Lost Ten Tribes Studies (15 May, 2015, 26 Iyar, 5775)
Contents:
1. Question on Using Karaite Sources
2. New Article. Redheads in History
3. Proverbs 23: 26-27Â Honor Your Ancestors and Beware of Harlots
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1. Question on Using Karaite Sources
Question:
Would You Consider Perusing a Karaite Translation from Arabic of a Biblical text
 another translation brings out some nuances, e.g. Onkelos [One of the Aramaic translations Brit-Am sometimes refers to] ?
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Brit-Am Reply:
True. Translations and different sources can help at times. We also use sometimes use Modern Biblical Critics and even Christian commentators.
They have insights of their own.
Not only that but it happens that some of what they say was said by Rabbinical Commentators before them only escaped our attention and in some cases was otherwise virtually lost to the world.
Christian commentators can be very good and if we use their insights and research we unashamedly quote from them by name.
In general however we do not concentrate on these sources and do not go to them as a first choice.
[Nor do our Christian followers expect us to do so. They may have others who can do that for them.]
So too with Biblical Criticism which deals in misleading lies, falsehood, and haughtiness, but may here and there at the margins may make mention of a worthwhile point.
It is a question of Light and Darkness.
You can find your way around in the Dark but why do so when it is not necessary?
Our method is:
a. Understanding the simple meaning in the Hebrew language in light of our own learning.
b. Receive insights into nuances of the Hebrew text from Rabbinical scholars.
c. Consider additional Rabbinical commentary in some cases.
d. Take account of information from other sources concerning historical background, etc.
In principle we will look at anything BUT
the Karaites do not seem to have known Hebrew well.
 The text you mention is a translation in English from an Arabic source.
Some of the Karaites may have been Jewish BUT they were compromised and unbalanced.
Without the Oral Tradition there is no Judaism, no Bible, no belief.
That Christians do not want to accept the Oral tradition and Rabbinical Commentary is understandable.
Karaites are different. They chose to reject the truth. They did not have it hidden from them, at least not at the beginning.
HaShem be with you
Yair
ps. One of the best defences of Oral Tradition is:
"Collective Responsibility and Rabbinical Authority" by Yair Davidiy
http://britam.org/rabbis.html
For Biblical Law to be valid it should:
Correspond with the original Hebrew text and with inbuilt nuances of expression in this text.
Be accepted by all the community.
Have not significantly changed over the generations in its interpretation.
Have authority behind it.
Be practical i.e. possible to perform.
Only Rabbinical Law fits this criteria.
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2. New Article. Redheads in History
A Partial List In Rough Chronological Order
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/race/redheads.html
Excerpt:
Red-Haired Rabbis
Many Rabbis were red-haired. This fact is usually not even mentioned unless there is something that has drawn attention to it.
# It is stated in the writings of Napoleon that in all his battles he saw a red-haired Jew winning the victory for him, just as Alexander the Great saw Simeon the Just in his battles [Talmud, Yoma 69a]. But at his last battle, at Waterloo, where he fell, he did not see the image of the red-haired man. It is known that our Rabbi, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rymanov, was red-haired # (Ateret Menachem no 127).
Source: "Imagining Holiness: Classic Hasidic Tales in Modern Times"
 By Justin Jaron Lewis p.125, Quebec, Canada, 2009
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3. Proverbs 23: 26-27Â Honor Your Ancestors and Beware of Harlots
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/proverbs/proverbs23.html
Proverbs 23:
25 Your father shall be happy, and your mother.
She who gave birth to you shall rejoice.
A righteous man bring joy to his parents.
He also helps them in the Afterlife.
We would all like our forefathers to have been pleased with us.
This is inbuilt trait in human beings.
It is one of the most basic instincts there is.
We should get in touch with it.
Proverbs 23:
26 Give my son, your heart unto me,
And your eyes shall be pleased with my ways.
There are good people who want to teach us things. We should listen to them.
 This does not necessarily mean doing everything they say but neither should we automatically reject it.
Proverbs 23:
27 For a deep pit is a harlot.
And an alien female woman is a narrow [straightened] well.
Immoral and badly disposed women may mislead and entrap a man pulling him into a situation he may not be able to climb out of.