said that this Biblical Prophecy referred to the Lost Ten Tribes who were destined to remain in "Another Land" ('Eretz Acheret') until close to the End Times. This does not mean they were there then but rather that is where they would eventually be. A good portion of all the people who have ever lived are those alive today!
The word in Hebrew translated as "Land" is "Eretz" which can also mean "World." By "New World" is meant "Another Land." In Hebrew the word for "another" can also connote "New"!
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9. The Lost Ten Tribes and the Atlantic Ocean.
Other opinions of the Sages referred to the Lost Ten Tribes as being in "Afriki" or the Snowy Mountains apparently meaning the Caucasis.
# Where were they [the Ten Tribes] exiled to? Matr Zutra said, "To Afriki." Rabbi Chaina said: 'To the Mountains of Slug[Snow]' (Talmud Sanhedrin 94).#
"Afriki" has been identified as Phrygia in Turkey, or Iberia (Georgia) in the Caucasis, or a place in Media (Azerbaijan - Iran)
The scholar Francis Wilford (1761-1822) held that according to Ancient Greek sources the term "Afriki" could also have been applied to the West Atlantic shoreline including the British Isles and Western Europe, or by extension even America. In fact the Atlantic Ocean in Biblical terms is by some considered to be the Great Sea mentioned in the Bible adjoining areas destined to belong to Israel.
See:
Afriki. Tracing the Lost Ten Tribes
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/rabbi/afriki.html