|
The Epithet Jew, Tassels, and
Redemption!
Zechariah 8:
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from every language of the
nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, Let us go with you, for
we have heard that God is with you.
One of the messages of this verse is that those of the Ten Tribes who wish to
return will be able to do so by acknowledging the Divine Origin of the
Rabbinical Oral Law!
This is explained below.
Before we go on let us repeat that we ourselves are not interested in converting
anyone to Judaism.
We have no such desire nor do we have the qualifications or where-to-do
background for such an issue. This discussion should be considered merely
food-for-thought.
We in Brit-Am are concerned with proving who the physical descendants of the Ten
Tribes are today.
On a private level we would say to those who are searching to understand
Scripture that the Rabbinical Commentaries should not be dismissed.
Concerning the Lost Ten Tribes and their present-day identification Rabbinical
Sources have proven themselves to be of great value. They should likewise be
considered favorably in other matters.
Some of our articles and statements are for us Articles of Faith; others may be
considered learned opinion; and there are those of our pronunciations that are
more like insights or remarks for simple consideration. This present article is
in the last category.
The Ten Men from every language of the nations may represent the Lost Ten Tribes
or they may be simply be Gentiles who will turn their hearts back to the
Almighty in the Last Days.
The simple meaning is that the verse refers to non-Israelite Gentiles in
general. The Commentary of the Radak opines that the number ten has been chosen as simply illustrative of a substantial
number e.g.
ten women shall bake your bread in one oven (Leviticus 26:26).
Also the point that these ten men will come from every language of the nations
suggests that the Gentiles of the world are being referred to.
Nevertheless, as we shall see below, an especial relevance may be seen as also
applicable to the Ten Tribes.
the sleeve. in Hebrew "canaf" meaning the corner.
This brings us to the mitsvah of tsitsit.
The Hebrews were commanded to put tsitsit (tassells) on the corners of their
garment (Numbers 15:38).
a Jewish man. In Hebrew Ish [Person who is] Yehudi, i.e. a Jew.
Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. Malbim. # Not that
they will go to Jerusalem but rather they will go with the Yehudi to learn his
religion and faith since they realize that God is with Israel. #
We have above the expression Ish Yehudi, a Jewish Man.
Fishel Mael (Shivtei Yisrael, USA, 1997) discusses the term "Jew" and "Jewish"
as applicable, or as sometimes applied to, Israelites in general. The thread of
his discussion consists mainly of quoting relevant sources and pointing to the
connection between them.
Genesis 49:
8 Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father's children shall bow down before you.
The expression above "shall praise" in Hebrew is Yoduca i.e. they shall
acknowledge you, or they shall own up to the truth that you have.
All Israelites (or at least all those Israelites who keep the Israelite Faith, or are recognizable as being obliged to do so)
in the Bible are sometimes referred to as Jews.
Esther 2:
5 In Shushan the citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai the son
of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite.
Rashi: They were exiled with the exile of Judah. All those who were exiled with
the Kings of Judah were referred to amongst the Gentiles as Jews, even if they
came from another tribe.
The Yemenite Midrash HaGadol (on Genesis 49:8) tells us:
# Said Rabbi Pinchas: The verse (Genesis
49:8 i. e. Your brothers shall acknowledge the truth that you have) refers to
the fact that Judah is as his name [connoting acknowledgment of the truth] as
his mother said,
# And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, 'Now I will praise [acknowledge]
the Lord.' Therefore she called his name Judah [from the root YDA meaning
acknowledge the truth and by implication give thanks] (Genesis 29:35). Likewise
his brothers will acknowledge him, #you are he whom your brothers shall praise
[Hebrew Yoduca" i.e. they shall acknowledge you] Genesis 49:8.
So too, it says, # yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a
ruler [although the birthright was Joseph's]# 1-Chronicles 5:2. They are all
called by your name, e.g.
# the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves [and their descendants and
all who would join them...] [Esther 9:26]. No-one describes [Israelites as]
Simeonites, or Reubenites, but they do say Yehudim [Jews named after Judah].
Acknowledgement of the Truth is a trait of your Tribe.
Concerning Achan [from the Tribe of Judah] it says:
# And Achan answered Joshua and said, 'Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God
of Israel...# (Joshua 7:20).
So too, David [also from the tribe of Judah] said:
# I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,'
[And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah] # Psalms 32:5.
Mercy is close to them [since they acknowledge their sins]
# Whoever confesses and forsakes [his sins] will be shown mercy #. Proverbs
28:13.
Fishel Mael brings sources saying that the term "Yehudi" (Jew) refers to the
quality of denying false gods.
See "Shivtei Yisrael" (pp. 192-202) by
Fishel Mael.
See:
The Israelite Tribes
Selected Essays Based on the Work of Fishel Mael.
http://www.britam.org/mael/MaelContIntro.html
In the end times the truth of Judah will be acknowledge by everyone:
Isaiah 2:
3 Many people shall come and say,
'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.'
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
Isaiah 60:
1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
This is also the primary meaning of Zechariah 8:23.
Zechariah 8:23 has a secondary message. The non-Israelites or the Ten Tribe
members will take hold of the corner of the garment of the Jewish man.
This corner bears the tassell i.e. the tsitsit (plural: tsitsot, Numbers 15:39).
Numbers 15:
38 'Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of
their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the
tassels of the corners. 39 And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon
it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may
not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined,
40 and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your
God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be
your God: I am the Lord your God.'
The Sages taught based on the Hebrew passages and their own traditions (also
usually hinted at in the Hebrew verses) that the tassels had to be specially
made threads placed on the four corners of every four-cornered garment made of
wool or linen. The tassels were to be white or otherwise the same color as the
garment and they were to include a special blue thread made from the dye of
a specific sea creature. If the dye was not available then the tsitsot were to be
attached without the blue thread.
Recently attempts have been made to identify the dye in question and to revive
its usage.
See:
Guide to Tsitsit with Tekhelet
Including Photo and Diagrams
http://www.tekhelet.com/guide.htm
Religious Jews place tsitsot on the corners of their prayer shawls (tallitot).
Also many Jews wear a four-cornered undergarment with attached tsitsot.
These tsitsot are nowadays made from wool. The threads are woven according to a
set formula and the tassels are then attached according to tradition based on
Scripture.
Occasionally in Jerusalem one meets non-Jews who have adopted Hebraic customs.
Usually they belong to some group or other though sometimes they are
independent.
Some of these place colored tassels on the fringes of their garments. These
tassels are imitations of the Jewish ones but obviously with deviations both in
their mode of production and application.
A Rabbi in Jerusalem told me that he met an American non-Jew with blue, red, and
white fringes tied to his belt.
He asked him what they were for and received the answer that they were in
fulfillment of the commandment of Numbers chapter 15.
The Rabbi then said that at that moment he thought of Brit-Am and my humble
self.
Other similar incidents involving the tsitsot have involved us.
Because we say that the Ten Tribes are now to be found amongst Western Peoples
we are identified with those non-Jews from the West who deviate from Jews and
invent practices of their own.
The non-Jews who invent their own version of the tsitsot usually do not know Hebrew and do not know the sources.
Sometimes they say that they are following the Karaites but really they mean
that they think they know better than the Orthodox Jews followers of Rabbinical
Tradition.
The Christian Messiah is reported to have urged his followers to obey the Pharisees because they sit in the Seat of Moses (Matthew 23:2) i.e. they have the authority that Moses had.
On other occasions he also may have spoken disparagingly of the Pharisees. This is assuming that the original documents were not subsequently doctored. In any case, it is the disparaging remarks his followers sometimes choose to emphasize. The Pharisees are identified with the Rabbis. Israelite Tribal Christians may seem to feel that doing what the Rabbis say might be construed as being unfaithful to their own Savior. At the same time
they feel they should keep the commandments so they invent alternatives.
This is fair enough.
It is a free country.
Nevertheless it is irresponsible.
It is both somewhat offensive and in the eyes of others a possible cause of derision.
And there is no authority for it!
Rabbinical tradition does not always claim to be based on the Bible but in fact
it is.
Zechariah 8:
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from every language of the
nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, Let us go with you, for
we have heard that God is with you.
Personally, I do not know if non-Jews should wear tsitsot.
My guess is that some Rabbis might not approve it.
The Rabbis are usually against imitations of Judaism that set themselves up as alternatives.
Nevertheless if it is to be done then (in my opinion) it should be done as the Rabbis say.
The same applies to everything else.
We need to try to bring Judah and Joseph together. Where there are differences then let us differ but why create division when there is no need for it?
Rabbinical Judaism in the eyes of most Jews (including many of the non-relgious) in Israel is considered the only valid Judaism. They are correct. The Rabbinical scholars are usually genuine, learned, and dedicated. This does not mean that they necessarily have to be automatically heeded but at least their opinions should be respected.
See:
Tzitzit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzitzit
See Also:
King David and the Oral Law.
|
