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From: Yair Davidy
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Isaiah and the Ten Lost Tribes

Studies in Isaiah

The Exile of the Ten Lost Tribes
by Yair Davidy

BRIT-AM is an ORTHODOX JEWISH Organization

#1) Do Orthodox Jews believe in Replacement theology? NO
#2) Do Orthodox Jews believe in Christian British Israelism? NO

"Brit-Am Israel". (Brit = Covenant, Am = People in Hebrew)

"Brit-Am Israel" at present is headed by Yair Davidy and by Rabbi Abraham Feld.

The address of "Brit-Am Israel" is Yair Davidy, "Brit-Am Israel", P.O.B. 595, Jerusalem 91004, Israel.

The e-mail is : britam@netvision.net.il

"BRIT-AM ISRAEL" BELIEVES:

* The Hebrew Bible is the message of God.

* Out of the original 12 Tribes of Israel Ten were lost. Two remained. The present-day Jews are descended mainly from the two remaining Tribes of Judah and Benjamin.

* The Khazars were a Kingdom in southern Russia many of whose leaders converted to Judaism. The Khazars were descended from the Lost Ten Tribes. The Khazars were blood-relatives of the Picts who went to Scotland, and of the Anglo-Saxons, and of peoples in Scandinavia.

* In addition to the Khazars, many other converts to Judaism through the ages were descended from assimilated Jews or from members of the Lost Ten Tribes.

* Most of the Lost Ten Tribes migrated to Northwest and Western Europe and their descendants are now in those areas or in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

* We do not claim that all residents of the said nations are descended from Israel. We do however affirm that most descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes are residents of those nations. On the whole they are unaware of their Israelite Identity. Even so in the course of history the Israelite origins of peoples in those areas have influenced national developments and national characteristics.

* The Tribe of Joseph was divided into two other Tribes: Ephraim and Menasseh. People from ALL of the Israelite Tribes congregated in North America but in general the U.S.A. is dominated by Menasseh. Britain has characteristics of Ephraim.

* Reuben was important in France, Issachar in Switzerland, Benjamin in Belgium, Zebulon in Holland, Dan in Denmark, Naphtali in Norway, Gad in Sweden, the country of Finland was influenced by the Tribes of Simeon, Issachar, and Gad; Simeon, Dan, and Ephraim were important in Ireland.

* There is a need for the present-day "Jews" of Judah and the Lost Ten Tribes to recognize each other, and to work towards re-unification and reconciliation.

* Proof exists confirming "Brit-Am Israel" Identity beliefs. Some of the evidence has been presented in works by Yair Davidy such as "The Tribes" (1993), "Ephraim" (1995), and "Lost Israelite Identity" (1996), as well as in articles in our journal "Tribesman". Much additional evidence is available and needs to be uncovered and published. Our sources include the Bible, Talmud, Midrashim, Commentators, Classical Greek and Roman historians, Chroniclers, Legends, Linguistics, Archaeology, and where pertinent racial and other scientific studies.

* Even though much of the evidence has been revealed by ourselves it is not ours alone. Our proofs have never been properly refuted. The basic claims we have made are irrefutable. If one cannot deny our claims and there is nobody else who can it follows that one should accept them. This means that the identity of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel with western peoples should be acknowledged. Once this acknowledgment is forthcoming it is possible to discuss whatever practical conclusions need to be made.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE, IN DISCUSSION, AND/OR IN JOINING "BRIT-AM ISRAEL", please make contact by Return Mail.

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NOTE FROM EDDIE:

FYI: Yair Davidy is an ORTHODOX JEW. He does NOT believe in:

#1) Replacement theology
#2) Christian British Israelism

Yair Davidy / Brit-Am / Orthodox Jews DO believe in:

#1) The Restoration of BOTH houses of Israel in the future (the Messianic redemption or the Ingathering of the Exiles) (Ezekiel 37:15-28) when the house of Israel (The Ten Lost Tribes) join themselves to / with the house of Judah in the end of days.

Recently, I ordered from Brit-Am and read the first three issues of the MAGAZINE BRIT-AM. The articles and the information in the magazine was OUTSTANDING.

It is VITAL in these days in which we live to understand that the belief in the restoration of both houses of Israel / Messianic Redemption / Ingathering of the Exiles and the reuniting of Ephraim (Ten Lost Tribes) with Judah and Ephraim returning to Torah is a fundamental and foundational belief of Orthodox Judaism. It is one of the 13 articles of Jewish faith and a prayer for the Messianic Redemption / Restoration of both houses of Israel is prayed THREE times a day by Orthodox Jews.

I would HIGHLY recommend that our newsgroup members subscribe to the Brit-Am magazine to gain a greater understanding of Orthodox Jewish belief regarding this issue. In a recent edition of the magazine, Brit-Am stated that they have come to the conclusion that the primary religion of the Ten Lost Tribes today is Christianity.

Brit-Am declares that this information is VITAL to your understanding of the Bible and Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int'l agrees. Please consider obtaining the first 3 issues of the Brit-Am magazine and subscribing to future editions.

Yours for the restoration of both houses of Israel,

Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int'l

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From: Yair Davidi
To: heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Isaiah-9 no.2

Isaiah-9 no.2

[ISAIAH 9:2] THE PEOPLE WHO WALKED IN DARKNESS HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT; THOSE WHO DWELT IN A LAND OF DEEP DARKNESS, ON THEM HAS LIGHT SHINED.

"THE PEOPLE WHO WALKED IN DARKNESS": One commentary says this refers to the Lost Ten Tribes (LTTs) [see MeAm Loaz]. This source says that after the Assyrian King Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem and had hisarmy destroyed by a miracle the Lost Ten tribes who already in exile were released from bondage. This explanation could explain a lot of things but what it is based upon is uncertain.

At all events the LTTs being in darkness is also reported in Isaiah 49:9 but since at the present rate it will be some time before we get there we will consider it now:

Extracts from "Ephraim" chapter four:

"That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places" (Isaiah 49:9).

The Midrash (Numbers Rabah 1;6, Eichah Rabah 2;9, Jerusalemi Sanhedrin ch.17, L.6,29) on these verses, comments:

~Rabbi Berachiah and Rabbi Chelbo in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: To three places was Israel exiled, one to beyond the Sambation River, one to Daphneh of Antiochia, and one to where the Clouds came down and covered them; in the same way that they [i.e.the northern Israelites west of the Jordan River] were exiled to three places, so too were the Tribes [east of the Jordan River] of Reuben, Gad, and half Menasseh, exiled to three places. When they shall return so too will Reuben, Gad, and halfMenasseh return with them. How do we know all this? ~` From the verse, "Say to the prisoners go forth" (Isaiah 49:9):

These are those exiled beyond the Sambation River.

"To them that are in darkness, shew yourselves" (Isaiah 49:9): These are those whom the cloud descended upon and covered.

"They shall feed in the ways, and in all high places their pastures" (Isaiah 49:9): These are those who were exiled to Daphne of Antiochea.~'

Now from those places to which the Lost Ten Tribes were exiled there emerged the Cimmerians, Scythians, and Gothic ethnic groups. There is much evidence that these peoples were either mainly Israelite or that at least Israelites were a significant element amongst them and that the bulk of Israelite exiles were to be found in their midst.

Like the third part of exiled Israelites in the Midrash, so too, were the Cimmerians in Classical Literature to be associated with Clouds, Mountains, or simply regions, of Darkness. A wordroot "comer" (reminiscent of "Cimmerian") in both Hebrew and Latin connates "darkness"!16 At one stage a portion of the Cimmerians were to be found in the Crimean Peninsula. At that time the climate was much wetter in the Crimean region than it is now and the area was apparently always cloudy. In Latin Literature there existed a phrase "Af tenebrae Cimmeriae" meaning "Cimmerian Darkness" and applied to the Crimea17.

The bulk of the Cimmerians via the Balkans entered Europe and moved westward. They are identified in general with the Celts. The name "Celt" has been interpreted as:

"meaning hidden the word which gives us the Irish form `ceilt', i.e. concealment or secret, and the word which gives us the English word kilt" 18.

The Scottii who from Scythia reached Ireland and from there went to Scotland were counted as Celts and their name ("Scotoi") in Greek was understandable as meaning obscure or hidden19. In Britain and Brittany (Gaul) lived a people called Ostrynimians by the Carthaginains and Phoenecians and this name also is said to means hidden20 from the hebrew root "sater". The god Saturn who allegedly reigned in the British Isles too has a name derivable in Hebrew from the same root ("sater") and connoting the "hidden god". Saturn in Greek-Phoneician Mythology was taken to represent the god ["god" in their eyes, "God" in ours] of Israel or to personify the exiled of Israel, thus the exiled of Israel (i.e. "Saturn") ruled in the British Isles.

Amongst the Celts, the Cimmerians are specially linked with the Galatians n and with the Cimbri of Scandinavia and the Cymry of Britain.

The Orphic Argonautica (supposed ca.500 b.c.e.) placed the Cimmerians far away in the north somewhere in the British Isles:

"Cimmerii who were hidden from the sun rising by the mountains of Ripaeus in Britain near the vicinity of Hades21..."

"....far away in the north on the way to the Iernian [Ireland?] islands22.. ".

Homer (in the "Odyssey" 11;19) mentioned, "The deep sea of Oceanos [i.e.The Atlantic Ocean] which is the World's boundary. There is the city of the Cimmerian people. Night is forever spread over these unhappy mortals".

It is generally agreed that both these above passages are placing Cimmerians in Britain and it was be noticed that both use expressions implying darkness or hiddenness.

Plutarch seems to have identified the Cimmerians with the Cimbri of Scandinavia and the North sea coast as did other Roman writers.

Plutarch says of these Cimmeriandescendants: "Part of them still inhabit the remotest regions upon the outer Ocean. These... live in a dark and woody region hardly penetrable by the sunbeams...their days and nights being equally continuous, they divide their year into one of Each..(Plutarch: "Caius Marius").

A.W.Whatmore also noted the linkage in Classical works of the Cimmerians with the Dark in the Caucasus, in Crimea, in Britain, and in Scandinavia 23.

Denmark was settled at one stage by the Cimbri descendants of the Cimmerians and then later by the Danes from the Israelite Tribe of Dan.

This overlapping of Cimbri with the Danes of Dan is interesting. A Midrash commented on the TribalOrder of Marching forward in the Wilderness when the ancient Israelites had escaped from Egypt yet still had not been allowed to enter the Promised Land. The Midrash infers that this positioning was indicative of future developments. The Position of Dan, says the Midrash (Numbers Rabah 2), "was in the north, whence darkness comes".

The Cimmerians also gave rise to the Cimbri The Cimbri, claimed Plutarch, in their migrations carried a metal bull with them25. The Cimbri in Scandinavia are known to have had a bull cult of Mediterranean origin26. The Israelites in the Wilderness were punished for making a golden bullcalf (Hebrew: "aegel") which they intended to go before them in their wanderings (Exodus 32;14). Excavations in the area of northern Israel have unearthed metallic statuettes of bulls which are dated to the period of Israelite occupation prior to their exile27. King Jeroboam1 from the Tribe of Ephraim was the first king of northern Israel after it broke away from the south. He set up a bullcalf cult with golden statues and cultic centres at Dan and in Bethel (2Kings 12;2829). These golden statues, according to one source, were later smashed. They may have been exchanged for metallic ones. Sargon, the Assyrian king after defeating northern Israel said, "I counted the gods on whom they trusted as spoil"28. The statue at Bethel (Bethaven) was captured by the Assyrians and "carried unto Assyria" (Hosea 10;6). The Cimbri practice of carrying a metallic bull with them may have been a carryover from their north Israelite paganism.

The Cimbri were later to be found throughout Scandinavia29 especially in DenmarkJutland which Procopius ("Gothic Wars 2.1.7) referred to as "Brittania" whereas the isle of Britain (home of the British Cymry) he called "Brittia". Part of the Cimbri reached Holland in their wanderings and there too the presence of a tribe of "Bretons" was reported (Pliny N.H.4;17)30. Isaiah (ch.49) placed the Lost Israelites in "Isles of the Sea" and said they would establish a "BritAm" i.e. A People's Covenant or Commonwealth.

Whatmore ("Insulae Britannicae", 1913) showed that in Classical Literature the Islands of Britain were considered the edge of the world, the last section of Scythia, and associated with Cimmerian darkness. The same characteristics were ascribed to Scandinavia and then later Scandinavian writers said the same things about North America wherein Viking Scandinavians attempted to settle!

Leif Ericson in the 1100s c.e. visited the coasts of North America and an effort at colonisation was made. A Chronicle of the event gave the names Helluland, Markland, and Vinland to the countries visited. Whatmore equated "Markland" with North America31. After drawing parallels between the DanishNorwegian word "merke" and the Russian "mrak", he said that the name "Markland" (given to North America) signified DARKNESS.

The Scandinavian Chronicler was continuing the Classical tradition and Whatmore concludes that "Markland" (i.e. the name given to North America),

"is quite as likely an echo of the dark Kimmerian world"32.

It follows that in Biblical and Rabbinical tradition the Lost Ten Tribes or at least a portion of them were associated with Darkness, Clouds, and Concealment in general. Both linguistically and conceptually these same attributes were attached to the Cimmerians and to those who emerged from them. Proofs from other fields confirm that these same entities were descended largely from Israel.

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From: Yair Davidi
To: britam@netvision.net.il
Subject: Isaiah-9 no.3

Isaiah-9 no.3

[ISAIAH 9:4] FOR THE YOKE OF HIS BURDEN, AND THE STAFF FOR HIS SHOULDER, THE ROD OF HIS OPPRESSOR, THOU HAST BROKEN AS ON THE DAY OF MIDIAN.

This is referring to Gideon of the Tribe of Menasseh who defeated the Midianites (Judges chapters 6,7,8). Gideon later had to contend with the men of Ephraim (Judges8;1) who were jealous of his leadership. Gideon came from the clan of Abiezer within Gilead within Menasseh. Abiezer is the same as Je-ezer (Numbers 26;30). In Hebrew "Je-ezer" is Ai-y-azar and Abiezer is Avi-y-azar so they are actually closer than they appear in Englisjh translation. Ai-y-azar was pronouncable as Ai-y-(g)azar. This links them with the Agathyrsi or Agazari (Acatziri) who became known as the Khazars. The Khazars had a tradition that they were descended from the Tribes of Menasseh and Simeon. Their Israelite ancestry was recognized by most Jewish authorities in their tribe. They converted to Judaism and for a period ruled over southern Russia. They beat back Arab invaders and together with the Frank Charles Martel in the west saved Europe from Muslim domination.

Some people claim that the Khazars were Turks and that the Turks are Edomites and therefore so were the Khazars. They then say that the Jews are mainly descended from Khazars and therefore the Jews are Edomites. This may sound ridiculous but there are those who sincerely believe in it. Not all those who hold these views are necessarily anti-Jewish. Some appear to be sincerely mislead.

NOTE FROM EDDIE:

This information is IMPORTANT to read because you may or may have met people who are anti-semites and who claim that "Jews aren't real Jews but are Edomites and are the Khazars who were converts to Judaism". In this article, Yair does a good job showing that this is a myth, lie and distortion of historical facts. Some of the groups who believe this Jews are really edomites are RADICAL elements of the "Christian Identity" movement who have a PERVERTED view of the "two houses of Israel".

END OF NOTE

As for the Turks being Edomites I never saw anything really convincing and do not believe it. There may have been Edoimite elements amongst Turkish peoples but I doubt if they were numerically significant. As for the Khazars having been Turks I looked up the sources and all it means is that the Khazars may have spoken a Turkish dialect as did some white "Nordic" peoples, some "Turkish" peoples and some "Mongolians". It is not even certain what language they did speak since all we have are a few "Runes" that appear like a Central Asian Turkish-related dialect and MAY belong to the Khazars. At one stage the Turks did rule over the Khazars and they did dominate the region of Southern Russia for a period. So some influence was to be expected.

This does not say much and even this is uncertain. Some of the Khazars spoke Finnish. Polak believed their original tongue was a Gothic dialect. I think they originally spoke Hebrew. The Khazars were actually reported of in southern Russia long before the Turks were ever heard of. I have written on this matter and will write again Steven Collins has also written a very pertinent and interesting article on the subject which will be published in our magazine BRIT-AM. I just bought a book "The Jews of Khazaria" by kevin Alan Brook. The book is interesting. The man also has a Web Site. He believes the Khazars were a Turkish people. From reading the book however the opposite conclusion appears the more acceptable. Why are the Khazars Considered Turkish?

[Very Summarised] Claims:

1. Some Jewish sources say they were.

2. A letter from King Joseph of Khazaria relates them to Togarmah.

3. They are believed to have spoken Turkish and had Turkish customs.

4. Their ruling house is claimed to have been of Turkish origin and to have ruled over Turks.

Short Answers:

1. Most contemporary Jewish sources relate the Khazars to Israel. Sources that relate them to Togarmah are mainly later ones and less reliable. Those who knew them at first hand considered them Israelite.

2. The letter from King Joseph is in several versions. It has been doctored. The segment relating them to Togarmah appears from its style to be an interpolation. Both the Khazars themselves and Jewish authorities considered them to be of Israelite descent.

3. Little evidence of Turkish nput. All that there was can easily be explained by cultural contact.

4. The same ruling house also ruled over part of the Huns, the Goths, and the Parthians. The deeper we go into these matters the more remote the possibility of Turkish connections become.

As for most Jews being descended from the Khazars this too does not fit in with the known facts. If we thought it were so we would admit it since it does not matter (from our point of view) much anyway.

Ephraim Hirsch has written an article describing the Khazars as kind of an "American" type people riding forth in cowboy fashion to establish civilised values over the steppes of Russia. Most of the article is given below:

The opinions expressed are his own. His account is highly idealised and maybe exaggerated nevertheless sources do exist that render most of his claims defensible. The article concerns the Khazars who were related to the Parthians. The Parthians were also known for their tolerance and for a laissez faire administration that was successful. Both Parthians and Khazars were descended from the Lost Ten Tribes and both were kinsfolk to entities now amongst nations of northwest European descent.. Maybe the ambition to realise human potential through constitutional freedom is a recurring urge of the Israelite Peoples. The basic core of the Khazars were the Agathyrsi descendants of Aiezer [Ai-g-ezer] of Menasseh. The North Americans are also dominated by Menasseh and the account below reads like another version of the American Dream.

Edward (Ephraim) Hirsch:

"The Khazars are coming"

It sounds like the plot from an Arnold Schwarzenegger epic. A nomadic people in the South Russian steppes rise up against tyranny and barbarism. Surrounded by wild tribes who yoked their women to chariots, they enjoyed all the comforts of civilized nations , a well-constituted and tolerant government, a flourishing trade, and a well-disciplined standing army. At a time when fanaticism, ignorance and anarchy reigned in western Europe, this kingdom could boast of its just and broad-minded administration. They practiced complete freedom of religion. Christian, Jew and Muslim rode together as brothers under the same flag. ......They were an equal opportunity employer.

They ruled over Russia from the lower course of the Volga and the northern slopes of the Caucasus, as far as the lands bounded by the sea of Azov and the Caspian. Their kingdom lasted a thousand years. During that span, they saved Christianity, rescued the Jews, and embraced the Muslims as partners. They gave sanctuary to an outcast Byzantine emperor and risked their lives and empire for the poor and oppressed. They chose their king from the most humble of their subjects and he never made a public appearance, lacking the status of even a figurehead. Their women were reputed to be among the most beautiful in the world and were married off to the most powerful rulers in history. This will-o'-the-wisp people appeared out of nowhere in the second century and disappeared with hardly a trace in the twelfth. They spoke an unknown language, unrelated to their neighbours of which only fifty words remain. They left virtually no artifacts, no ruins and no written documents. Although at one time their capital city, Atil, named after the mythical land of Atlantis, was the richest and the greatest on the globe.

As unlikely as this scenario may sound, every word is historical truth. They were the Khazars, a tribal union that emerged in the aftermath of a series of migrations of nomadic people from Inner and Central Asia. Like everything else about them, their racial origin is unknown. Scholars first argued that they were of Finno-Ugrian extraction, but later maintained they were a Turkish off-shoot. Eventually, the leading academicians decided they had no idea where they came from. Readers of Gibbon are familiar with the name of Leo the Khazar, an Emperor of the Greeks, whose mother was one of those glamorous Khazar princesses. More recently, inveterate viewers of late night television saw the Khazars on cable. The descendants of the Khazars are those guys storming the Hitler bunker on the documentary "World at War". The Khazars were known by their enemies as the most valiant warriors of their epoch and the tradition has lingered. The Russians used the mountain Tats, reputed to be the last of the Khazars, as shock-troops. .......

Among the accomplishments of the Khazars, according to historians, is holding the line between the advance of the Muslim hordes and Europe, much as Charles Martel fended off the Moors at Tours. The Khazars also are known for the conversion of the royal family to the Jewish religion in the eighth century. Scholars claim that this came about as the result of a religious debate when emissaries of the three faiths were sent to the kingdom. The Khazars adopted the Jewish religion because of their imperative to help the oppressed, in the same way that the king of Denmark later donned a Star of David to show solidarity with the besieged people. The Khazars did things like that. In their spare time they invenDemocracy. Although the Greek philosopher Pericles is generally credited with the idea, it is known that Herodotus, a buddy of Pericles visited Khazaria shortly before Pericles came up with this inspiration that has shaped modern thought. Historians report that the Khazar king dreamed that God spoke to him, saying "your intentions are good but your works leave a lot to be desired". Thereafter, the Khazars not only preached total freedom and justice, they implemented it. Their government consisted of a council of two Christians, two Jews, two Muslims, and a barbarian. They never withdrew loyalty once granted.

No man was so despised that he could not find forgiveness in the Khazar kingdom. ......... They invented the concept of liberty, fraternity and equality.

According to D.M. Dunlop of Colombia University, the foremost American scholar of the Khazars, the reason the Khazars are not generally known by the public is that the historical records exist mistily in Arabic and Turkish texts. Also, the thrust of history as taught in our schools concerns itself mostly with Greece, Rome and western Europe. But Dunlop says "It can scarcely be doubted that but for the existence of the Khazars in the region north of the Caucasus, Byzantium, the bulwark of European civilization in the east, would have found itself outflanked by the Arabs, and the history of Christianity and Islam might well have been very different from what we know".

Khazaria derived its wealth from its international trade routes that crossed its territory linking the Byzantine Empire, the Arab Caliphate and Northern Europe. In order to protect their commercial interests, the Khazars strove to maintain peace in the region and to exclude or neutralize any nomadic invaders from the east......Shielded by this peace accord, the East Slavic tribes north of the open steppe were able to expand further southward and to prosper in their livestock-raising pursuits.

Although Khazaria subsequently became known as the first land whose rulers embraced Judaism in the Medieval Period the Khazars had [previously] been most renowned for their prowess in commerce. The Khazars were the first true capitalists as well as the first democratic political entity.

An account of the Khazars was in fact given by the Cambridge historian J.B. Bury in a chapter of his History of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Khazars are mentioned in most encyclopedias and dictionaries.

The Khazars are found in our hearts. The Khazars were never a nation in the real sense. They were an empire of the senses, a trading organisation and a confederation of peace loving people. They were the law west of the Pecos -- and the Volga, Dnieper, and Don for that matter. Our ideals, our vision and even our system of government were forged by the Khazars.......

"Much has been written by the authorities respecting the kingdom of Cozar (the Khazars) which Basnage in his History of the Jews is inclined to consider an imaginary region, but which, whether a real or an ideal monarchy and wherever situated affords proof that in the rabbinical tradition, they build a tabernacle perfectly like that which Moses set up in the wilderness. They are said to have been happy and potent, to have triumphed over their enemies..." Lord Kingsborough (Edward King) quoted by Edward Hirsch Dec.5 1995.

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