1. "reconciliation is not as monumental
a task as we might think"
I have spent some time reading on the Brit Am site. I found the message to be
liberating.
I have always had an affinity for the Jewish and became involved with them in
2001.
...I would say 99 % of my friends are orthodox.
I am also good friends with a famous orthodox rabbi who has helped my family
along on our journey.
... I cannot say enough good about my Jewish friends. They have been very
patient and supportive of us, almost as if they knew where we were heading?. and
now they have accepted our repentance, and welcomed us as family. I have made no
secret or misrepresented my belief in Brit Am. I am the most unlikely ambassador
for reconciliation, but I have an opportunity to help this along, and must do
what I can in this regard. I now believe this reconciliation is not as
monumental a task as we might think due to the support and love my family and I
have received from Judah. I wanted to say thank you for all your hard work, and
I wish to remain anonymous. Thank you
2. English King Traced His Ancestry to
the Kings of Judah
|
"Edward-IV"
King of England
|
Edward-iv (1442-1483) had his genealogy drawn up. This traces his
ancestry back to King Jehoshaphat (867-851 BCE) of Judah.
Source: "The New Jerusalem.
The Extraordinary True Story of How a Secret Society Rebuilt London" by Adrian
Gilbert, Great Britain, 2002, 430 pages.
|
3. Letter Concerning the
Noachide
Movement and Brit-Am Reply
What an awesome site! thanks for all of this hard work, It is
amazing work. I have a question about the Noahide movement. I do not know too
much about it but looked at their official site, and was wondering what your
opinion is concerning this movement. it seems it would be counter productive
for Joseph to become involved, and I read you thought they should not move in
this direction, or at least only consider it a temporal move ? The reason I
believe it to be a counter productive move, is it obviously ignores the
biblical truths you have uncovered, at least for Joseph, and would be better
for all involved if Joseph were made aware of His identity, thank you very
much.
also I would like to support Brit Am on an ongoing basis and did not see
provision for doing so automatically on pay pal. perhaps I missed it. could
you please assist in this? thank you Yair Davidi, and G-d Bless, Robert
Brit-Am
Reply:
Concerning the Noahide Movement:
We consider it a positive movement though not necessarily suited for all Brit-Am
subscribers and "Ephraimites".
There is however no contradiction or tension between them and us as far as we
know.
It is more than a decade now since I took even a cursory interest in this
movement so I am not up-to-date with it.
I was once subscribed to a large Noachide-e-mail Discussion List (since defunct)
and then my impression was
that possibly half the other subscribers were open to the Brit-Am message
concerning the whereabouts of the Ten Lost Tribes.
They have been well-received by leading Jewish Rabbis and activists.
It is a large movement, with a lot of backers, a lot of discussion and decisions
behind it, a sophisticated approach, and extensive social networking.
This is important and is something Brit-Am cannot offer. At least not for now.
The growing Noachide Movement is in our minds a sign of arousal in our time by
Ephraim since in practice most "Noachides"
seem to derive from Joseph.
It parallels and is part of the return to their "Hebrew Roots" of Ephraimite
Christians though some of them may dislike the association.
You said you looked at their official site.
Which site is that?
We did a Search on the Web and came up with quite a few sites of interest.
We thought we would make remarks on two of them:
(a) Extracts from
Wikipedia
Article on Noachides
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Laws_of_Noah
United States Congress
The Seven Laws of Noah were recognized by the United States Congress in the
preamble to the bill that established Education Day in honor of the 90th
birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late leader of the
Chabad-Lubavitch movement:
Whereas Congress recognizes the historical tradition of ethical values and
principles which are the basis of civilized society and upon which our great
Nation was founded; Whereas these ethical values and principles have been the
bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization, when they were known as the
Seven Noahide Laws.[15]
Israeli Druze
In January 2004, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh
Mowafak Tarif, signed a declaration calling on all non-Jews in Israel to observe
the Noahide Laws as laid down in the Hebrew Bible and expounded upon in Jewish
tradition. The mayor of the Galilean city of Shefa-'Amr (Shfaram) - where
Muslim, Christian and Druze communities live side by side - also signed the
document. The declaration includes the commitment to make a better, more humane
world based on the Seven Noachide Commandments and the values they represent
commanded by the Creator to all mankind through Moses on Mount Sinai.
Support for the spread of the Seven Noahide Commandments by the Druze leaders
reflects the Biblical narrative itself. The Druze community reveres the
non-Jewish father-in-law of Moses, Jethro, whom Arabs call Shoaib. According to
the Biblical narrative, Jethro joined and assisted the Jewish people in the
desert during the Exodus, accepted monotheism, but ultimately rejoined his own
people. In fact, the tomb of Jethro in Tiberias is the most important religious
site for the Druze community
(b) Remark on Article About
Noachides
http://www.nishma.org/articles/update/update5757-1-noahide.htm
This article says that many Noachides still accept the Christian
Messiah though they no longer regard him as divine.
-Well on this point they differ little from many Christians at the "grass-roots"
level (even among Catholics) who despite
official doctrine in many cases regard their Messiah as haveing been an inspired
person rather than a deity.
The article says that they also emphasize the Written Biblical Text rather than
Rabbinical explanations.
There is little reason really for them to get involved in "Rabbinical"
explanations though it would not harm and is
a sign of Israelite ancestry.
It could be that quite a few Brit-Am followers amongst Ephraimites are actually
closer to Judaism than they are.
Concerning Contributions:
Brit-Am operates on a hair-string budget. Everything is important and
almost anything can make a difference.
Orders and Contributions are very important to us. We get by through miracles
that each month we almost have come to take for granted.
On the Brit-Am Web Site from the top on the right hand side scroll down when you
come to a picture of "The Brit-Am Rose"
you will find an opportunity to make an offering.
OR To Make Regular Monthly Contributions via PayPal
go to:
http://www.britam.org/books.html
Scroll down to (on the lefthand side) the "Make a Donation" Buttons.
4. A Criticism of the
Noachide
Movement from the Brit-Am Perspective.
Brit-Am believes that many in the West today are descended from
Israelites and that it is important that they know it.
We also think it important that Biblical values be respected and the Bible
learned
from a Rabbinically-compatible perspective.
Our impression is that most Noachide leaders including the Jewish ones do not
always appreciate this point of view.
We hope we are wrong but if it is true such an attitude may reflect a certain
degree of irresponsibility on their part.
5. The Oral Law and Israelite Descent
Brit-Am presents its case from a perspective that is compatible with
Orthodox Judaism.
See our list of articles under the heading "Judaism":
http://www.britam.org/ContentsSubject.html#Judaism
Since "Joseph" (i.e. the Ten Tribes) technically and temporarily may not be
bound entirely by the Law at present
there is no real reason why they should relate to the Oral Law one way or
another.
On the other hand,
Something like this should not be reject just for the sake of rejecting it.
We do not need any more cause for Division than we already have.
The Sages said that willingness to accept the Oral Law is a mark of Israelite
Ancestry.
Nearly all major points in the Oral Law also have roots in the Hebrew Bible.
One should be very careful about not accepting it.
6. What National and Religious Entities
Comprise Brit-Am Sympathizers?
Are they all Ephraimites?
We do not know who the people are who regularly visit our site or subscribe to
us.
All we can go on are letters sent to us, people we have met, and statistics of
the countries of
origin of visitors to our site supplied by our server which only give ca. half
the total.
Nevertheless, a rough estimate indicates that:
"Ethnic" and National Distribution
Maybe 10% are Jews from Israel or Ephraimites living here.
Another 5 to 10% may be Jews in the USA.
50% or more live in the USA .
At present maybe ca.6% live in Australia and New Zealand.
Britain, Australia, and Holland each number ca. 2%.
Other countries account for ca. 15%.
Judging by names: Irish, Scots-Irish, Anglo-Saxon, Dutch, Welsh, and French are
important.
Many of those in the USA are of German descent.
Judging mainly by names people of Hispanic origin are also an important
component.
We also have people from Jamaica, Afro-Americans, people from India, Singapore,
etc.
We also have people from Scandinavia, Germany, etc. a few Arabs, Russians, etc.
People come for all kinds of reasons:
Some get a "kick" out of reading what we write but do not agree with it.
Anti-Semites read our material despite themselves or because they agree with
part of it.
There are Christians who are looking to find points of agreement with their own
doctrines, etc.
On the whole most read our material because it gives them an answer to questions
of their own and because
they are positively inclined towards our message even before hearing it.
Religious Distribution:
Jews of all types but mainly Orthodox or Traditional 15-20%
We have quite a few Mormons on our list.
We also have a smattering of academics, analysts, etc who are not really
religious but interested.
We have people from mainstream religions e.g. Anglicans in Britain, etc.
The term "Ephraimite" is taken to encompass People in the West who consider
themselves to
be descended from Israel and in their religious practices adopt "Hebrew Roots"
type customs.
We have members of Churches such as the UCG etc who normally might be reserved
about being classified as
"Ephraimites" even though by the above definition that is what they are.
Taking them altogether "Ephraimites" could reach ca. 50% or more of the total.
7. Contemporary Mythologies: Fairies,
UFOs, Illuminati
Fairies:
These are spirit like creatures that fly about.
Famous believers in fairies include Arthur Conan Doyle creature of Sherlock
Holmes.
Fairies are often depicted in tales for children.
They are usually shown as small in size and female in gender.
The term "fairy" in common slang is sometimes applied to a homosexual.
On the whole fairies (the winged kind) are depicted as positive.
The idea of the fairy may be derived from belief in angels combined with ancient
pagan notions.
UFOs:
These are Unidentified Flying Objects.
UFOs have often been ascribed to the activity of extra-terrestrial beings.
It would seem however that they are the result of physical phenomena
for which a more prosaic scientific explanation is available or ultimately will
be.
"Illuminati"
The term "Illuminati" means "Enlightened".
Most Conspriacy Theories refer to the "Illuminati".
Historically the first "Illuminati" belonged to a secret society in Bavaria in
the 1700s.
This organization was active in Germany and included a few German luminaries
such as Goethe
in its ranks. The society was outlawed and as far as anybody knows disappeared
as did thousands of
similar organizations that all kinds of people have created over the centuries.
Conspiracy Quacks claim that the "Illuminati" survived and now control the USA,
the Media, and everything else.
Very often Conspiracy Quacks use the concept of "Illuminati" to cloak
anti-Jewish, anti-British, or anti-American
(and/or anti-all three of them together) sentiments.
Of the three above subjects, we may say that since fairies may be angels, UFOs
naturally occurring events,
and the "Illuminati" an excuse for needless hatred
then those who believe in the latter are the reprehensible and Criminally
gullible ones. They should be required to prove their case or be self-condemned
as merchants of disaffection and falsehood.
Brit-Am is the "still small voice" that contains the truth.
[1-Kings 19:12] AND AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE A FIRE; BUT THE LORD WAS NOT IN THE
FIRE: AND AFTER THE FIRE A STILL SMALL VOICE.
