Question and Answer About Keeping the Law.

The following question and answer brings up some important points. Please
read it carefully and with an open mind.
I do not wish to engage in a lengthy or involved correspondence on the
matters concerned.
Our main task is Biblical study in general and proving the present day
identity of the Lost Tribes of Israel
and spreading knowledge of this proof. All other matters at this point are
subsidiary.
Even if you do not agree with us on subsidiary matters but agree with us
concerning
the present day identity of the Lost Tribes of Israel  help us spread this
knowledge.
Help Brit-Am as much as you can, however you can.

At 13:44 11/10/2002 -0400, D. Lawrence wrote:
>Yair, I am unpleasantly surprised of your statement that Israelites of
>gentile origin are not required/expected to keep the Torah.
>Please confirm if this is your position and your justification.
>
>leheet.............don

We have gone through this question frequently:
Let's use your question to clarify a few issues:
First of all,
in lieu of a preamble I will state categorically that, at this stage,
anybody who is serious about the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and their
present identity will SUPPORT BRIT-AM AS MUCH AS THEY CAN. If you do not
support Brit-Am you are not serious and you are letting yourself  and
others down.

Regarding the specific question:
First some of the sources then  further clarification:

         It was prophesied that the northern Tribes would forget for a long
period the formal Law and be effectually "divorced"   (Jeremiah 3;8). In a
religious sense for a time they would no longer be considered the people of
God (Hosea 2;9). In the future the Lost Ten Tribes will return (Hosea
2;10). At present their legal-religious status is that of non-Israelites
(Yebamot 17). These legally "non-Jewish" descendants of Israel were to
fulfill a predestined role of their own. The Separation of the Israelite
Tribes had a Divine Purpose, "This thing is from me" (1-Kings 12;24). In so
far as the overall Divine Will was abided by so too is that aspect of the
"Law" fulfilled.
         The Lost Ten Tribes will have to return and accept anew the Law of
Moses and Israel. This is also mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud
(Sanhedrin, 10) and  in the Zohar (Genesis 48;8, VaYechi, 88m).
<REMEMBER YE THE LAW OF MOSES MY SERVANT, WHICH I COMMANDED UNTO HIM IN
HOREB FOR ALL ISRAEL, WITH THE STATUTES AND JUDGMENTS> [Malachi 4:4].

1. Who is an Israelite? We do not know 100% who an Israelite is.
2. Even if we did know they would not be obligated.
3. What does it mean to be obligated?
4. Terminology: Perhaps it is a duty but not an obligation?

1. Who is an Israelite?

A citizen of the USA is someone who is born in the USA or who has been
accepted as a citizen after undergoing a legally recognized process. This
legally recognized process was set up by people who are already citizens
and have decided how their communal entity should perpetuate itself and who
will be members of it. In other words, the USA as a community defines
itself and its members.
The Jewish people does the same , as do all peoples. The Jews in Biblical
terms are "Judah". They never lost cognition of their identity. A "Jew" is
someone born of a Jewish mother or who has been accepted as a convert to
Judaism by an Orthodox Rabbinical court.

The Lost Ten Tribes lost their identity. We can say that we know to a fair
degree of certainty who the Lost Ten Tribes today are,
on the whole. You may be certain  that you yourself are descended from
the  Lost Ten Tribes  but it would not stand up in a court of law, for good
or for bad. Say, for instance, that a member of the Lost Ten Tribes has
certain obligations as an individual. We can take the Bible and history and
other disciplines and prove that it is quite certain that a  portion
of   the Lost Ten Tribes must today be living in North America and it is
highly likely that they comprise a substantial section, possibly a
majority, of the population. We cannot however prove definitely that any
particular individual descends from  Israel. We could not obligate anybody
specific.
On the other hand once recognition of the Lost Ten Tribes Brit-Am Identity
spreads there could arise a body of Israelites who would so constitute
themselves that they and those joined to them could mutually define
themselves as Israelite whether all of them originally were or not. This
will happen in the future and by assisting the spread of the Brit-Am
message you are working in this direction.
In other words even if the Lost Ten Tribes were technically still bound by
the Laws of Moses today it would be only theoretical since nobody can say
with 100% certainty that they belong to them.  There is no official
community body, at this stage,  that can accept the "strangers" amongst
them as part of them.

2. Even if we did know they would not be obligated.
In addition to that we have the sources quoted above that show that the
obligations under the Law of Moses concerning the Lost Ten Tribes will be
temporarily suspended.
Even if there was 100% certainty on an individual level, and there is not -
then the person concerned would not be so obligated.
[There is however at the collective level  a fairly high
probability.  Brit-Am can increase this probability, if helped to do so.]
Amongst the Jews cases are known of people who were of Jewish origin but
whose ancestors changed their faith and consequently they were not
recognized as Jewish but had to convert if they so wished. These cases were
based on the precedent of the Lost Ten Tribes. B. Netanyahu in his works on
the Marranos (forced converts to Catholicism) of Spain provides copious
references for case studies of this phenomena which is also mentioned in
other, more recent,  legal literature.

3. What does it mean to be obligated?
To be obligated under the Mosaic Law means that the High Court (Sanhedrin)
would be duty bound under certain conditions
to put you to death if you broke certain laws.
e.g.
[Exodus 35:2] SIX DAYS SHALL WORK BE DONE, BUT ON THE SEVENTH DAY THERE
SHALL BE TO YOU AN HOLY DAY, A SABBATH OF REST TO THE LORD: WHOSOEVER DOETH
WORK THEREIN SHALL BE PUT TO DEATH.
Nowadays nobody can be put to death for not keeping the Sabbath since the
legal apparatus ands related conditions do not exist.
Nevertheless a Jews who does not keep the Sabbath could be technically
liable for such a penalty
and owe a legal "debt" so to speak, for a future court to decide upon.
A member of the Lost Ten Tribes would not be so liable since his liability has
been suspended.
People who consider themselves to be descended from Israel through the Lost
Ten Tribes
and wish to keep the Law are usually Christians and by keeping the Law they
mean choosing what they
see as pertinent to themselves and keeping it as they feel right.  This is
not a Biblical definition.
The Bible declares that a recognized legal body would be set up that in
each generation would decide
what the law said and how it should be obeyed. Even if one did not agree
with the interpretation of this legal
body the Bible obligated one to obey it and accept its decisions
(Deuteronomy 17:8-13).

4. Terminology: Perhaps it is a duty but not an obligation?
Biblical verses frequently indicate that the Lost Tribes will return and
accept the law.
It also seems that for the Lost Ten Tribes to keep at least some aspects of
the Mosaic tradition
before the end times is necessitated by the Prophets. We need to learn the
Bible more in depth
and more thoroughly to decide on this point. We also all need to consult
with others and raise ourselves
to a higher level to reach some understanding on matters like these.
Even at our present level we can already see that for descendants of the
Lost Ten Tribes
to begin to draw themselves closer to the Almighty through the Biblical
commandments would be highly desirable.
They would do this however on a voluntary basis in the legal sense and not
as if they were so obligated at this stage.
At all events, such matters are in a borderline area. They exceed the
present mandate of Brit-Am  which
is limited to mainly exploring and propagating Brit-Am Identity truth.
This is the most important task at present.

The more Brit-Am is assisted along its present path of research and
teaching the more all related aspects
and questions will become clearer.
Under present circumstances only through helping Brit-Am can the Lost
Tribes identity question and all related matters
be answered.
We need funds to function, to do research and publicize the results,  and
we need funds to put out works in Hebrew and in English.
To what degree we succeed in these tasks is, at least partly, an expression
of whatever support you and others decide to give us.
It is Divine providence that whoever receives this message has received it.
How the obligation presented is decided upon is your individual responsibility.
For our part, we pray that the Almighty will enable us to do the best we can.
God bless you all,
Yair Davidiy