"Brit-Am Now"-1009
Contents:
1. Brit-Am Questionaire-Survey
Answers to B. Qs 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
2. Question on Individual Family Origins from Israel
3. Cad Expunged from Brit-Am List
4. Compliment on Interview
5. Why the Lost Tribes are not OBLIGATED under the Law today. General Outline
6. Why the Lost Tribes are not OBLIGATED under the Law today.
a. Renewal of the Covenant Possibly a Precedent for Re-Acceptance of the Lost Tribes?
7. Brit-Am Has some effect
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Mother was a M.., I believe we are Jewish, at last recount our family fits the profile of the area we are from.
Scottish decents, and just curious to know if you know for sure we are Jewish.

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Reply:
It is best to use the term "Israelite" or "Hebrew".
"Jewish" connotes someone from Judah or someone obligated by the Law.
Members of the Lost Ten Tribes are not obligated by the Law at present.
Many (from both Judah" and "Joseph") do not understand this so we will prepare an article explaining it in more depth
from the perspective of Judah. See a brief outline in point no.5 below.
Brit-Am CANNOT assure anyone that they are of Hebrew origin.
We may however affirm the probability of Israelite Ancestry.
You are probably an Israelite if you come from a people who fit the
Ephraimite Criteria at the National level.
http://www.britam.org/criteria.html

Your chances of being an Israelite are increased if you also fit the Individual Criteria
http://www.britam.org/criteria.html#Individual

We repeat, we cannot on the individual level assure anyone that they are of Israelite origin.
We can only say that based on our studies that in certain cases it is highly probable.
Even this opinion of ours is no more than that.
It is the opinion of Brit-Am but if you quote us to others do not be surprised
to hear the answer,
"Brit-Who?"
Nevertheless this opinion is based on studies of the Bible along with secular evidence
and the proofs are quite strong though obstacles still remain.

We can help others along their path
but we cannot always walk it with them.
God bless you
Yair Davidiy

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3. Cad Expunged from Brit-Am List
We received the following letter. The address has been deleted from our list for breaking one of the conditions of
belonging to it as outlined in our "Welcome" letter.
It is worth remembering that a very small but vocal proportion of "Identity" believers still hold such views.
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njp <njp2020@yahoo.com> wrote:
 

MAYBE YOU WILL SOMEDAY WISE UP AND STOP CALLING THE JUDEANS, "JEWS."
THEY ARE ALSO NOT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. THEY ARE NOT THE DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM. THEY ARE OF THE SYNAGOG OF SATAN.

Brit-AM Reply:

Name removed from Brit-Am list for breaking conditions of membership.

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4. Compliment on Interview
Larry: Yair was excellent on Yonah Tamar's show.

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5. Why the Lost Tribes are not OBLIGATED under the Law today. General Outline
If we can we will prepare at a later date, a lengthy detailed article on this subject.
Below is a thumbnail sketch of what such an article would be partially based upon.
It should be noted that these points are not generally known.
Even some learned scholars and Rabbis may not be aware of them.
More than a decade ago when we first began our Internet activities we mentioned on a Noachide List
(now defunct) our impression that the Lost Ten Tribes are not obligated at present by the Law
and neither are the descendants of Jews after several generations.
A Rabbinical scholar on the List who was quite learned became quite indignant and bombarded the list with
quotations which he claimed proved us wrong. His major quotes in fact upon close examination
supported us but that is besides the point.
At all events, if you go quoting us on this subject be prepared for some "experts" to deny it.
The points below are merely an outline but they describe the case and in practical terms will be found to be applicable and accepted.
We will outline these points from time to time.

It should also be noted that the whole question is still theoretical.
Brit-Am is the ONLY body at present assembling evidence that taken as a whole
will prove who the Lost Ten Tribes are at a practical level.
Other groups and individuals may be working along parallel lines in some areas but their  efficacy should be measured
by Brit-Am criteria. This statement may be contested or its validity may change in the future but it is what holds for now.
Until Brit-Am becomes more widely known and accepted the whole question will remain little more than an hypothesis.

The Points as to  Why the Lost Tribes are not OBLIGATED under the Law today include:

a. Renewal of the Covenant possibly a Precedent for Re-Acceptance of the Lost Tribes? See below #6.

b. The Prophets said that the Exiled Ten Tribes of Israel (Joseph) would be divorced and not under the Covenant during their Exile.

c. Israelites who accept another religion are expelled in their own lifetime and must reconvert according to some opinions.
This can apply to whole communities and tribes. The said opinions may not be legally binding in all cases but they do have implications
that are taken into consideration.

d. In practice, Descendants of Jews who change their religion after two or three generations are no longer Jews
even if no intermarriage with others has taken place. This is the situation that appears to prevail in practice even though not all authorities will agree with it.

e. Legally the Onus of Proof is on the claimant: Someone who claims that another person has an obligation must prove his case beyond all
reasonable doubt. The one against whom the claim is brought does not have to prove anything.
This means that even if physically someone is descended from Israel (or Judah) they cannot be obligated unless proof that would stand up in a court of law is available. They cannot be considered as "obligated" as long as any reasonable doubt still exists.

f. The Sages of the Talmud declared that the Ten Tribes and all other "problematic" categories (e.g. communities descended from Jewish women taken captive by Gentile Soldiers) would be legally considered non-Jewish. They also declared it a legal principle that the Ten Tribes would return.
They had the authority to make such decisions from the Bible (Deuteronomy ch.17).
It therefore follows that the Lost Ten Tribes when they return will not be obligated by the Law even though
later they will be.

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6. Why the Lost Tribes are not OBLIGATED under the Law today.
a. Renewal of the Covenant Possibly a Precedent for Re-Acceptance of the Lost Tribes?

The Israelites when  they came out of Egypt had not yet received the Law.
Before receiving the Law they in effect were converted.
After that they fell down from time to time and a Renewal of the Covenant
took place.
Rabbi Obadiah Yosef revived the concept of Renewal of the Covenant in the case of Ethiopian Jews.
The Ethiopian Jews are of uncertain  origin with customs and practices different from those of most Jews.
They also admit to having intermixed with the people around them.
They however considered themselves Jewish, practised what they believed to be Judaism, and suffered through
being identified as Jews. They also were in danger where they were because the peoples around them considered
them Jews. It was decided to bring them to Israel.
At first they were required to convert as individuals. Later it was realized that requiring members of a community to
convert while they remained in their community tended to lower the status of the community in its own eyes.
Instead of outright conversion they are now required to undergo a Renewing of the Covenant.This has the same
legal application as conversion but leaves the question of Israelite Origin open.
Judah and Joseph will re-unite. The religious questions will be resolved.
This may occur in the Messianic Era or before it.
We do not know what form the resolution of religious questions etc will take.
At all events the case of the Ethiopian Jews and Renewal of the Covenant may be considered as
a possible precedent.

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7. Brit-Am Has some effect
Extract from Letter:
 

Dear Mr. Davidiy
How are you?  I appreciate what you are doing.  I heard your 2nd
interview on the Tamar Yonah show and began to weep... What you two men
are saying really impacts me...