November 13, 2002
Contents:
1. British = Brit-Ish?
2. France
3. Question on Anti-Semitism
4. Alans
5. Letter from "Jessica"
6. Question on Lombardy and Italy:
1. British = Brit-Ish?
Clarifications:
The Terms "Brit-Am" and "Brit-Ish":
The Cimbri descended from the
Cimmerians who in part were the Lost Ten
Tribes. They were eventually to be
found throughout Scandinavia especially
in Denmark-Jutland which Procopius
("Gothic Wars 2.1.7) referred to as
"Brittania" whereas the isle of Britain
(home of the British Cymry) he
called "Brittia". Part of the Cimbri
reached Holland in their wanderings
and there too the presence of
a tribe of "Bretons" was reported (Pliny
N.H.4;17). Similarly Britain according
to Welsh sources was settled by the
Cimmeri who are also referred to as
Gomeri.
Isaiah (ch.49) placed the Lost Israelites
in "Isles of the Sea" and said
they would establish a "Brit-Am" i.e.
A People's Covenant or Commonwealth.
[Isaiah 42:6] I THE LORD HAVE CALLED
THEE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND WILL HOLD
THINE HAND, AND WILL KEEP THEE, AND
GIVE THEE FOR A COVENANT OF THE PEOPLE,
FOR A LIGHT OF THE GENTILES;
"A COVENANT OF THE PEOPLE"
in Hebrew "Brit-Am". Israel will be a
"Brit-Am". In the Middle Ages Britain
sometimes referred to herself as
"Britammia". The Welsh called themselves,
"Bryth y Brithan" , or Briths of
Brithan. In Biblical Hebrew "brith"
means "covenant.
The Rabbinical Commentator Malbim says
that the term "Brit-Am" in the Book
of Isaiah means Israel.
This also accords with the simple meaning of the
context in which the name is found
and Talmudic traditions concerning the
relevant passages.
This is why we chose "Brit-Am for the
name of our organization. "Brit-Am"
represents the Lost Ten Tribes returning.
Other reasons were that "Brit-Am"
hints at Britain from whom many of
those to whom we direct our message
originate. Our friend Cecil Davis pointed
out that "Brit-Am" can also be
understand as a shortened way of saying
"Britain and America".
[Isaiah 49:8] THUS SAITH THE LORD, IN
AN ACCEPTABLE TIME HAVE I HEARD THEE,
AND IN A DAY OF SALVATION HAVE I HELPED
THEE: AND I WILL PRESERVE THEE, AND
GIVE THEE FOR A COVENANT OF THE
PEOPLE, TO ESTABLISH THE EARTH, TO CAUSE
TO INHERIT THE DESOLATE HERITAGES;
a covenant of the people [Hebrew: "BRIT-AM"
i.e. Britain], to establish the
earth [or in the Hebrew: "to found
a country", e.g. the U.S.A., the State
of Israel], to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages".
"Desolate heritages" relatively speaking were the regions of North
America, Australia and New Zealand,
and South Africa before the nations
here spoken of colonized them. Also,
on a long-term geopolitical and
economical level the ZionistJewish
resettlement of part of the Land of
Israel was made possible (like and/or
believe it or not), in some measure,
due to the policies of Britain (sic!)
and America!!
The Ancient British referred to themselves
and were referred to as Britons,
Cimmeri, and as Iberi.
The Ancient British are usually called
"Celts" by which is meant the
inhabitants of the British Isles before
the Anglo-Saxon and Viking
conquests. This term is a modern one
and may be misleading since it
suggests too close an identification
with the "Celts" on the Continent.
"Britannii" or something similar appears
to have been a name used by the
people of Britain for themselves. It
appears in both Greek and Phoenician
sources
The Welsh called themselves "Cymru"
or Gomeru or similar names. Welsh
tradition says that this was once the
name of all the British Celts and it
may be so.
We do know that the major name by which
the British Celts referred to
themselves and by which they were known
to others was "Iberi" or "Hiberi".
This is the name applied to them by
Ptolemy, the name found in Irish
mythology and repeated in numerous
place and ethnic names throughout the
British Isles.
"Iberi" (or "Hiberi") is a westernized
form for "Hebrew":
The Ancient Britons called themselves
Hebrews.
The term may "British" may be understood
to mean "Brit-ish": "Brit" in
Hebrew means covenant; "ish" mean "man"
or "belonging to", or
"part-of-the-same". The suffix "-ish"
in the English language also means
"being part of" or "belonging to".
The English suffix, like a significant
part of the English language,
derives from the Hebrew original.
We in Brit-Am however do not push the
word-similarity of "Brit-ish" to the
Hebrew as a proof but it is worthy
considering after all the other Biblical
and general evidence has been taken
into account.
We do, however, on occasion refer to
the name "Brit-Am" which means
"Covenant-of-the-People". "Brit-Am"
is applied to the Lost Ten Tribes in
Isaiah 42 and 49. In Hebrew dialects
"Brit-Am" could be pronounced as
"Brit-An". On the other hand the name
Britain in old documents was
sometimes written "Britammia".
The Hebrew "Brit-Am" could be the source
of the name "Britain" OR the Bible
may have chosen the term "Brit-Am"
to represent the Lost Ten Tribes since
the British Isles were destined to
be the home of the leading tribes and
representative portions of the other
tribes and to be the main agency
through which the Lost Ten Tribes as
a whole would be enabled to express
their destined goal. In this respect
the daughter nations of Britain and
the USA are included.
2. France: Clarification
Adapted from "Ephraim"
Chapter Seven
Zarephath
FRANCE, BRITAIN, ISRAEL, GERMANY, AND
ROME ACCORDING TO TALMUDIC AND
RABBINICAL COMMENTATORS
In early Medieval and Modern Hebrew
the country of France is called
"Zarephath". Zarephath was originally
a Phoenician town, "Zarephath which
belongeth to Zidon" (1Kings 17;9) in
which Israelites also dwelt. The name
"Zarephath " is derived from a Hebrew
root meaning "MetalForger"1.
Throughout ancient Gaul and especially
on the northwest coast there are
signs of Phoenician or Israelite settlement2.
It may be that France
received the name Zarephath for ethnic
reasons due to some connection with
the mixed IsraelitePhoenician center
of Zarephath. Compare in this
connection the Orthodox Jewish Rabbinical
Commentary known as "Daat Sofrim"
on Obadiah 1;20: "EVEN UNTO ZAREPHATH:
<There is a place named Zarephath
besides Sidon (I-Kings 17;9). It would be
easy to explain the meaning to be that
city [in Lebanon] that was a
Sidonian [i.e. Phoenician] settlement.
From the style of expression,
however, it appears that a distant
place is spoken of whereas the city
[Zarephath in Lebanon] was very close.
From this it appears that here it is
speaking of a far-away land whose name
in Hebrew is [also] "Zarephath"
[i.e. France] until this very day and
at that time contained Sidonian
colonies amongst which Israelites also
settled. [58] [58] Perhaps the name
Zarephath in the Land of Israel [i.e.
Zarephath in Lebanon besides Sidon
which was all within the promised boundaries
of Israel] was so called after
the land [of Zarephath = France in
Hebrew] due to certain connections that
existed with its inhabitants? The prophecy
says there is a future for the
dwellers there, and so it was, and
for a certain period the place became a
Torah-center.> DS.
At all events Zarephath is mentioned
in the Biblical Book of Obadiah in
connection with the future location
of the Lost Ten Tribes. Commentators
understood the intention to mean the
country of Gaul-France that according
to Abarbanel (on Obadiah) included
in Biblical terms the Isle of Britain.
This understanding of Scripture is
shown below to possess an internal logic
of its own: It should be considered
in the light of all the other proofs
adduced in this present work.
OBADIAH CONCLUDES:
"AND THE CAPTIVITY OF THIS HOST OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL
POSSES THAT OF THE CANAANITES, EVEN
UNTO ZAREPHATH; AND THE CAPTIVITY OF
JERUSALEM, WHICH IS IN SEPHARAD, SHALL
POSSESS THE CITIES OF THE SOUTH.
"AND SAVIORS SHALL COME UP ON MOUNT ZION TO JUDGE THE MOUNT OF
ESAU; AND THE KINGDOM SHALL BE THE
LORD'S" (Obadiah 1;2021).
The above translation is from the King James (KJ) version. The
Hebrew original is capable of additional
nuances of meaning.
Sepharad means Spain and refers to the Jews or descendants of
Jews. Our interest at the moment is
concentrated on the Lost Ten Tribes who
are in Zarephath. As explained
above, Zarephath was the name of a township
on the coast of Lebanon, "Zarephath
which belongeth to Sidon" (1Kings
17;9). "Zarephath" was also the name
given in later Hebrew to France and
its neighbors and encompassed Britain.
"Zarephath" is mentioned in the Book
of Obadiah (1;20) in connection with
the exile of the children of Israel:
"THE CAPTIVITY OF THIS HOST OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL
POSSESS THAT OF THE CANAANITES UNTO
ZAREPATH.."
According to a composite explanation
based on Rabbinical Commentators the
above verse may actually be understood
to say:
"This first exile [of the Lost Ten Tribes] who reach from the Land
of Canaanites [i.e. Germany] to Zeraphath
[France and Britain].."
The Hebrew word ("Chail") translated in the KJ as "host" can also
mean "first" and most Jewish Commentators
seem to have understood the verse
to refer to the First Exile which was
that of the Lost Ten Tribes. They
also tended to understand the placename
"Zarephath" (in this case) as
referring to France and its area or
to France and England together and thus
either expressly. This identification,
by implication, links the Lost Ten
Tribes with these western regions.
Classical Jewish Traditional Commentators interpreted the Hebrew
passage of the first part of the above
excerpt as saying:
"And this first exile of the children of Israel who are
(positioned) from the Canaanites to
Zarephath..."*o
The words of the traditional Jewish Rabbinical Commentators on
this verse will now be quoted with
a bare minimum of explanation. Suffice
it to say that their opinions are based
on substance and confirmed from
other sources:
Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, 10401105, Champagne, France):
<The first exile of the children of Israel who were exiled from
the Ten Tribes to the land of Canaanites
unto Zarephath...The exegetes say
that Zarephath means the Kingdom called
"France" in common language..>
i.e. Rashi says that the Lost Ten Tribes are in France!
Abraham iben Ezra, (10921167, Spain):
< "FROM THE CANAANITES": We have heard from great men that the
land of Allemagne [i.e. Germany] are
the Canaanites who fled from before
the children of Israel when they came
into the land. So too, Zeraphath
means France...",
Ramban (Nachmanides, Rabbi Mosheh ben
Nachman, 1194-1270, Spain; from "The
Book of Redemption", chapter 1.):
"The vision of Obadiah...the house of Joseph refers to the Ten
Tribes ...who were exiled and still
are in their place of exile, the exile
of Zarephath and Canaan which are in
the farthest north..."
A definite message is derivable from the above Commentatories
taken as a complementary whole. The
import may be understood to be that the
Lost Ten Tribes are still in exile
in the Land of France from (including or
bordering upon) Germany that includes
amongst its composite ethnic elements
those who descend from the ancient
Canaanites. A Canaanite (or other)
descent for part of the Germans does
not contradict their belonging to Edom
and other groups. The identification
with Edom relates to the leading
classes, elite dominating groups, and
national imposed character whereas
other identifications are concerned
more with straightforward general
physical descent.
Don Isaac ben Yehudah Abarbanel, (14371508, Spain) has a somewhat
different explanation than the others.
On some points his commentary is
worthy of consideration in the light
of the above:
"Zeraphath is France and so too the exile of Sepharad is
Spain..and let you not err just because
Zeraphath [i.e. France] is spoken
of and Angleterre [i.e. England] is
not recalled, for there too did the
exiles go, for lo and behold, that
island is considered a part of
Zarephath and in the beginning
belonged to it. In their ancient books they
call it [i.e. Britain] the Isle of
Zarephath [i.e. of France] even though
it later separated itself from Zarephath
[France] and became a kingdom in
its own right.
"....And maybe the intention is too to those Children of Israel
who completely left Religion due to
the weight of troubles and persecutions
and they remain in France and in Spain
in their thousands and tens of
thousands, huge communities. They shall
return and request the LORD their
God.." (Abarbanel on Obadiah).
Concerning the inclusion of England with France in the language of
early Commentators Abrabanel has a
point since after the Norman Conquest
England and France could be considered
one continuum. Norman French was the
official language of England. The Norman
Kings attached as much importance
to their possessions in Normandy and
France as they did to England. They
alternately laid claim to the French
Throne or acknowledged French
suzerainty. Movement between the two
countries was free and was not
accompanied by cultural changes.
Consider also
The 1599 Geneva Bible on Obadiah 1:20.
1:20 And the captivity of this host
of the children of Israel [shall
possess] that of the {p} Canaanites,
[even] unto Zarephath; and the
captivity of Jerusalem, which [is]
in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of
the south.
(p) By the Canaanites, the Jews mean
the Dutchmen, and by Zarephath,
France, and by Sepharad, Spain.
The Radak (Kimchi) in "The Book of Hebrew
Roots" ("Safer haShorashim")
entry "Zarephath" (Tsarephath"):
<They say that Zarephath means the
land called France>.
The Jewish Commentators in the verse
of Obadiah (1:20) said that:
"And the captivity of this host of
the children of Israel" meant the Lost
Ten Tribes and that
"Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath"
meant Germany, Holland, France, and
England.
3. Question on anti-semitism
From: Yehshua Somerville
Subject: anti-semitism
Yair, I had e-mailed you a question
on Hungarians/Magyars and there
origins. You Stated that "One of the
signs of Israelite origin is a
relatively low level of anti-semitism
and the Hungarians have not possessed
this quality or other of the necessary
traits."
Would this statement would go for the
descendants German, English, polish,
Irish, french, Spanish along with many
other European people. At one time
or another many nations including the
USA had strict laws or judgments
against Jews how is it that by this
factor we can claim ancestry to Israel?
In the bible we can find many chapters
and verses that put Israel and Judah
against each other after the separation
of the tribes. Wouldn't anti-Jewish
actions from European Israelites along
with anti-European actions from Jews
be part of our inherited subconscious
character over the past thousands of
years testify against us, just as much
as non-Israelite decent could impose?
We also know that many of our own tribes
absorbed non-Hebrew peoples before
the capture of the promise land; such
as Simeon and Judah. Wouldn't by
using the factors stated about non-Israelite
people(s) dislike for
Israelites or Semites create an internal
conflict just as much as
non-Israelite influences would?
Thank you,
J.Somerville
Answer: Relative lack of anti-semitism
or even philo-semitism was one of
seven main criteria we applied for
the purposes of identification. It was
not the only point we used but one
that had to exist together with the others.
The point holds but exceptions do occur,
for instance:
Bulgaria in the Second World War was
an ally of the Germans but the
Bulgarian populace demonstrated on
behalf of the Jews
and on the whole protected them. Similarly
the Serbians were not
anti-semitic on the whole.
We do not identify either Bulgarians
or Serbians with the Lost ten tribes.
We do say that people of Lost Israelite
origin are significant in Sweden
and Switzerland even though in many
ways
these countries have not been pro-Jewish.
Anti-semites exist everywhere. Sometimes
people can change. Colonel
Meintzerhagen was a British officer
who was initially anti-semitic but had
a change of heart and became an important
advocate of the Zionist cause.
Mark Twain also initially had anti-Jewish
sentiments but later changed his
mind and wrote well about the Jews.
On the other hand people who once
appeared to be pro-Jewish (such as
Ernest Bevan) later became anti-semitic.
On the whole relatively speaking nations
we have identified as belonging
largely to Israel have been less anti-semitic
than others.
We judge relative rates of sympathy
for the Jews according to the
historical times and circumstances.
The King of Denmark in the Second World
War said to a Nazi official that
since the Danes, unlike the Germans,
never had an inferiority complex when
dealing with the Jews they did not
hate them.
Countries like Hungary and Poland had
a large number of Jews in proportion
to their population. This caused fiction.
The common people were made to
feel inferior by their own upper classes,
had a low self-image, and
therefore resented the Jews who in
some respects were better off. They were
also more primitive and subject to
superstition and manipulation by
medieval elements.
Despite all these extenuating circumstances
a relative lack of
anti-semitism and an attitude of fair
dealings towards the Jewish people
over long periods of time has proven
to be a valid measurement of Israelite
ancestry especially when taken into
consideration along with the other
criteria we employ for the same purpose.
This is what I believe.
This is what Brit-Am holds. It corresponds
with conclusions reached from
the Bible and from history and related
sources.
There is a good chance that people
who instinctively identify with Israel
really are of Israelite descent no
matter what country they come from. Our
criteria concern the whole population,
the aggregate, rather than the
individual.
4. Alans
At 18:41 11/09/2002 +0200, branko wrote:
Re: Fw: Tribal Identifications: Asher-1
>Hi, by the name "as" there was
also described sarmatian tribe of alans
>(halani, alanoi).
>
>Branko
Comment:
Some of the Alans moved westward and some remained in the Caucasus area.
We have identified the Alans as descendants
of Elon from Zebulon. Those who
moved west we traced to France,
Switzerland, and Holland.
In historical reports they are sometimes
confused with the Allemans.
The portion who remained in the Caucasus
mostly joined the Khazars.
Sometimes the Ossetes are confused
with the Allans but the Ossetes appear
to have been another people
who at one stage were subjects of the
Alans.
5. Letter from "Jessica"
From: Jessica
Subject: subscription please
Please put me on your subscription
mailout. Eddie Chumney has sent me
several of your writings. They have
been a HUGE blessing to me. I have
poured over them numerous times.
Thank you,
Jessica
6. Question on Lombardy and Italy:
At 04:56 11/11/2002 -0800, Cynthia wrote:
>Dear Yair-Davidy,
>
>Athol suggested I write to you w/my
question. I
>am working on a paper investigating
the Hebrew
>Contributions & Connections to
The Northern
>Italian City States during the Late
Medieval &
>Early Renaissance Period. I can't
seem to find
>your specific work on that area. Would
you direct
>me to where on your site I should
be looking or
>what text I should purchase? If there
are other
>sites I can access etc.? I am working
w/a small
>International Research Group of which
I am the
>smallest of small components.
>
>All Good Things,
>Cynthia Tedesco
Answer:
Below is what I have written concerning
Italy and Lombardy. I doubt if it
will help you very much
but you may find it of interest, Yair:
Extracts from "The Tribes":
In Europe the Semnones (cf. Simeon) were a section of Suebi to
whom the Angli were federated. Semnones12
bordered Laccobardi (Lombards),
Angles, and Viruni (Warings). The Lombards
in Scandinavian Literature have
been identified as the HEADOBARDS13
of old, whose name is reminiscent to
that of "OHAD" (Genesis 26;10), Son
of Simeon.
The Headobards-Lombards descend from Ohad son of Simeon. They
were destined from the area of Scandinavia
to migrate southward and
ultimately conquer and settle the region
of Northern Italy now called
LOMBARDY which is famous for its capital
of Milano.. LOMBARDY in ancient
times had been known as "Gallia Transpadana"
and its one-time inhabitants
according to Pliny (N.H. 3; 17) had
been called "Laevi" or "Levi" (sic.).
Thus, the Simeon-Levi association may
have been repeated when the
Headobards (Ohad from Simeon) settled
in the "Levi" neighborhood creating a
Lombard-Laevi conjunction. As stated,
the Lombards (Headobards) had emerged
from Scandinavia and were closely associated
with the Angles who later
conquered England. Ptolemy reported
a people named "Levonii" in
Scandinavia. These too may also
have had Levite connections and may have
been part of the Lombards, since Ptolemy's
report dates to the time when
the Lombards were probably still within
the Scandinavian area, at least in
part. Levi, however, like Simeon, seems
to have achieved his natural
expression more easily through partnership
to Judah to whose kingdom
(2-Chronicles 13; 9-11) many Levites
fled. Most Levites appear today to be
found scattered amongst all sections
of the Jewish people and seem to be
especially noticeable amongst certain
sections of the North African Jewish
communities.
ITALY
What applies to Continental
Europe and Germany also applies to Italy. It
was noted that in Lombardy of North
Italy settlers from Scandinavia (such
as the Headobards sons of Ohad of Simeon)
had settled and that a group from
Levi had preceded them there. In Lombardy
there existed a recurring
tendency to "Judaise", meaning to adopt
"Old Testament" lores and to
imitate forms of worship which were
Jewish or at least considered as such .
At Milano, capital of Lombardy, for
nearly 200 years (1100's-1200's c.e.)
there existed a theocratical government
using names and ceremonies drawn
from the Old Testament. At the same
time the sect of Passagii attempted to
adopt all of the Mosaic Law as it was
understood by them and later from
time to time similar tendencies made
themselves evident in that country2.
In addition to Israelite, settlement
in Lombardy, other Lost Israelites
such as the Goths, Vandals, Normans,
and so on settled throughout Italy and
also bands of Jewish slaves and free
Jews had reached Italy in Roman times
and many of these assimilated. Even
though very many Italians are of
Israelite or Jewish origin most are
not. They are of mixed origins with a
stock related to the Greeks in ascendancy
and including a constituent from
Edom. Esau the twin-brother of Israel
(Jacob) was the forefather of the
Edomites and became the arch- enemy
of Israel. Descendants of Edom are in
addition numerous amongst the Germans
and in the European ruling classes.
Even in those nations herein proven
to be basically Israelite in many
respects, there exist Edomite and Canaanite
elements.