Ten Tribes Studies (31 December, 2013, 28 Tevet, 5774)
Contents:
1. Israel is "not just the tribe of Judah" and Brit-Am Reply
2. Another Remark on the Terms "Jew" and "Judaism" and Keeping the Law with Brit-Am Reply
3. New Article. Terminology. Are the Terms "Jewish" and "Judaism" Prejudicial Towards the Ten Tribes?
4. New Article. Keeping the Law. The Need for the Ten Tribes to Re-Unite with Judah
5. New YouTube Clip. J1. Joshua, the First King of Israel
1. Israel is "not just the tribe of Judah" and Brit-Am Reply
L wrote:
Re: BARS-51. Brit-Am Research Sources
http://hebrewnations.com/features/bars/bars51.html
#1. Moses Black Wife
What? A quote from "Moses Black Wife", "He explains that since Moses was the King of the Jewish Nation[37], he should have taken a wife from within the Jewish people, not from a foreign nation."
Moses was of the tribe of Levi and was the leader of the entire nation of Israel, not just the tribe of Judah.
Sorry but your credibility with me was sunk by that one.
Kalev ben Efrayim
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Brit-Am Reply:
Shalom,
I did not write the article. Just because I list an entry in BARS (Brit-Am Research Sources) does not mean I agree with, or recommend, everything written there. It means it has information worth being noticed.
The article consists of a collection of Rabbinical sources concerning Moses and his Cushite wife. Its value as far as we are concerned is that, in the paragraph we quoted, it lists several authorities who agree with us that there was a problem of racial prejudice in the incident discussed. Not everyone agrees with this so we thought it was interesting that other Commentators had thought as we do long before us.
You should also wake up to the fact that the terms Jewish Nation and Israelite are often used synonymously. No offence is intended by this.
Those who seek to take offence on such matters often do so offensively and have a counter-productive effect.
If those who take umbrage on this terminology were really serious they would support our efforts more than they do.
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2. Another Remark on the Terms "Jew" and "Judaism" and Keeping the Law with Brit-Am Reply
Michael Dubuss wrote:
I have been reading your material for months now and I am so thankful for your work, your commitment, and your scholarship.
However, I am confused about a trend that keeps coming up in your writings and in many comments and contributions from your readers.
Most of my confusion revolves around how the terms "Judaism" "Jew" or "Jewish" are used in circumstances when "Israel" or "Israelite" would be more appropriate.
In other words, all Jews are Israelites, but all Israelites are not Jews. The term "Jew" is a euphemism for the tribe of Judah. So Jew and Israel are not synonymous.
An analogy would be this....It would be wrong to say all news in The Wall Street Journal regarding the US economy is about California.
Likewise, if one was talking about the history of New Jersey, one would be correct to call this American history.
The Bible is about Israel....all 12 (or 13) tribes. It's not just about the Jews (the tribe of Judah).
So understanding this, why is it that most times when historical evidence is cited where people followed all or part of Torah, they are labeled "Jewish"?
Your writings say something like "they practiced Judaism" or "they converted to Judaism" or "they must have been Jews." This is not historically accurate or true.
Torah was given to all of Israel, not just the Jews. So, for example, if the descendants of Dan in Ireland kept the 7th Day Sabbath, would we call them Jews or say they were Jewish?
All of the tribes of Israel were to refrain from eating unclean meats. So if a group of people descended from Jacob are discovered who do not eat pork, why do we say they were practicing Judaism?
The laws regarding clean and unclean meats are Israelite not Jewish. Mosaic Law is Israelite, not Jewish. Torah is Israelite, not Jewish.
When The Almighty gave the Commandments to Moses, were they given to Judah? Or were they given to all of Israel?
If we are attempting to identify where all the Lost Tribes are, wouldn't it be more productive if we stop labeling everyone and everything as Jewish just because they observed all or part of the 10 Commandments?
Again, this would be like saying that all Americans are New Yorkers.
Each tribe of Israel had its own customs,characteristics and traits. (music, art, food, sport, personality, etc.)
Aside from the Prophecies specifically regarding the Scepter (the throne and Messiah), most Prophecy is about all of Israel, not just Judah.
The other reason I believe using the proper terms is so important is that this would be more in alignment with your mission.
In other words, are you trying to awaken the British and American peoples to the fact that they are Jewish? Or are you trying to awaken them to the fact that they are Israelite?
Keeping the Ten Commandments is not Jewish. It's Israelite. The Almighty commanded all of Israel to keep His Commandments. Not just the descendants of Judah.
Again, this is not a criticism of your work. You have done more to bring the truth of the identify of the Ten Tribes to the forefront than anyone I know of.
It is more of an observation of a trend. Certainly the tribe of Judah is central to the story of Israel. Messiah will come from Judah!
But to repeatedly use the term "Jew" or "Jewish" whenever an Israelite trait is identified in a people is not only historically accurate, I believe it's downright misleading.
Another trend that I see is the idea that proven descendants of Israel should NOT keep all of the Commandments.
I cannot find anywhere in Torah that says that Israel (the descendants of Jacob) should NOT keep the Commandments. ALL of the Commandments.
In fact, the Almighty says that the Sabbath is a sign between Him and His people forever and ever. Not just Judah...ALL of Israel.
Men may say otherwise but I see nowhere in The Bible where Hashem gives the descendants of Israel a pass on keeping His Laws.
May The Almighty continue to bless you and your work.
Shalom!
- Michael Dubuss
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Brit-Am Reply:
Shalom,
This is the 2nd letter [see item 1 above] we have received within 24 hours on this subject. You wrote it and therefore this is what you feel. You did not give specific references however so it is not certain what you are referring to. The other letter we received complained about a source we quoted not what we ourselves had written. The complaint was expressed as if we responsible for the terminology used in the quotation. Perhaps you have made the same mistake?
We have answered your queries in two new articles:
See:
Terminology. Are the Terms Jewish and Judaism Prejudicial Towards the Ten Tribes?
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/jew/terms.html
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3. New Article. Terminology. Are the Terms "Jewish" and "Judaism" Prejudicial Towards the Ten Tribes?
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/jew/terms.html
Contents:
1. Introduction. The Jews are Israelites but not all Israelites are Jews
2. Misuse of the term "Jews" and "Jewish"
3. What Can be Done?
4. Judah Includes Members of ALL the Tribes!
5. Conclusion. The Need for Reforming others while Maintaining a Correct Perspective Ourselves.
Extracts:
The Misuse of these terms may be divided into two:
(a) Historically: It was not only the Jewish People who came out of Egypt and received the Law etc. It was the whole Hebrew Israelite Nation. It is a mistake to call all of the Israelites "Jews" or "Jewish".
(b) Keeping the Law is often referred to as Judaism. This is not really inaccurate. Nevertheless alternate terms may be preferable especially in light of our findings and the Israelite arousal of probable descendants of Israelites who were not from Judah but from other Tribes of Israel.
The Jews are the ones who kept keeping the Law when the other Tribes stopped doing so. They retained their identity as Israelites when the others lost it. We would like to help the other Tribes get their identity back but at the moment they are not helping us very much.
Two points should be made on the issue of terminology.
(1) Nothing can be done about it apart from spread knowledge of the Ten Lost Tribes. Many people are not familiar with this concept. Nor have they heard of our findings. By spreading knowledge it may be expected that eventually a more precise terminology will be accepted.
(2) We need to be less uptight about the matter. Technically the term "Judaism" for Keeping Torah Law is not really incorrect.
It was prophesied that the Jews would retain their identity until the End Times...
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4. New Article. Keeping the Law
The Need for the Ten Tribes to Re-Unite with Judah
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/jew/need.html
Contents:
1. Introduction. The Problem of Identification
2. The Term "Joes" and Keeping the Commandments
3. Rabbinical Authority from the Time of Moses
4. Judah the Lawgiver.
5. The Joes left the Law of their own Free Will!
6. What Should be Done Now?
7. Conclusion. Brit-Am/Hebrew Nations is a Step in the Right Direction.
Extracts:
Many Joes feel they should keep the commandments as commanded in the Bible. They also often wish to come now and live in the State of Israel. The two phenomenon are linked.
The Torah was given to ALL the Community and to all the Tribes. It involved communal and all-Israel encompassing functions. It was not left to every individual to decide how the commandments were to be kept. A central authority was required...
The emphasis is on the nation as a whole.
The Bible does not say that the Ten Tribes should not keep the Law. It says they would not do so and forget it and forget who they are.
In order to Keep the Law in the fullest possible way in our time one must also be certain that one is descended from Israel with a certainty that would be accepted in a court of law and not just emanate from an inner conviction.
The Ten Tribes NEED Brit-Am/Hebrew nations and they need Judah.
At present very few of them seem to acknowledge this.
My understanding of Scripture however indicates that Christianity is a tool used by Divine Providence to bring the Ten Tribes back. There are some things we do not understand. We do not have to understand everything.
Aspects of mainstream Christian Belief would be considered as idolatry for a Jew to hold them.... It is not idolatry for non-Jews to believe in Christianity.
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5. New YouTube Clip. J1. Joshua, the First King of Israel
Duration: 11.52 minutes
Joshua in Hebrew is pronounced "Yehoshua". The Book of Joshua ch.1 tells how Joshua succeeded Moses as leader of Israel. Joshua was from the Tribe of Ephraim. He is a prototype for the Messiah son of Joseph. Joshua had the authority and status of a King of Israel and is considered as such. Joshua was told that in order to succeed in leading the Israelites he should learn the Torah day and night.
See:
Joshua-1: Leader
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/joshua/joshua1.html