GOMER
is a Name of Israelites!
According to Rabbi Yisrael Alter ("Beis Yisroel"), Rabbi of of Gur!
The Ten Tribes after their Exile became associated with the groups
of peoples known as the Kimmerians (Cimmerians). The Assyrians referred to these
peoples as Gimmeri or Gameru. In Biblical Terms they were the Children of Gomer.
From out of the early Kimmerians emerged the Scythians and Goths. The Scythians
were part of the Gimeri and were at times referred to as Gimeri even though they
were also distinguished as a separate entity.
The Kimmerians themselves moved at an early date to Western Europe and merged
with what became Celtic Civilization. The Cimbri in Scandinavia and the Cambri
in Britain testify by their names to Cimmerian origins.
Wales in Welsh is Cymru (pronounced "Kamru"? meaning "Land of the Cymry") or
sometimes spelt and pronounced as Gomru.
The Scythians and Goths who ALSO had once been part of the Kimmerians moved
west later and gave rise to the Scandinavian and some of the Germanic peoples.
Gomer was in fact one of the sons of Japhet (Genesis 10:2). Gomer (Hosea 1:2)
was also the wife of Hosea whom the Prophet used as a simile for the House of
Israel and whose three children represented the Ten Tribes in Exile. Peoples
identified in Talmudic sources as descended from Gomer of Japhet are placed in
areas where these same sources state the Ten Tribes were to be found in.
We have shown how the Ten Tribes (or rather a major portion of them) amalgamated
with Gomer of Japhet and became identified as part of them.
See:
The Brit-Am Biblical Commentary to Hosea Chapter One.
http://britam.org/hosea1.html
In addition to this, there remains the fact that the name given by
the Assyrians was probably in effect identical to that applied to the
Cimmerians. Omri King of Israel was the father of King Ahab (1-Kings ch.16) who
(according to Assyrian inscriptions) lead a confederation against Assyria and
apparently defeated the Assyrians. This made an impression on the Assyrians who
henceforth referred to the Israelites as "Beit-Khumri" (meaning "House of Omri")
or simply as "Khumri". The Hebrew name "Omri" begins with the letter "ayin"
which sometimes may be pronounced as "Kh" or as "G", e.g. "Aza" in Hebrew is
transliterated as "Gaza". We also have examples where we know the Assyrian "Kh"
(as in Khumri" i.e. Omri) to have been pronounced as a "G". We thus have "Gumri"
for Israel which in effect may be considered the same as "Gameri", etc, which
was the Assyrian name for the Cimmerians. The Assyrians continued to refer to
the Israelites as "Beit-Khumri" and "Khumri" almost until the end and for long
after the dynasty of Omri had been replaced. This linguistic point has been
known for almost two centuries and has been remarked upon frequently. Further
research has confirmed it. The Israelites and the Cimmerians were therefore
known by virtually the same name or by names that could quite feasibly have
interchanged.
This does not necessarily prove that the Cimmerians and exiled Israelites were
the same but it is of interest and HIGHLY PERTINENT. The very name that the
Assyrians gave to the Cimmerians (Gameri) was the same, or almost the same, as the name given to Israelites from the Ten Tribes!
In addition, in the Babylonian tongue, also employed by the Assyrians, the name for Gimeri connoted
"the Tribes".
Other names given to the Cimmerians are also of interest, e.g. "Outcasts" [i.e.
Exiles] and Uman Manda (possibly meaning "People of Manasseh") and Amori
("Amorites" or "People from the Land of Canaan", a term also applied to
Israelites.
The Cimmerians and their offshoots all mostly moved to the West and the Lost
Ten Tribes were part of them.
In Hebrew the Cimmerians are represented by Gomer who as we saw represents both
groups from Japhet and from the Ten Tribes.
A newly discovered Rabbinical source of recent times but highly regarded in its
own way appears to confirm our identification of Gomer with Israel.
A leading Rabbi said that the Israelites especially as
associated with Joseph were known as Gomer and as Gomrim which may be translated
as Gomerites!!!
This source needs to be studied, understood in the correct context, yet also
re-applied in a Brit-Am sense as we are now about to explain.
First of all, Gomer in Hebrew may be understood as derived from the root "GMR"
to finish, or complete.
Gomer was a woman of whoredoms whom the Prophet Hosea was commanded to marry as
a symbol of the fate of the northern Kingdom of Israel.
Hosea 1:
2... Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry... For the land has committed great
harlotry by departing from the LORD.
3 So he went and took Gomer
the daughter of Diblaim...
The Sages explained the name Gomer for the Loose woman to connote "finish off"
since many were finishing off (i.e. ejaculating) inside her.
Abarbanel expounded on the name "Gomer" as meaning "finishing off" that the
Kingdom of Israel would be finished and extinguished.
Gomer represented the northern Kingdom of the Ten Tribes.
Rabbi Yisrael Alter (1895-1977) in his work "Beis Yisroel" wrote that the
Children of Israel, especially as associated with Joseph, were known as Gomer.
The only people known elsewhere as Gomer were the Cimmerians and Scythians. This
confirms our identification of the Ten Tribes with groups who were part of the
Cimmerian confederation. The relevant extract from the "Beis Yisroel" is worth
examining but first let us talk a little about who the author was and how Yair
Davidiy came across the source.
Rabbi
Yisrael
Alter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yisrael_Alter
# Yisrael
Alter, (1895 - 1977), also known as the
Beis
Yisroel
[also known as "Bayit
Yosrael"
in modern Hebrew pronounciation]
after the works he authored, was the fourth
Rebbe
of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1948 until 1977.
He escaped from Poland during the Holocaust and settled in Palestine during
1940. In 1945 he learnt that the Nazi regime had murdered his wife, daughter,
son and grandchildren. He remarried but had no children.
Following the death of his father, Rabbi
Avraham
Mordechai
Alter, the third Rebbe
of Ger, in 1948, he became a forceful leader of his growing followers in the Ger
Hasidic movement, as well as became very active in the political life of the
nascent State of Israel.
...His idea was to elevate every person to somehow become one level higher than
his present state. There are countless stories from individuals (Hasidim and
non-Hasidim) who met the Rebbe,
relating how he had a tremendous spiritual impact on them and how this strong
impression will never leave them. What makes this even more impressive is that
many of these encounters with the
Rebbe
were for a very short period of time.
A charismatic leader with a big heart, dynamic personality, quick wit and an
unpredictable nature.
Rabbi Yisrael
became a powerful force within the
Agudat
Israel of Israel party and guided its work in the Israeli Knesset, concluding
alliances with various other political parties to further the causes of
Haredi
Judaism in the Jewish state.
He died of cancer in 1977, leaving no heir. He was succeeded by his brother,
Rabbi Simcha
Bunim
Alter. #
Gur
Hasidim
http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Ger_(Hasidic_dynasty)
# Ger, or
Gur
(or Gerrer
when used as an adjective) is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the
Yiddish name of Gera
Kalwaria,
a small town in Poland.
Prior to the Holocaust, Ger was probably the largest and most important Hasidic
group in Poland. Today it is one of the largest Hasidic dynasties in the world,
along with the Chabad-Lubavitch
and Satmar
dynasties. It is now based in Jerusalem. The
rebbes
who lead the movement have the family name of Alter. The founder of this group
was Rabbi Yitzchak Meir
Alter (1798-1866), known as the
Chiddushei
HaRim
after his primary scholarly work by that title.
[The Hasidic Movement was founded by Israel
ben
Eliezer
(1698-1760) who became known as the "Master of the Good Name" (the "Baal Shem
Tov").
Menachem
Mendel Morgensztern
of Kotzk,
better known as the Kotzker
Rebbe
(1787-1859) was an early leader and set up a style of thought and conduct of his
own. ]
After the death of the Kotzker
Rebbe
in 1859, the vast majority of his Hasidim chose Rabbi Yitzchak
Meir
Alter, the Kotzker
Rebbe's
brother-in-law and his closest disciple, as their new
rebbe.
...then came Rabbi Chanokh
Heynekh
(died in 1870) and then Rabbi
Yehudah
Aryeh
Leib
(who became known posthumously as the
Sfas
Emes
after the name of his book ), then Rabbi
Avraham
Mordechai
Alter (known as the Imrei
Emes)....
Almost all Gerrer
Hasidim living in pre-war Europe (approximately 200,000 Hasidim) perished during
the Holocaust. Rabbi Avraham
Mordechai
Alter, who managed to escape, set about the task of rebuilding the movement in
the British Mandate of Palestine.
Under its post-war leaders, the movement began to flourish again. Presently, on
major occasions such as Shavuos,
more than 12,000 Hasidim may gather in the main
Gerrer
beth
midrash.
Large communities of Gerrer
Hasidim exist in Ashdod,
Bnei
Brak,
Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv, Israel, as well as in New York, Los Angeles, London,
Antwerp, Zurich and Toronto. Several satellite communities have also been
established in small towns in Israel, such as
Arad
in the Negev desert, Hatzor
HaGlilit
in the Galilee, Kiryat
Harim
Levin in Tel Aviv, Beit
Shemesh
and Kiryat
Gat. Ger maintains a well-developed educational network of Talmud Torahs,
yeshivas, and kollels,
as well as Beis
Yaakov
schools for girls. Its leaders dominate the
Agudat
Israel religious movement and political party in Israel. #
The family of Yair Davidiy (founder of the Brit-Am, Movement of the Ten Tribes)
had family friends who were Hasidei Gur. Yair also from time to time made use of
the Commentary "Sefat Emet" ("Sfas Emes") in his studies and references to this
work may be found Brit-Am Biblical Commentaries and also in separate articles.
See:
Joseph in the Eyes of the "Rebbe"
"Brit-Am Now"-1040
#7. Nancy: Looking for Source on Joseph and the Oral Law
In a Torah Library we had also come across other works of Hasidei Gur including
the Imrei Emet and Beis Yisroel.
Yair Davidiy had met Rabbi Yisrael Alter (the "Beis Yisroel") in 1974 shortly
after arriving in Israel. The Rabbi spoke to Yair in Hebrew or Yiddish (neither
of which Yair understood) and we felt that we had received a blessing and as a
result our family indeed was blessed.
Quite recently, Yair came across volumes of the work "Beis Yisroel" selling at a
reasonable price and on an impulse bought them.
Yair purchased the books but neglected to read them, hoping to do so at a later
date.
In early December 2010, we were walking with Eddie Chumney in Jerusalem. Eddie is a
well-known prominent Ephraimite Minister. Eddie is against missionizing to Jews
and has a long-standing intensive interest in Jewish matters. Eddie Chumney is
a personal friend of Yair Davidiy and a veteran supporter of Brit-Am.
Eddie and I had been invited for an evening Shabat meal at the home of Rabbi
Avraham Feld. On the way the conversation turned to the Lost Ten Tribes and the
subject of Gomer. We repeated most of what is written above but added that
perhaps more confirming evidence is necessary.
As a result of the conversation Yair began to think of the matter. About two
days later, late at night, Yair felt an urge to open up the "Beis Yisroel" and
read it. This is not something he would normally have done. Opening the volume
pertinent to the Weekly Torah Portion, Yair immediately came across a passage
saying that the Children of Israel are called Gomer and Gomrim (i.e. Gomerites?)
and are associated with Joseph!
In the extract below the Rabbi (who passed away in 1977) states matter-of-factly
that the Children of Israel are known as Gomer and Gomerites!!! He links this
name with Joseph and the Future Redemption of Judah and Joseph.
We shall quote this source and analyze it.
The "Bais Yisroel" was a great Rabbi. Some of these Rabbis at times achieve a
degree of Divine Inspiration.
The extract below is probably taken from words spoken at a "Tish". This is a
communal meal of the Hasidim usually on a late Shabat afternoon. The Rabbi at
the "Tish" usually says a few words somehow or other linked to the weekly Torah
Portion read that Shabat morning in the Synagogue. What is said at the Tish is
usually extempore rather than strictly prepared. It will have been influenced by
the audience present, recent events, communal exigencies, etc while still
emanating from the inner wisdom and learning of the Rabbi. One (or more) of the
audience will have trained themselves to memorize what is being said and after
Shabat write it down. Obviously mistakes may occur. Something may have been
misunderstood or a key word or phrase forgotten or for some other reason
omitted. At some stage, all the "drashot" (Commentaries) going back several years (or
decades) will be gathered together, receive some editing, and then published.
Here is the source (in free Translation):
VeYechi,
5710 (ca. 1950-51), # # Genesis 47:28. "And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt",
hints that even in the Land of Egypt, Jacob gave life and vitality. This was the
strength of Jacob. It also says, # Then Joseph took an oath from the children of
Israel, saying, 'God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from
here' (Genesis 50:25)#. Jacob our Forefather produced an unpolluted lineage,
"The Tribes of the LORD" (Psalms 122:4). Joseph the Righteous One was a
Foundational Point of the World, all the world existed through his virtue and
his observance of the Covenant [Sexual Morality]. The merit of both Jacob and Joseph gave
existence to the Children of Israel. Jacob gave life and vitality even in the
Land of Egypt (Genesis 47:28). Joseph also gave of himself to Israel [as Joseph
said] "and you shall carry up my bones from here" (Genesis 50:25).[The Hebrew
word for "bones" has a double meaning
connoting
"self" i.e. You shall carry up something of myself with you]. So we learn (from
other works) that they were told to take his essence with them. This includes
the Power of Keeping the Covenant [i.e. Sexual Morality]. This is the quality
of Jacob and Joseph and the other Tribes who also assist in this matter, as
Rashi
says... The bones [essence] of the other Tribal Ancestors [in addition to
Joseph] were also taken up [from Egypt at the time of Exodus]. Their Power
remains with the Children of Israel throughout their Exile... After that, #And
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of
Israel under solemn oath, saying, 'God will surely visit you, and you shall
carry up my bones [essence] from here with you' (Exodus 13:19)#. Perhaps this hints at the
completion [GaMeR]
of carrying out a commandant. This is why the Children of Israel are called
GOMRIM
[Gomerites?
Completers?], [as Joseph said] "and you shall carry up my bones [essence] from here"
(Genesis 50:25). This is the point concerning all Redemption of the Children of
Israel from all their Places of Exile, that
they will be called GaMeR
[Gomer].
They are advised to use the Torah and the power of Moses to keep the Sanctity of
the Covenant [Sexual Morality] and they will be redeemed as we may learn from
the Holy Books... they join together. Joseph is great and amongst his
brothers
there is none greater. Moses is great and in Israel there is none greater. The
indication is that through them both will there be virtue ensuring the continued
endurance of the Children of Israel. #
Commentary:
Joseph made the Israelites promise to take the bones of his body
with them when they returned to the Land of Canaan. In Hebrew this connotes
retaining something of the essence of Joseph. Jacob gave life and vitality even
when in Egypt. The qualities of Jacob and Joseph where to be needed by the
Israelites in their Places of Exile. The Israelites were to carry out the tasks
required of them. They were to be known as GOMER and as Gomerites i.e.
Cimmerians. They were to fulfill their destiny. Moses (who received the Law) in
a sense was parallel to Jacob and in turn to Judah who keeps the Law.
Joseph was to Keep the Covenants which is usually understood to mean Sexual
Morality in the same way as Joseph refused to lie with the wife of his master.
In this case it implies the task of Joseph in general. We have spoken of this
elsewhere.
See:
The Purpose of Exile and Loss of Identity.
http://britam.org/Purpose.html.
Israel needs both Judah (i.e. Jacob, Moses) and Joseph. By virtue of them both
will Redemption come to the world.
In the above passage the Rabbi emphasizes that the Israelites as associated with
Joseph were to be known as Gomer and Gomerites.
The Rabbi probably did not intend his words to be applied in the ethnic sense as
referring to the Cimmerians BUT he said so all the same.
"Gomer" is a name for Israel as associated with Joseph!
Did the Prophets entirely understand the full import of the Prophecies they
uttered??
The interpretations of Brit-Am have proved themselves and have often been
confirmed by additional research findings that came after the conclusions had
been published!
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