27 Menachem Av 5776
More beautiful and stirring chizuk from Devorah Esther - may all her efforts be successful and clothe her in radiance in the world to come.
30 August 2016
29 August 2016
Is the Separation of Jews and Non-Jews a Torah Concept?
26 Menachem Av 5776
With regard to some statements I made in a previous blog post:
First of all, let's please establish that this reference does not refer to Am Yisrael, but to the Prophet Yeshayahu himself...
The Torah makes it clear that we were to drive out the nations before us because they would compete with us for ownership of our land; they would want to intermingle and intermarry with us; they would be a bad influence on us and we would in time come to imitate their bad ways and thereby incur Hashem's anger and judgment, resulting in eventual exile from the land as a consequence.
So, you tell me, given that, how does it NOT detract from our ability to be a light to the nations? It should be obvious to any honest person how churches, mosques, b'hai temples, masonic temples, etc and their associated false religions and idolatrous ideas not only defile our land, but limit the spiritual heights to which we can attain while they and all their impurity are present among us.
I refer you to this previous post which links to four other previous blog posts which quote many sources that Rabbi Kahane referenced in the chapter on the Non-Jew in Eretz Yisrael in his book Or Hara'ayon. Better if you get the book and read the entire thing, but at least some of the quotes there can give you an idea.
The chapter ends with the following:
"In summary, Eretz Yisrael was given to the Jewish People as a separate, isolated center, to set us apart from the nations and their alien culture. For that reason, any non-Jew wishing to live in Eretz Yisrael must accept conditions that sanctify the name of Heaven and give him unequal status in the Land, since through their acceptance he proclaims that the Land is not his and that he has no share in it. These conditions are: tribute, servitude, denying idolatry and accepting all the seven Noahide laws. Besides this, he is forbidden to live on the border, in Jerusalem, or within a Jewish city, and we are forbidden to sell him houses or to sell or lease to him fields. All this is intended to ensure that he remain apart from us and live his new life under the yoke of heaven within his own framework, that of the seven Noahide laws...."
In no way was such a concession ever conceived by Chazal to allow idolaters or even a majority of righteous non-Jews to establish residency in Eretz Yisrael, rendering Am Yisrael a minority on its own soil. The doors do not stand wide open to receive anyone who comes, not even in the case of those desiring to make the ultimate commitment by converting.
Those who are out there beating the bushes for non-Jews and attempting out of some misconceived 'kindness' to the non-Jew to give away Israel's heritage - Torah, Shabbat, mitzvot, land - are making a very grave error for which they will have to give an account to the Almighty.
Before one passes judgment on what is or is not a Torah concept, it's best to know what the Torah concepts are beforehand. If the commenter can bring sources which refute what is written here, I'd be interested in seeing them.
With regard to some statements I made in a previous blog post:
"Know that mixing with gentiles either through going to them or bringing them to us, diminishes our light and darkens the world. And know, too, that anyone who facilitates their entry and presence in Eretz HaKodesh has a share in the sin of any idolatry that they commit and any Jew that they deceive. It would be better for such a person that he had never been born."I received the following comment...
"I would really appreciate knowing the sources you base these statements on. We are to be a 'light unto the nations' (Isaiah 49:6) yet you say that this would diminish our light. You object to non-Jews living in Israel, yet halacha specifically permits this, and it is called ger toshav. I am very confused, since you claim to be a torah observant Jew, yet you say these things which directly contradict torah concepts."...which I would like to respond to here:
First of all, let's please establish that this reference does not refer to Am Yisrael, but to the Prophet Yeshayahu himself...
"And He [God] said, 'It is too light for you [the prophet] to be My servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the besieged of Israel, but I will make you a light of nations, so that My salvation shall be until the end of the earth.'"
Rashi: "And He said, “It is too light for you to be, etc.”: In My eyes, it is too small a gift that you should have this alone, that you be My servant to establish Jacob and to bring back to Me the besieged of Israel, and behold I add more to you, “And I will make you a light for the nations,” to prophesy concerning the downfall of Babylon, which will be a joy for the whole world."I think the problem here stems from a basic misunderstanding. There is no "mitzvah" to be "a light to the nations". At least it does not exist on any list of the 613 mitzvot that I have seen. And it certainly is not implying that Israel should follow the Xian model and send 'missionaries' throughout the world teaching Torah to non-Jews. It refers to Israel, living by Torah law in its own land. When this is the circumstance, then Israel simply IS a light for the nations - an example of how a people who lives in accordance with the Divine instructions can develop a perfectly functioning society and attain the pinacle of peace, harmony, health and prosperity for all its citizens. When that is our reality, the nations will seek to know and understand their own set of obligations to the Creator of the World, their own Sheva Mitzvot, so that they may prosper as well.
The Torah makes it clear that we were to drive out the nations before us because they would compete with us for ownership of our land; they would want to intermingle and intermarry with us; they would be a bad influence on us and we would in time come to imitate their bad ways and thereby incur Hashem's anger and judgment, resulting in eventual exile from the land as a consequence.
So, you tell me, given that, how does it NOT detract from our ability to be a light to the nations? It should be obvious to any honest person how churches, mosques, b'hai temples, masonic temples, etc and their associated false religions and idolatrous ideas not only defile our land, but limit the spiritual heights to which we can attain while they and all their impurity are present among us.
I refer you to this previous post which links to four other previous blog posts which quote many sources that Rabbi Kahane referenced in the chapter on the Non-Jew in Eretz Yisrael in his book Or Hara'ayon. Better if you get the book and read the entire thing, but at least some of the quotes there can give you an idea.
The chapter ends with the following:
"In summary, Eretz Yisrael was given to the Jewish People as a separate, isolated center, to set us apart from the nations and their alien culture. For that reason, any non-Jew wishing to live in Eretz Yisrael must accept conditions that sanctify the name of Heaven and give him unequal status in the Land, since through their acceptance he proclaims that the Land is not his and that he has no share in it. These conditions are: tribute, servitude, denying idolatry and accepting all the seven Noahide laws. Besides this, he is forbidden to live on the border, in Jerusalem, or within a Jewish city, and we are forbidden to sell him houses or to sell or lease to him fields. All this is intended to ensure that he remain apart from us and live his new life under the yoke of heaven within his own framework, that of the seven Noahide laws...."
In no way was such a concession ever conceived by Chazal to allow idolaters or even a majority of righteous non-Jews to establish residency in Eretz Yisrael, rendering Am Yisrael a minority on its own soil. The doors do not stand wide open to receive anyone who comes, not even in the case of those desiring to make the ultimate commitment by converting.
Those who are out there beating the bushes for non-Jews and attempting out of some misconceived 'kindness' to the non-Jew to give away Israel's heritage - Torah, Shabbat, mitzvot, land - are making a very grave error for which they will have to give an account to the Almighty.
Before one passes judgment on what is or is not a Torah concept, it's best to know what the Torah concepts are beforehand. If the commenter can bring sources which refute what is written here, I'd be interested in seeing them.
28 August 2016
What Does It Really Mean to Be "A Light to the Nations"?
24 Menachem Av 5776
Know that mixing with gentiles either through going to them or bringing them to us, diminishes our light and darkens the world. And know, too, that anyone who facilitates their entry and presence in Eretz Hakodesh has a share in the sin of any idolatry that they commit and any Jew that they deceive. It would be better for such a person that he had never been born.
For the answer to the question posed in the title, see...
Light to the Nations Series - Part 1
Know that mixing with gentiles either through going to them or bringing them to us, diminishes our light and darkens the world. And know, too, that anyone who facilitates their entry and presence in Eretz Hakodesh has a share in the sin of any idolatry that they commit and any Jew that they deceive. It would be better for such a person that he had never been born.
For the answer to the question posed in the title, see...
Light to the Nations Series - Part 1
25 August 2016
Rabbi Kahane on the Non-Jew in Eretz Yisrael and the "Specialness" of Am Yisrael
21 Menachem Av 5776
Most of the Torah and halachah that deals with the issue of non-Jews in Eretz Yisrael is for two reasons: 1) it is a foregone conclusion that Eretz Yisrael is where Jews should be living; and, 2) it's the only place where we have the mastery over our own will and laws.
What is the halachah for living among the non-Jews in the Diaspora? When we are living in their lands, we are their guests. It is up to us to steer clear of them - to be good citizens (as long as their laws do not conflict with God's law) and to try to keep ourselves and Judaism alive - to survive and not to assimilate, either their religion or their culture.
Orthodoxy has traditionally forbidden interfaith dialogue and interaction while the Heterodox movements embrace it. (That should tell you something right there.)
In the interests of truth, clarity and compliance with the Creator's will as expressed in His Holy Torah, here are some links to previously posted excerpts from Rabbi Kahane's Or HaRa'ayon: The Jewish Idea.
Some Halachot regarding non-Jews in Eretz Yisrael
Excerpts from The Non-Jew in Eretz Yisrael by Rabbi Meir Kahane
Torah perspective: They really must go – Rabbi Meir Kahane
Or HaRa'ayon, Vol II, Ch. 20 - The Non-Jew in Eretz Yisrael
Most of the Torah and halachah that deals with the issue of non-Jews in Eretz Yisrael is for two reasons: 1) it is a foregone conclusion that Eretz Yisrael is where Jews should be living; and, 2) it's the only place where we have the mastery over our own will and laws.
What is the halachah for living among the non-Jews in the Diaspora? When we are living in their lands, we are their guests. It is up to us to steer clear of them - to be good citizens (as long as their laws do not conflict with God's law) and to try to keep ourselves and Judaism alive - to survive and not to assimilate, either their religion or their culture.
Orthodoxy has traditionally forbidden interfaith dialogue and interaction while the Heterodox movements embrace it. (That should tell you something right there.)
In the interests of truth, clarity and compliance with the Creator's will as expressed in His Holy Torah, here are some links to previously posted excerpts from Rabbi Kahane's Or HaRa'ayon: The Jewish Idea.
Some Halachot regarding non-Jews in Eretz Yisrael
Excerpts from The Non-Jew in Eretz Yisrael by Rabbi Meir Kahane
Torah perspective: They really must go – Rabbi Meir Kahane
Or HaRa'ayon, Vol II, Ch. 20 - The Non-Jew in Eretz Yisrael
24 August 2016
Did Rabbi Meir Kahane Really "Get Ger"?
20 Menachem Av 5776
For those unfamiliar with the false messianism* of the "Ger" cult, I'll encapsulate it. Two self-described "Orthodox" rabbis, American olim, started a "movement" which they call "Ger" and claim it is based on recovered ancient knowledge, i.e. the "Torah of Shem".
In short, it claims that nearly every reference to "ger" in the Torah is referring to gentiles and even claims that the righteous Ruth, the quintessential convert, never became a Jew, but remained a gentile. A blog post is too limited to get into this matter in great detail. For our purposes today, it's enough to address this blatant slander of Rabbi Kahane's name.
I owe who I am today as a Jew to Rabbi Meir Kahane. There is no Torah teacher I admire more. He was the embodiment of Emet and to have his name associated in any way with such a corruption of the Torah and Torah sources is something that I cannot remain silent about.
Unfortunately, Rabbi Kahane did not live long enough to witness the exponential growth of missionary infiltration into Israel or the tragic deterioration of what passes today for "Orthodox" Judaism. In 1990, he was invited by Vendyl Jones to participate in the First Noahide Conference, which he graciously did. But, the rabbi was addressing people he understood to be true Sons of Noah as described by our Torah and Sages and not the perversion of that ideal that exists today.
Those who today lay claim to Vendyl's legacy recently organized the Vendyl Jones Memorial Conference. It was essentially a "Ger" conference. Simply by virtue of his having been in attendance at the original, Rabbi Kahane's name figured large in the pre-conference publicity and one of the lectures was dedicated to his contribution to "Ger".
That's really rather funny because, were he here with us today, Rabbi Kahane would be their most feared and intractable enemy.
A portion of that lecture given by "Rabbi" David Katz has been transcribed below. It speaks for itself.
The Ger Toshav: Excerpts from The Non-Jew in Eretz Yisrael by Rabbi Meir Kahane in Or HaRa'ayon, Chapter 20
___________________________
Although the following is not particularly concerned with Rabbi Kahane, I'm including it here since it is part of this lecture given in Rabbi Kahane's name and it will demonstrate for you just how 'OFF' this so-called movement is...
In short, it claims that nearly every reference to "ger" in the Torah is referring to gentiles and even claims that the righteous Ruth, the quintessential convert, never became a Jew, but remained a gentile. A blog post is too limited to get into this matter in great detail. For our purposes today, it's enough to address this blatant slander of Rabbi Kahane's name.
I owe who I am today as a Jew to Rabbi Meir Kahane. There is no Torah teacher I admire more. He was the embodiment of Emet and to have his name associated in any way with such a corruption of the Torah and Torah sources is something that I cannot remain silent about.
Unfortunately, Rabbi Kahane did not live long enough to witness the exponential growth of missionary infiltration into Israel or the tragic deterioration of what passes today for "Orthodox" Judaism. In 1990, he was invited by Vendyl Jones to participate in the First Noahide Conference, which he graciously did. But, the rabbi was addressing people he understood to be true Sons of Noah as described by our Torah and Sages and not the perversion of that ideal that exists today.
Those who today lay claim to Vendyl's legacy recently organized the Vendyl Jones Memorial Conference. It was essentially a "Ger" conference. Simply by virtue of his having been in attendance at the original, Rabbi Kahane's name figured large in the pre-conference publicity and one of the lectures was dedicated to his contribution to "Ger".
That's really rather funny because, were he here with us today, Rabbi Kahane would be their most feared and intractable enemy.
A portion of that lecture given by "Rabbi" David Katz has been transcribed below. It speaks for itself.
...When it came time for the conference I was just kind of playing around with Meir Kahane, again it's the Vendyl conference and Meir was there and the 1990 thing so I talked to my good friend... so he's like Meir Kahane this and Meir Kahane that and, in fact, I'm only friends with this guy because I was teaching Kol HaTor Mashiach ben Yosef and he kept telling me Meir Kahane taught about Mashiach ben Yosef, too, so I thought...maybe he's alright. So, I bought the book [Rabbi Kahane's Or Hara'ayon] coming up to this conference. I don't know how you would translate it into English . It's not so translatable. The concept of light or the idea of light, I don't know how you call it... so, I started to research it coming up to this conference and I saw very quickly, I was looking through the Table of Contents, you know, where's the Ger, where's the Ger, there's gotta be Ger here, um, and there was.
There was a chapter about the non-Jew. And so, I opened it up and I did it pretty quick. I wasn't planning on hashing it out to that extent and I'm seeing, maybe he got Ger, maybe not, I don't know, this is, ...usually I don't get stumped by Ger stuff, but this one, he's got me. Literally, I'm not sure...maybe he didn't get it, he's wrong because everyone said he was wrong, he says he's right but we say he's wrong, but I don't know, maybe he did get it, I don't know, so I ruled in my own mind, he didn't get it, no, he didn't get it, he didn't get it and I gave a look again and ...I'll give it to him, maybe he got it a little bit, but he's not saying what we're saying because the difference is, this is where the teaching's gonna begin, Ger Toshav, whatever that is, can really go one of two ways, it's gonna be our friend the Ger, our good Ger, he's an awesome guy, you can call him all these different terms in the Torah, Ger Chasid and all your friendly Ger, and then there's your slave Ger, he's our servant, he makes us coffee, so I'm saying I think he's making slave Ger, [Rabbi Kahane's] not our friend. He doesn't know the Chasid Ger, he doesn't know him, so pewey on Rav Meir Kahane, right? But, he got Ger a little bit so I'll give him some respect. And I kept looking at it, and I just kept, you know, because he words it very difficult so either he really didn't get it or he got it so well,....After describing his 11-hour flight with a few jokes, the speaker returns to the subject of Rabbi Kahane and seems to imply that after spending further time perusing Or HaRa'ayon, he came to a different conclusion...
So, he started to win me over, because remember how many are getting Ger on this level? I say the Lubavitcher Rebbe...he gets Ger 10 out of 10, he is your best friend, Rebbe Nachman got ger 10 out of 10, he is your best friend, ...Rav Aharon Soloveitchik...the Ger authority of all time...[Rabbi Soloveitchik's book Od Yisrael Yosef Bnei Chai] is like the Ger Bible...when you get your Ger friends in Torah, it's a select company, it's a select company, not many people make my personal Mount Rushmore. ...so when you tell me Rav Meir Kahane is gonna be on my Mount Rushmore, man it better be worth it, alright, I'm telling you, you better earn your way up there because otherwise you're saying that the Gerim are slaves, this and that, we don't have that, alright? Our friends Rashi, Rambam, these are our Ger friends, alright, we do not pervert the Ger line. So, I was willing to even come here tonight and say that he got it just on emuna alone. I read enough about it, I live a busy life with all my other things, I'm not devoting that much time to this sefer, it's just not worth my time. He's Meir Kahane and then something changed. It's called a nice flight in the air so I had my eleven hours on Sunday, I was being kind of rough, I knew it was good and I knew I had what to talk about, ok, but I would give it a B+, ...which means he knew the sources and he was coming through, alright, and he was not a threat, and it would be interesting content for tonight...I mean he got a lot of things right, but not Ger.
I had this gap of time and I'm telling you it was bomb after bomb after bomb, and I think he's the world record-holder. He's my guy. He came through. Meir, Rav Meir Kahane, he is the Ger guy. He is the one. I'm telling you he got it on levels I've never, he gave answers to questions.... this guy got it on such a level all you can say is he even got the little dinky Ger or maybe Ger is that big as someone who gets the truth is gonna get Ger, go to Ger, and it wasn't so small and random after all. Anyone on a path of truth is gonna run into Ger and we see it in our lives and our learning. It's not an accident... The Ger is the whole Torah. It's the path to Mashiach.... The challenge is to unite these two visions [i.e., the current Ger movement and what Rabbi Kahane taught regarding ger toshav].B"H, Rabbi Kahane can speak for himself through the works that he left behind. So, you be the judge.
The Ger Toshav: Excerpts from The Non-Jew in Eretz Yisrael by Rabbi Meir Kahane in Or HaRa'ayon, Chapter 20
___________________________
Although the following is not particularly concerned with Rabbi Kahane, I'm including it here since it is part of this lecture given in Rabbi Kahane's name and it will demonstrate for you just how 'OFF' this so-called movement is...
[Concerning the Yefe Toar - the foreign woman taken in war] ...those women are called Ger, they're kosher to a Jew, even the Cohen Gadol can and did marry those women. How many of you have ever heard of Ruth? She was a Ger. And she was not a convert and she married a Jew. And that child becomes a Jew. I taught this in England. The midrash Rabbah on Parshas Naso, which is one of the biggest collections of Ger Torah that exists says, if a woman sanctifies her womb with modesty and purity of the Jewish code of excellence, let's call it, she marries a Jew, that child is a Jew. That's what became of Ruth and Boaz which gave us King David eventually. I taught that in London and they're like, no, no way... he admitted it was true, but his fear was you're gonna promote intermarriage with that and I said, you need to be a little smart about it. I found a book in Modiin by a rav today who is popular... it is literally written there, in stone, that a ger toshav in a time of jubilee can marry a Jew. And Ruth was the example. So, I guess I learned it ok. ...Ger woman allowed to Jewish man. ...Ger is the fourth house of Israel.It actually gets worse, but we're short on space here. To conclude, NO WAY would Rabbi Meir Kahane, ztz"l, Hy"d, "Get Ger"!! Or agree to have his name associated with it in any positive way or that his writings would be characterized as supporting it. I have no doubt whatsoever that every legitimate student of Rabbi Kahane would agree with me. And all of them will be provided with a copy of this blog post for reference.
23 August 2016
Kudos to J-TV
20 Menachem Av 5776
I said I'd let you know the result of my email complaint. Nehemiah Coopersmith of J-TV responded kindly and promptly.
I said I'd let you know the result of my email complaint. Nehemiah Coopersmith of J-TV responded kindly and promptly.
shalom
It's news to me that he is a jew... how do you know that?
I sent your email to the head of JTV asking for clarification.
if he's a jew we will take it down asap
n
To which I wrote...
His Hebrew name is the first clue. And then there's this...
HANANYA NAFTALI
21 POSTS
I'm the Israeli Jewish Christian who sometimes talk to the camera [link removed] and writes about life in Israel.
When you go to his link, it brings you to his introductory video in which he says... "My name is Chananya, I'm an Israeli, I'm Jewish by blood and Christian by faith."
And Nehemiah wrote right back...
crazy! we're are taking it down asap, and I was in touch with the editor at JTV who obviously didn't know this. it was a mistake
thanks for bringing it to our attention
nechemia
I finished with...
So, I got to it originally through Aish.com who also did not vet it before posting it. We all have to be a lot more careful in the future. The thanks goes to one of my readers "Shifra R" who brought it to my attention.
Thank you ever so much for being so prompt in your response and for taking responsibility to take the offending video down. I and my readers are happy to know it was a mistake and not intentional.
Kol tuv. Tizke l'mitzvot!
I'm happy it was resolved so quickly and cordially. It really is worth it to take the time to get involved. Many thanks again to Shifra!!
Just When You Think It Can't Get Worse...
Aug 31 Update: For whoever is interested, I never received any response from Aish.com to either my voicemail message or my email.
20 Menachem Av 5776
UPDATE: I received a prompt reply from J-TV and the offending video has been removed. I hope all involved will be much more careful in the future.
___________________________________
(H/T to Shifrah)
Following is a copy of an email I composed and sent to Aish.com and J-TV.
...An observant Jew who is a passionate believer in Jewish education, Anisfeld was wrestling with how to transmit his love of Judaism to his peers.
“It is a message poorly transmitted, if at all, so there was an apathy about Jewish identity,” Anisfeld told The Times of Israel. “My idea was to create a new, high quality, online global Jewish media channel.”
...We aim to engage both Jews and non-Jews who want to understand Jewish culture.”
20 Menachem Av 5776
UPDATE: I received a prompt reply from J-TV and the offending video has been removed. I hope all involved will be much more careful in the future.
___________________________________
(H/T to Shifrah)
Following is a copy of an email I composed and sent to Aish.com and J-TV.
Shalom Webmaster,
I just left a message for you, including my phone number, on your voicemail. I am following it up now with this email.
My name is Devorah Chayah Shem Tov and I am a Jewish blogger with a large readership. One of my readers contacted me with regard to a questionable webpage on your site. I have decided to make it the subject of my next blog post and would like to give you an opportunity to respond. I will also be contacting J-TV who it appears was the originator of the content.
This is the page in question:
Israeli-Christian Pro-Israel Activist
Meet Hananya Naftali, a savvy 21-year-old social media activist who supports Israel.
Can you please explain to me, and to my readers, why Aish.com is featuring and giving positive coverage to an apostate Jew who is proud to proclaim himself a convert to Christianity in the Land of Israel? We would like to know how this content is found to be consistent with the stated goals of both Aish.com and J-TV.
Someone somewhere has some explaining to do. We'll be very interested to hear it.
Thank you for your attention to this very important matter,
Devorah Chayah Shem Tov @Tomer Devorah
_______________________________________
I'll keep you posted on what response, if any, that we receive. If you'd like to make your own views known on this subject, write to webmaster@aish.com and/or ollieanisfeld@j-tvshow.com or leave a comment here and/or here.
For more information see: New Jewish YouTube channel J-TV launches from the UK
...An observant Jew who is a passionate believer in Jewish education, Anisfeld was wrestling with how to transmit his love of Judaism to his peers.
“It is a message poorly transmitted, if at all, so there was an apathy about Jewish identity,” Anisfeld told The Times of Israel. “My idea was to create a new, high quality, online global Jewish media channel.”
...We aim to engage both Jews and non-Jews who want to understand Jewish culture.”
If It Doesn't Sound Right, It May Not Be Right
19 Menachem Av 5776
I am 62 years old. I have been a kosher Jew for one-third of my life - a life which was dedicated from a very early age to a serious, ongoing and deep search for the truth. As a result, my internal truth-meter became very highly developed and, until today, it has never failed me.
Truth be known, I think every real Jewish neshamah has such an internal truth-meter. It is honed and perfected through Torah learning. If you have been fortunate to sink your spiritual roots deep into authentic Torah, then your internal truth-meter should be most reliable.
I urge every one of you to tune in to your own internal truth-meter and do not be afraid to test every teacher. No matter who he is or how great his name, listen carefully and critically to what is being taught and measure it by what your truth-meter tells you. If you hear something that sets little alarm-bells going off in your head, don't dismiss the warning because the teacher has a big reputation. Even Moshe Rabeinu erred in his lifetime.
I heard those alarm bells loud and clear just this morning. Examine the sources, focus on the big picture and see if reality bears out the purported facts.
Hamavin yavin.
I am 62 years old. I have been a kosher Jew for one-third of my life - a life which was dedicated from a very early age to a serious, ongoing and deep search for the truth. As a result, my internal truth-meter became very highly developed and, until today, it has never failed me.
Truth be known, I think every real Jewish neshamah has such an internal truth-meter. It is honed and perfected through Torah learning. If you have been fortunate to sink your spiritual roots deep into authentic Torah, then your internal truth-meter should be most reliable.
I urge every one of you to tune in to your own internal truth-meter and do not be afraid to test every teacher. No matter who he is or how great his name, listen carefully and critically to what is being taught and measure it by what your truth-meter tells you. If you hear something that sets little alarm-bells going off in your head, don't dismiss the warning because the teacher has a big reputation. Even Moshe Rabeinu erred in his lifetime.
I heard those alarm bells loud and clear just this morning. Examine the sources, focus on the big picture and see if reality bears out the purported facts.
Hamavin yavin.
22 August 2016
"The Story of Us"
19 Menachem Av 5776
(With Thanks to Devorah Esther)
A true righteous convert invites you to share her journey as she explains her connection to the Jewish People. (Watch upcoming issues of Mishpacha Magazine for the whole story.)
(With Thanks to Devorah Esther)
A true righteous convert invites you to share her journey as she explains her connection to the Jewish People. (Watch upcoming issues of Mishpacha Magazine for the whole story.)
21 August 2016
Who Are the Lost Tribes and Are They Returning? - Part 2: The Awakening
17 Menachem Av 5776
Part 1
The Awakening
The way I see it, HKB"H sends out "messages" across the universe and sensitive souls pick up on them - those connected to Him and those connected to "spirituality" in general. However, without the benefit of a Torah-filter, the messages can be misunderstood, misinterpreted and simply misused. The "Other Side" also knows the ultimate game plan and goals and can use these susceptible people with no anchor to the truth to mislead many for evil ends. We have to understand that just like there is a rasha for every tzadik to maintain the balance of free will in the world, there is also a lie attached to every truth.
The interception of these "messages" is what the New Age and others are calling a spiritual "awakening" to a previously hidden inner identity. So, yes, it is time for the "Lost Tribes" to return and so the fake ones are trying to cut in. We've seen the disaster that results from such an event already when the Erev Rav took over the Return to Zion begun by the students of the Vilna Gaon. We see the rotten fruit of their success every day in the State of Israel. And just as there has sprung up a fake "Sanhedrin" in recent years, there is a Temple movement which may very well, G-d forbid, result in the building of a fake Temple - a Temple to Avodah Zarah, G-d forbid, as the autistic kids have warned. Yes, there is an "awakening" taking place as many, many people claim, but the Prophet Daniel says some will awaken to "everlasting life" and others to "shame and everlasting abhorrence."
Because of the uniqueness of the time we are living in, I think we are the most vulnerable we have ever been to false messianism. And that's saying a lot when looking at our history. And this generation, weak as it is in Torah knowledge and Torah learning, is perhaps the least equipped to defend itself.
In short, beware anything labeled "universal" and which includes the words "brotherhood of all mankind" or which bases everything on "prophecy or prophetic revelation" and the "restoration" of ancient "lost" knowledge. Also, beware anything that eliminates the barriers erected between Jews and gentiles or which concludes that the Jewish nation exists to serve the gentile world. We were set free from slavery to Egypt in order to become servants of HKB"H!
If you stick to the above, I don't think you can go wrong.
According to the Chofetz Chaim on the three world wars: "...the last war will be the beginning of the redemption, and a Torah-true Jew who is completely separated from the non-Jews will not be subjugated, as we find that in Egypt when two people drank from the same cup, one (an Egyptian) drank blood and the other (an Israelite) drank water. This shows that in fact there is no rule whatsoever over a Jew who is separated entirely from the non-Jews." (Rabbi Aharon Kotler, in the name of the Chofetz Chaim, as told over in the book The End of Days by Shmuel Raber)
Now, back to the so-called "Lost Tribes". Are they really experiencing a spiritual awakening to their true identity as so many claim? Are the Ephraimites really representative of our long-lost brother Yosef?
Oh, they are our "brother" alright, but it's not Yosef - it's Eisav. Nothing at all has changed. They are still Xians as the excerpts I have transcribed below will attest, and more, it leaves no doubt that their goal is to come here en mass and "claim their inheritance". Eisav wants the birthright back!
___________________________
From Hebrew Nations Radio whose motto is "Building a Nation, Not a Denomination" - partial transcription of a February 2016 interview with Ephraim and Ramona Frank of Israelite Return.com and Tommy Waller of Hayovel Ministries.
[Ephraim was a new xian when he came to Israel on a tour in the 70's and felt as if he had "come home". He went to work on a kibbutz and through the intervention of his Jewish "boss" there, was allowed to become a member even though he was initially rejected because of being a xian.
Ramona is Israeli-born, secular, went to school in England. Returned to Israel, became a xian, met and married Ephraim Frank and they have been promoting the Ephraimite theology and "opportunities" for xians as "lost tribes" to spend time in Israel with the goal of remaining permanently.]
Hebrew Nations Interviewer (Daniel Holdings): "The Father is bringing His people back to the land. ...People are waking up all over the world at the same time. It's like an explosion of the Ruach HaKodesh."
One contact by email commented: "My wife and I have been waiting for this for 50 years - for the people of Yosef, of Ephraim, to rise up and understand who they are."
Ramona: "I don't think the term Ephraim means much, however the term The Ten Lost Tribes is something that has never been lost [from] the Jewish People. ...Ephraim is a new concept. If you introduce yourself to them, say that you are from the Ten Tribes, or believe that you are, and almost everyone, with very few exceptions, will just receive you, listen to you, and will not think that there is something strange or esoteric about that kind of presentation...."
Interviewer: "I have appreciated so much, Ramona, your insights as a Sabra, and what you have just said here about how to communicate who we are with our Jewish brethren is very, very important. So, are they open to the introduction as I am part of the Lost Tribes?"
Ramona and Ephraim together: "Yes, uh huh." "Yeah."
[Ephraim recounts his history with Nir Lavi on Har Brachah, when Ephraim would bring Ephraimite groups up to Har Brachah (before Tommy Waller) 18 mins in. He brought the first money donations to Nir for his vineyard.]
[Notice how it is always the Jew who opens the door to it all.]
Ephraim: "There's this phenomenon happening out in the nations where people are discovering their Israelite identity from the Lost Tribes." (19:35)
Ramona: "The larger it becomes, and the more known it becomes, and if there is a face representing [enter Tommy Waller] this phenomenon... so for many of these Orthodox Jews, it's a very, very exciting turn of events. They would really see that as a major turn in history and the approach of a different era. It's very big."
Ephraim: "The House of Judah is wrestling with it. They don't quite know how to deal with it at this point...."
Tommy Waller: "Most of us growing up as xians, we take the attitude that we're bystanders, watching the Jews do their prophetic work and then we just clap our hands and say "rah, rah" and really trying to find our way, well, what is our place, what is our role, maybe we give to organizations to support, but it's very difficult, so...."
[He describes how he came over in 2004 as a tag-along with some businessmen, with no expectations and met Ephraim and Ramona Frank - striking up a close friendship.]
Interviewer to Tommy: "You said something that resonated with me...that regarding the Jewish people we xians are bystanders looking on and seeing what happens to them. ...then along came this path, the Ruach HaKodesh did this,...but come to understand that the stories about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are not just history, they're my family history and I am part of the nation, too.
Tommy: "That [the return of the Jews to Israel] was obviously the sign of the return of the Messiah [he's still expecting Yeshu to come back] and so we were grabbing hold of that with all we had, especially back when Ephraim was coming to Israel in the 70's, we just knew that [Yeshu] was coming back any moment after 1967, so I was in that crowd, ...but it was not something I thought I could have any particular part of the story. So Ephraim and Ramona really gave us that end note...."
[i.e., Ephraim and Ramona came up with the idea to say that all these xians are really "lost tribes" and it started out as a way to sell their inclusion to Jews, but then the xians began to believe it because, not only does it appeal to their ego, the NT claims that they are "grafted in" to the nation as "equal citizens and heirs" with Israel due to their relationship with J-]
[Tommy explains that xian arrogance (they have a superior understanding of the truth since they are believers in the Messiah and Jews aren't) has been the biggest hurdle to overcome with their volunteers relating to Jews (32 mins)]
Tommy: "It's difficult sometimes to go in [to Jewish communities]... That's [xian arrogance and pride] probably is the biggest problem that we face going in and when you're trying to introduce yourself as someone that wants to be a part of the restoration then we run into some serious problems of pride and arrogance." [What the Jews have been doing is wrong, the calendar is wrong, etc.]
[Tommy exemplefies the "restoration" between xians and Jews like a marriage where they have been an adulterous husband and the Jews are the wronged wife who is being urged to take him back. In order to "restore" this "marriage" - they have to prove their "faithfulness."]
Tommy: "What they respond to more than anything else, more than just saying I am (somebody), it's me demonstrating who I am. And that's the key, I believe, to this whole process, and what I found in my own experience. ...I was interested in seeing the land restored... and then I learned in the process while helping these guys, my relationship is all of a sudden turning from, they are really see me as brother...."
Interviewer: "...we of Ephraim are like the younger son [in the parable of the Prodigal Son] and the older brother is the Jewish People - Judah. [The Zionist settlers are laying their lives down for the land so] ...the least we can do as Ephraimites or Bnei Yosef is lay down our lives as well. ...laying down our lives in serving in the very communities that we live in to begin with because we are a nation in exile.... we have to at the end of Pesach say 'Next Year in Jerusalem' ...actually with that hope deep in our hearts that hey, next year we will be somehow either in Jerusalem or somewhere in the Land of Promise. Tommy and his family have had the privilege to be welcomed into the homes of these farmers and of these students [Rabbi Melamed's yeshivah in Har Brachah] that are living in these settlements and also other rabbis and they have this intimate, that over the years they have gained favor because of the humility, because of the fact that they are willing to dig into the rocks and the ground and build fences and plant vines and to harvest those vines in a way in which they have won - they have won - the favor of these people [This was the calculated plan and the hoped-for result.] and now I want Tommy to share more of his relationships and his experiences because that's a trail [for other Ephraimites to follow to success in infiltrating Jewish communities]...." [42 mins]
[Tommy details the beginnings of Hayovel - 43:53]
Tommy: "One of the problems in our communities of believers [xians] is that we really don't know Israel...we don't know the Jewish people that well and that's one reason it's easy for us to speak against the Jewish people...because of our ignorance. [After 12 years of weasling his way into the confidence of Jewish families and leadership, he now knows all the secrets and can pass them along. He's been a spy in the camp.] Our relationship with the Jewish people was changed when we began to serve these ??. [47:19]
Hebrew Nations Interviewer (Al McCarn): "Regarding our return as Lost Tribes, Ephraimites, Sons of Joseph, and coming in humility, I'm looking at the Parable of the Prodigal Son - we know the story very well, we know that the younger son took his inheritance, he went out to a foreign country, he squandered his inheritance, and then it says 'when he came to his senses he said, how many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I'm dying here of hunger. I will get up and go to my father and say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, I am no longer worthy to be called your son, make me like one of your hired men'. ...Tommy...this is what you have done with HaYovel, is your going to our brother Yehudah and saying, ok, let us humbly serve you as one of your hired men, one of your servants...."
Interviewer: "...We have a debt, we who are from the Ten Tribes of Ephraim, we have a debt to our brethren of Judah for reclaiming this land and that's why it is so important for us to connect with it, to get to know them and to help where we can.... We go knowing we are content to be servants in His House, but also knowing we are the sons and the daughters and in His timing when He deems it's right then we can step into our inheritance along with our brother Judah, but in the meantime there's a lot of work that we need to do with and for him,...."
[It all started - HaYovel's successful campaign - with an 'in' with Nir Lavi in Har Brachah and Tommy Waller credits Ephraim and Ramona Frank with making the introduction. They all agree that the unexpected stupendous success that they have experienced throughout the entire enterprise is proof that they are on "the right path" and has reinforced their belief that God is blessing them and thereby indicating that they are doing the right thing and believing the right way. (1:01:00)]
Ephraim Frank (referring to Tommy Waller's Video - "A Journey Home"): "...That was a preparation that I think all of us in the Ephraimite/Restoration movement, in the Bnei Yosef/Restoration movement should see, how the Father begins to prepares somebody for a future in the Land and that would really help a lot of individuals understand what the Father's expecting of us as we're called to the Land..."
Caller: "...I'm wondering, there isn't any way that a person who knows they are a part of the Ten Tribes, if they could legally move there, right?"
Ephraim Frank: "There are laws, and these aren't rabbinic laws, these are actually state government laws, how a person can come and live here in the Land of Israel, in the Jewish State of Israel, and they're very specific in regards to your background, your history. And just basically, you have to have at least one grandparent that you can prove, either by marriage documents or by burial documents, that they were Jewish. And you would not be able to return as a Jew, but as a descendant of a Jew. So there are different categories that they would look at in regards to coming to live in the Land at this time."
Ramona Frank: "If you don't have that kind of background, most likely you will not be able to come to the Land and become an official immigrant. The extenuating circumstances are very, very rare. Some multi-thousand business or some skill that's absolutely needed here and lacking. You have to have the endorsement of an Israeli business or employer, but overall, immigration is now for Jews or as I mentioned or for descendants of Jews who can prove either Jewishness or being a descendant of a Jew."
Ephraim: "The other way would be also conversion, going through an Orthodox rabbinic conversion. They have courses here and know for sure that they are not into, as someone in the government said, 'we don't want to be building churches', so..."
Ramona: "And even if it's the furthest thing from your mind, what is meant by that is that they don't want believers in [Yeshu] as citizens in the Land."
Ephraim: "Because you know the messianic Jews it's very difficult for them to make aliyah."
Tommy: "...The question is a good question and I think it's an honest question and is the place that shows your heart and I think that the problem is that even for the Jewish people who yearned for the nation for over two thousand years and even before that, ...I don't think we are going to have to wait two thousand years to see the restoration happening. I believe...we're going to see things happen exponentially and there is going to be a process, we can't just wake up one morning and say 'I'm going to Israel'... God's going to prepare us for this holy journey and our aliyah to the Land of Israel is going to have to be done in a purified way and to be sanctified and to be all the process of having the right to be able to say and to be a part of the commonwealth of Israel. ...The Jews believe that this full restoration is happening when the Mashiach comes and so I believe that there is a an excitement now, but this whole process is not just us coming and making an announcement, it is what are we willing to give, what are we willing to do, are we willing to lay down everything in order to give to this restoration. ...it's the collective efforts of many people who have come to the Land [HaYovel volunteers, etc] that's making an impact and changing the way that Jewish people see us as a community and it is through that effort that things are going to change...."
Interviewer: "...the Jewish people...they know it's their land, they have given blood and treasure to take and hold the land, so for us to say 'Hey, it's our land, too, we want to come and live beside you', imagine what a settler would think or someone who's been there for generations saying 'What? It's your land? What have you done to earn your right here, to earn your place?' This is why, Tommy, what HaYovel is doing...it's going to take awhile to earn trust and...pay our dues.
Ephraim: "...The reconstitution of the second stick in Ezekiel 37, this stick is a nation just like Judah's first stick is a nation...." [1:12:50]
Interviewer: "Ramona, you had said that if we talk to Jewish people and we say we are of the Ten Tribes or Ten Lost Tribes they will know what we are talking about because Jews have been looking for centuries for the Lost Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. But there is a new dynamic in that conversation these days...."
Ramona: [She explains the traditional Jewish view of the lost tribes living in remote tribal communities and says] "...the fact that the descendants of the tribes, the Israelites, have come out of churches, that is the new phenomenon,...that they believe in [Yeshu] and then, of course, the history of the church, all that luggage and baggage, ...makes it a little bit more complex...."
Interviewer: "That does introduce many complications. Now, some of our people are still living in tribal or semi-tribal states [like the "Pashtun" for example], ...but so many of us have grown up in the church so that means we have the question of how do we handle the issue of [Yeshu]? Because we know that we can't be even considered, we believe we are Israelites because of the covenant work of Messiah [Yeshu] and so how are those who are looking for a return on the Jewish side, how are they dealing with this, and what's the best way that we should approach it?"
Ephraim: "That takes us back to Tommy with his testimony of his relationship with the rabbis, because that's the biggest handicap. Secular Jews could probably care less about either side, but it's the rabbinic side that's very concerned about the history of the church...and all of a sudden your getting these xians waking up to Shabbat, waking up to the Torah, waking up to Hebrew roots, ...and all of a sudden the dynamics have changed in the relationships. And these are the ones who are really enthusiastic about coming back to the Land and these tribal ones, they could stay in their tribes as far as they're concerned and live out their lives in the nations, but you have a whole different dynamic now with believers [in Yeshu] who understand the scriptures and the prophets and the covenants and all these things, so this is the greatest challenge right now to the rabbinic community, but I think Tommy has a tremendous answer in his relationship with the rabbis that he has been in contact with...it hasn't been all good because some of them have wanted him out of the country out of the area, and so it's been a very interesting battle for him."
Tommy: "The first thing we have to discuss is the desecration of [Yeshu's] name by those who call themselves followers of [Yeshu]. That's the main problem...." [i.e., he just hasn't been properly presented to the Jewish people and the sins of the church keep them from hearing the good stuff about him - xians themselves still don't understand that the "main issue" is his deification.] "Because when [Yeshu] is associated with antisemitism, we start off with a problem because this is the way that they see and the persecution of the Jewish people through [Yeshu's] name and those who represented [that] name, this is a hurdle that's going to be difficult to overcome. And it's not going to come by going out and telling people that, well, wait a minute, it's not what you think, well these guys have a hard core reality with what the name of [Yeshu] and [Gee-zus] represents. ...They know that this has never been a good deal for them, so the key here in the restoration, ...we're in a position to bring honor to the name of [Yeshu] and ...first...he has to be recognized in his messianic place as a good Jew, so right now a Jewish person cannot accept [Yeshu] in his basic deal as a good Jew...he practiced no form of xianity, he practiced Judaism and some people have to swallow real hard to even hear that. The reality is that we have to accept our messiah was a Jewish messiah in the fullest extent, so when I'm hearing in this dialogue of restoration that we're having in the Land of Israel, in the mountains of Israel with our friends, we're hearing all of a sudden people that sound a lot like our messiah. ...they're speaking in terms, speaking in stories and parables and very rarely do you sit down with a rabbi that he doens't tell a story or a parable...we don't talk like that...there has been so much of Judah that we have hated...some of your listeners may be experiencing that...What's happening in our movement is that people are trying to follow knowledge and trying to grab hold of Torah from a knowledge standpoint instead of the reality of it is that God is using His word to bring us back to a place of recognizing [Yeshu] in his obedience, but also almost in the place of obsession with the Land of Israel, with the Temple and with Jerusalem. Those are the things we are needing to deal with in our own community because this is the place where a great deficit is happening right now, because even in our own communities we're creating Jerusalem in Colorado or in Tennessee and we're telling people that we're keeping the feasts ...all these things are good rehearsals, but they're only rehearsals. The real feast is going to happen in Jerusalem, [Yeshu] is going to sit on the throne on the Temple Mount and WE have to be as believers in [Yeshu], until we want and desire the Temple to be restored, until WE desire Jerusalem to become a praise in all the earth more, more, MORE than the Jewish people, then we're not going to see a complete restoration. ...What's bringing us together is this excitement and the conversation is a conversation that they've been wanting to have for 2000 years, so we're sitting there and they're sharing and we're going back and forth and they're talking about things that we're excited about. We had a supernatural engagement with Yehudah Glick this past Fall and it was amazing how he came in and people were weeping at his message and his desire to see the Temple restored because they believe with everything that they have that the messiah is coming when the Temple is restored and so there are so many levels here that are important for us to grab hold of.
Interviewer (Al): There are indeed. And, Tommy, what you have just described for us is an aspect of the gospel of the kingdom which we growing up in the church never got. Go back to what you first said in our first segment looking upon all this about Israel as, ok, we are bystanders, we're seeing the Jews do this and these are the signs that we will be looking for so that [Gee-zus] comes back and takes us away. Well, no, it's a whole lot bigger and whole lot more exciting than that because we are supposed to partner with our Jewish brethren in the restoration of the entire kingdom of our messiah and that's just what you're talking about. And when you mention hearing Rabbi Glick and his vision and the heart he has for restoring the Temple, well, that's what we should have and when we get there, and you know it better than I, all of a sudden we'll realize we have so much more in common with Jews than we do reasons for division. And that's the reason we need to go to the Land and connect with the people.
[1:29:00 Tommy discusses the differences between the xian and Jewish understanding of what it means that "the temple is within us".]
Ramona: "What we've just heard Tommy describe is a precursor of how Judah and Ephraim will begin to walk together... Although we want everyone to go to Israel, they can go to Israel by way of Missouri." [where they stop over in Waller's compound and learn Hebrew, etc.]
Ephraim: "...We just need the next stage and phase of developing something in this national movement* things like Tommy has going there and get people there...."
The simple fact of the matter is that Xians - all over the world - have been coached to say they are from the Ten Lost Tribes so Jews will be more receptive to them. They learned about Jewish ritual from Messianic missionaries. They began wearing prayer shawls and kippot and worshipping on the Sabbath, lighting candles and keeping the "Feasts", and now they want the right to make aliyah. But, it's still just Eisav - Eisav who "soneh et Ya'aqov". Think about that.
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* These so-called Ephraimites have decided to follow Herzl's First Zionist Congress as their model for restoring their "nation" to the Land of Israel. There are a lot of Jews in Israel organized to help them realize their "dream".
B'ney Yosef National Congress
Promo: First B'ney Yosef National Congress 2015
Promo: Second B'ney Ypsef National Congress 2016
But, HKB"H says through His prophet...
Part 1
The Awakening
The way I see it, HKB"H sends out "messages" across the universe and sensitive souls pick up on them - those connected to Him and those connected to "spirituality" in general. However, without the benefit of a Torah-filter, the messages can be misunderstood, misinterpreted and simply misused. The "Other Side" also knows the ultimate game plan and goals and can use these susceptible people with no anchor to the truth to mislead many for evil ends. We have to understand that just like there is a rasha for every tzadik to maintain the balance of free will in the world, there is also a lie attached to every truth.
The interception of these "messages" is what the New Age and others are calling a spiritual "awakening" to a previously hidden inner identity. So, yes, it is time for the "Lost Tribes" to return and so the fake ones are trying to cut in. We've seen the disaster that results from such an event already when the Erev Rav took over the Return to Zion begun by the students of the Vilna Gaon. We see the rotten fruit of their success every day in the State of Israel. And just as there has sprung up a fake "Sanhedrin" in recent years, there is a Temple movement which may very well, G-d forbid, result in the building of a fake Temple - a Temple to Avodah Zarah, G-d forbid, as the autistic kids have warned. Yes, there is an "awakening" taking place as many, many people claim, but the Prophet Daniel says some will awaken to "everlasting life" and others to "shame and everlasting abhorrence."
Because of the uniqueness of the time we are living in, I think we are the most vulnerable we have ever been to false messianism. And that's saying a lot when looking at our history. And this generation, weak as it is in Torah knowledge and Torah learning, is perhaps the least equipped to defend itself.
In short, beware anything labeled "universal" and which includes the words "brotherhood of all mankind" or which bases everything on "prophecy or prophetic revelation" and the "restoration" of ancient "lost" knowledge. Also, beware anything that eliminates the barriers erected between Jews and gentiles or which concludes that the Jewish nation exists to serve the gentile world. We were set free from slavery to Egypt in order to become servants of HKB"H!
If you stick to the above, I don't think you can go wrong.
According to the Chofetz Chaim on the three world wars: "...the last war will be the beginning of the redemption, and a Torah-true Jew who is completely separated from the non-Jews will not be subjugated, as we find that in Egypt when two people drank from the same cup, one (an Egyptian) drank blood and the other (an Israelite) drank water. This shows that in fact there is no rule whatsoever over a Jew who is separated entirely from the non-Jews." (Rabbi Aharon Kotler, in the name of the Chofetz Chaim, as told over in the book The End of Days by Shmuel Raber)
Now, back to the so-called "Lost Tribes". Are they really experiencing a spiritual awakening to their true identity as so many claim? Are the Ephraimites really representative of our long-lost brother Yosef?
Oh, they are our "brother" alright, but it's not Yosef - it's Eisav. Nothing at all has changed. They are still Xians as the excerpts I have transcribed below will attest, and more, it leaves no doubt that their goal is to come here en mass and "claim their inheritance". Eisav wants the birthright back!
IN THE FUTURE ESAV WILL DON A TALLIT
In the future Esau will wrap himself in a tallis, sit down next to Yakov and say to him, "You are my brother"....Yakov will say to him, "My brother, you will not be like me. "I will lead you to death, I will be the pestilence that leads you to Sheol (Hoshea 13,14). Had I upheld decrees that you promulgated against me, I would have been guilty at the eyes of Heaven. Had I violated them, you would have killed me (Yalkut Shimoni, Yirmiahu 333).
"That was Esau's intention when he told Yakov, 'Let us travel together and I will go before you' (Genesis 33,12). He wanted them to join together in both this world and the world to come, to meet each other halfway, with each modifying his conduct until they were alike (Yalkut Shimoni, Genesis 133).
Indeed, Esau will even adopt certain tenets of Judaism-such as monotheism, the Divinity of the Torah, and reward and punishment - but only if Israel will give up some of its heritage.If you don't need the proofs from the interview, skip on to the end.
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From Hebrew Nations Radio whose motto is "Building a Nation, Not a Denomination" - partial transcription of a February 2016 interview with Ephraim and Ramona Frank of Israelite Return.com and Tommy Waller of Hayovel Ministries.
[Ephraim was a new xian when he came to Israel on a tour in the 70's and felt as if he had "come home". He went to work on a kibbutz and through the intervention of his Jewish "boss" there, was allowed to become a member even though he was initially rejected because of being a xian.
Ramona is Israeli-born, secular, went to school in England. Returned to Israel, became a xian, met and married Ephraim Frank and they have been promoting the Ephraimite theology and "opportunities" for xians as "lost tribes" to spend time in Israel with the goal of remaining permanently.]
Hebrew Nations Interviewer (Daniel Holdings): "The Father is bringing His people back to the land. ...People are waking up all over the world at the same time. It's like an explosion of the Ruach HaKodesh."
One contact by email commented: "My wife and I have been waiting for this for 50 years - for the people of Yosef, of Ephraim, to rise up and understand who they are."
Ramona: "I don't think the term Ephraim means much, however the term The Ten Lost Tribes is something that has never been lost [from] the Jewish People. ...Ephraim is a new concept. If you introduce yourself to them, say that you are from the Ten Tribes, or believe that you are, and almost everyone, with very few exceptions, will just receive you, listen to you, and will not think that there is something strange or esoteric about that kind of presentation...."
Interviewer: "I have appreciated so much, Ramona, your insights as a Sabra, and what you have just said here about how to communicate who we are with our Jewish brethren is very, very important. So, are they open to the introduction as I am part of the Lost Tribes?"
Ramona and Ephraim together: "Yes, uh huh." "Yeah."
[Ephraim recounts his history with Nir Lavi on Har Brachah, when Ephraim would bring Ephraimite groups up to Har Brachah (before Tommy Waller) 18 mins in. He brought the first money donations to Nir for his vineyard.]
[Notice how it is always the Jew who opens the door to it all.]
Ephraim: "There's this phenomenon happening out in the nations where people are discovering their Israelite identity from the Lost Tribes." (19:35)
Ramona: "The larger it becomes, and the more known it becomes, and if there is a face representing [enter Tommy Waller] this phenomenon... so for many of these Orthodox Jews, it's a very, very exciting turn of events. They would really see that as a major turn in history and the approach of a different era. It's very big."
Ephraim: "The House of Judah is wrestling with it. They don't quite know how to deal with it at this point...."
Tommy Waller: "Most of us growing up as xians, we take the attitude that we're bystanders, watching the Jews do their prophetic work and then we just clap our hands and say "rah, rah" and really trying to find our way, well, what is our place, what is our role, maybe we give to organizations to support, but it's very difficult, so...."
[He describes how he came over in 2004 as a tag-along with some businessmen, with no expectations and met Ephraim and Ramona Frank - striking up a close friendship.]
Interviewer to Tommy: "You said something that resonated with me...that regarding the Jewish people we xians are bystanders looking on and seeing what happens to them. ...then along came this path, the Ruach HaKodesh did this,...but come to understand that the stories about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are not just history, they're my family history and I am part of the nation, too.
Tommy: "That [the return of the Jews to Israel] was obviously the sign of the return of the Messiah [he's still expecting Yeshu to come back] and so we were grabbing hold of that with all we had, especially back when Ephraim was coming to Israel in the 70's, we just knew that [Yeshu] was coming back any moment after 1967, so I was in that crowd, ...but it was not something I thought I could have any particular part of the story. So Ephraim and Ramona really gave us that end note...."
[i.e., Ephraim and Ramona came up with the idea to say that all these xians are really "lost tribes" and it started out as a way to sell their inclusion to Jews, but then the xians began to believe it because, not only does it appeal to their ego, the NT claims that they are "grafted in" to the nation as "equal citizens and heirs" with Israel due to their relationship with J-]
[Tommy explains that xian arrogance (they have a superior understanding of the truth since they are believers in the Messiah and Jews aren't) has been the biggest hurdle to overcome with their volunteers relating to Jews (32 mins)]
Tommy: "It's difficult sometimes to go in [to Jewish communities]... That's [xian arrogance and pride] probably is the biggest problem that we face going in and when you're trying to introduce yourself as someone that wants to be a part of the restoration then we run into some serious problems of pride and arrogance." [What the Jews have been doing is wrong, the calendar is wrong, etc.]
[Tommy exemplefies the "restoration" between xians and Jews like a marriage where they have been an adulterous husband and the Jews are the wronged wife who is being urged to take him back. In order to "restore" this "marriage" - they have to prove their "faithfulness."]
Tommy: "What they respond to more than anything else, more than just saying I am (somebody), it's me demonstrating who I am. And that's the key, I believe, to this whole process, and what I found in my own experience. ...I was interested in seeing the land restored... and then I learned in the process while helping these guys, my relationship is all of a sudden turning from, they are really see me as brother...."
Interviewer: "...we of Ephraim are like the younger son [in the parable of the Prodigal Son] and the older brother is the Jewish People - Judah. [The Zionist settlers are laying their lives down for the land so] ...the least we can do as Ephraimites or Bnei Yosef is lay down our lives as well. ...laying down our lives in serving in the very communities that we live in to begin with because we are a nation in exile.... we have to at the end of Pesach say 'Next Year in Jerusalem' ...actually with that hope deep in our hearts that hey, next year we will be somehow either in Jerusalem or somewhere in the Land of Promise. Tommy and his family have had the privilege to be welcomed into the homes of these farmers and of these students [Rabbi Melamed's yeshivah in Har Brachah] that are living in these settlements and also other rabbis and they have this intimate, that over the years they have gained favor because of the humility, because of the fact that they are willing to dig into the rocks and the ground and build fences and plant vines and to harvest those vines in a way in which they have won - they have won - the favor of these people [This was the calculated plan and the hoped-for result.] and now I want Tommy to share more of his relationships and his experiences because that's a trail [for other Ephraimites to follow to success in infiltrating Jewish communities]...." [42 mins]
[Tommy details the beginnings of Hayovel - 43:53]
Tommy: "One of the problems in our communities of believers [xians] is that we really don't know Israel...we don't know the Jewish people that well and that's one reason it's easy for us to speak against the Jewish people...because of our ignorance. [After 12 years of weasling his way into the confidence of Jewish families and leadership, he now knows all the secrets and can pass them along. He's been a spy in the camp.] Our relationship with the Jewish people was changed when we began to serve these ??. [47:19]
Hebrew Nations Interviewer (Al McCarn): "Regarding our return as Lost Tribes, Ephraimites, Sons of Joseph, and coming in humility, I'm looking at the Parable of the Prodigal Son - we know the story very well, we know that the younger son took his inheritance, he went out to a foreign country, he squandered his inheritance, and then it says 'when he came to his senses he said, how many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I'm dying here of hunger. I will get up and go to my father and say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, I am no longer worthy to be called your son, make me like one of your hired men'. ...Tommy...this is what you have done with HaYovel, is your going to our brother Yehudah and saying, ok, let us humbly serve you as one of your hired men, one of your servants...."
Interviewer: "...We have a debt, we who are from the Ten Tribes of Ephraim, we have a debt to our brethren of Judah for reclaiming this land and that's why it is so important for us to connect with it, to get to know them and to help where we can.... We go knowing we are content to be servants in His House, but also knowing we are the sons and the daughters and in His timing when He deems it's right then we can step into our inheritance along with our brother Judah, but in the meantime there's a lot of work that we need to do with and for him,...."
[It all started - HaYovel's successful campaign - with an 'in' with Nir Lavi in Har Brachah and Tommy Waller credits Ephraim and Ramona Frank with making the introduction. They all agree that the unexpected stupendous success that they have experienced throughout the entire enterprise is proof that they are on "the right path" and has reinforced their belief that God is blessing them and thereby indicating that they are doing the right thing and believing the right way. (1:01:00)]
Ephraim Frank (referring to Tommy Waller's Video - "A Journey Home"): "...That was a preparation that I think all of us in the Ephraimite/Restoration movement, in the Bnei Yosef/Restoration movement should see, how the Father begins to prepares somebody for a future in the Land and that would really help a lot of individuals understand what the Father's expecting of us as we're called to the Land..."
Caller: "...I'm wondering, there isn't any way that a person who knows they are a part of the Ten Tribes, if they could legally move there, right?"
Ephraim Frank: "There are laws, and these aren't rabbinic laws, these are actually state government laws, how a person can come and live here in the Land of Israel, in the Jewish State of Israel, and they're very specific in regards to your background, your history. And just basically, you have to have at least one grandparent that you can prove, either by marriage documents or by burial documents, that they were Jewish. And you would not be able to return as a Jew, but as a descendant of a Jew. So there are different categories that they would look at in regards to coming to live in the Land at this time."
Ramona Frank: "If you don't have that kind of background, most likely you will not be able to come to the Land and become an official immigrant. The extenuating circumstances are very, very rare. Some multi-thousand business or some skill that's absolutely needed here and lacking. You have to have the endorsement of an Israeli business or employer, but overall, immigration is now for Jews or as I mentioned or for descendants of Jews who can prove either Jewishness or being a descendant of a Jew."
Ephraim: "The other way would be also conversion, going through an Orthodox rabbinic conversion. They have courses here and know for sure that they are not into, as someone in the government said, 'we don't want to be building churches', so..."
Ramona: "And even if it's the furthest thing from your mind, what is meant by that is that they don't want believers in [Yeshu] as citizens in the Land."
Ephraim: "Because you know the messianic Jews it's very difficult for them to make aliyah."
Tommy: "...The question is a good question and I think it's an honest question and is the place that shows your heart and I think that the problem is that even for the Jewish people who yearned for the nation for over two thousand years and even before that, ...I don't think we are going to have to wait two thousand years to see the restoration happening. I believe...we're going to see things happen exponentially and there is going to be a process, we can't just wake up one morning and say 'I'm going to Israel'... God's going to prepare us for this holy journey and our aliyah to the Land of Israel is going to have to be done in a purified way and to be sanctified and to be all the process of having the right to be able to say and to be a part of the commonwealth of Israel. ...The Jews believe that this full restoration is happening when the Mashiach comes and so I believe that there is a an excitement now, but this whole process is not just us coming and making an announcement, it is what are we willing to give, what are we willing to do, are we willing to lay down everything in order to give to this restoration. ...it's the collective efforts of many people who have come to the Land [HaYovel volunteers, etc] that's making an impact and changing the way that Jewish people see us as a community and it is through that effort that things are going to change...."
Interviewer: "...the Jewish people...they know it's their land, they have given blood and treasure to take and hold the land, so for us to say 'Hey, it's our land, too, we want to come and live beside you', imagine what a settler would think or someone who's been there for generations saying 'What? It's your land? What have you done to earn your right here, to earn your place?' This is why, Tommy, what HaYovel is doing...it's going to take awhile to earn trust and...pay our dues.
Ephraim: "...The reconstitution of the second stick in Ezekiel 37, this stick is a nation just like Judah's first stick is a nation...." [1:12:50]
Interviewer: "Ramona, you had said that if we talk to Jewish people and we say we are of the Ten Tribes or Ten Lost Tribes they will know what we are talking about because Jews have been looking for centuries for the Lost Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. But there is a new dynamic in that conversation these days...."
Ramona: [She explains the traditional Jewish view of the lost tribes living in remote tribal communities and says] "...the fact that the descendants of the tribes, the Israelites, have come out of churches, that is the new phenomenon,...that they believe in [Yeshu] and then, of course, the history of the church, all that luggage and baggage, ...makes it a little bit more complex...."
Interviewer: "That does introduce many complications. Now, some of our people are still living in tribal or semi-tribal states [like the "Pashtun" for example], ...but so many of us have grown up in the church so that means we have the question of how do we handle the issue of [Yeshu]? Because we know that we can't be even considered, we believe we are Israelites because of the covenant work of Messiah [Yeshu] and so how are those who are looking for a return on the Jewish side, how are they dealing with this, and what's the best way that we should approach it?"
Ephraim: "That takes us back to Tommy with his testimony of his relationship with the rabbis, because that's the biggest handicap. Secular Jews could probably care less about either side, but it's the rabbinic side that's very concerned about the history of the church...and all of a sudden your getting these xians waking up to Shabbat, waking up to the Torah, waking up to Hebrew roots, ...and all of a sudden the dynamics have changed in the relationships. And these are the ones who are really enthusiastic about coming back to the Land and these tribal ones, they could stay in their tribes as far as they're concerned and live out their lives in the nations, but you have a whole different dynamic now with believers [in Yeshu] who understand the scriptures and the prophets and the covenants and all these things, so this is the greatest challenge right now to the rabbinic community, but I think Tommy has a tremendous answer in his relationship with the rabbis that he has been in contact with...it hasn't been all good because some of them have wanted him out of the country out of the area, and so it's been a very interesting battle for him."
Tommy: "The first thing we have to discuss is the desecration of [Yeshu's] name by those who call themselves followers of [Yeshu]. That's the main problem...." [i.e., he just hasn't been properly presented to the Jewish people and the sins of the church keep them from hearing the good stuff about him - xians themselves still don't understand that the "main issue" is his deification.] "Because when [Yeshu] is associated with antisemitism, we start off with a problem because this is the way that they see and the persecution of the Jewish people through [Yeshu's] name and those who represented [that] name, this is a hurdle that's going to be difficult to overcome. And it's not going to come by going out and telling people that, well, wait a minute, it's not what you think, well these guys have a hard core reality with what the name of [Yeshu] and [Gee-zus] represents. ...They know that this has never been a good deal for them, so the key here in the restoration, ...we're in a position to bring honor to the name of [Yeshu] and ...first...he has to be recognized in his messianic place as a good Jew, so right now a Jewish person cannot accept [Yeshu] in his basic deal as a good Jew...he practiced no form of xianity, he practiced Judaism and some people have to swallow real hard to even hear that. The reality is that we have to accept our messiah was a Jewish messiah in the fullest extent, so when I'm hearing in this dialogue of restoration that we're having in the Land of Israel, in the mountains of Israel with our friends, we're hearing all of a sudden people that sound a lot like our messiah. ...they're speaking in terms, speaking in stories and parables and very rarely do you sit down with a rabbi that he doens't tell a story or a parable...we don't talk like that...there has been so much of Judah that we have hated...some of your listeners may be experiencing that...What's happening in our movement is that people are trying to follow knowledge and trying to grab hold of Torah from a knowledge standpoint instead of the reality of it is that God is using His word to bring us back to a place of recognizing [Yeshu] in his obedience, but also almost in the place of obsession with the Land of Israel, with the Temple and with Jerusalem. Those are the things we are needing to deal with in our own community because this is the place where a great deficit is happening right now, because even in our own communities we're creating Jerusalem in Colorado or in Tennessee and we're telling people that we're keeping the feasts ...all these things are good rehearsals, but they're only rehearsals. The real feast is going to happen in Jerusalem, [Yeshu] is going to sit on the throne on the Temple Mount and WE have to be as believers in [Yeshu], until we want and desire the Temple to be restored, until WE desire Jerusalem to become a praise in all the earth more, more, MORE than the Jewish people, then we're not going to see a complete restoration. ...What's bringing us together is this excitement and the conversation is a conversation that they've been wanting to have for 2000 years, so we're sitting there and they're sharing and we're going back and forth and they're talking about things that we're excited about. We had a supernatural engagement with Yehudah Glick this past Fall and it was amazing how he came in and people were weeping at his message and his desire to see the Temple restored because they believe with everything that they have that the messiah is coming when the Temple is restored and so there are so many levels here that are important for us to grab hold of.
Interviewer (Al): There are indeed. And, Tommy, what you have just described for us is an aspect of the gospel of the kingdom which we growing up in the church never got. Go back to what you first said in our first segment looking upon all this about Israel as, ok, we are bystanders, we're seeing the Jews do this and these are the signs that we will be looking for so that [Gee-zus] comes back and takes us away. Well, no, it's a whole lot bigger and whole lot more exciting than that because we are supposed to partner with our Jewish brethren in the restoration of the entire kingdom of our messiah and that's just what you're talking about. And when you mention hearing Rabbi Glick and his vision and the heart he has for restoring the Temple, well, that's what we should have and when we get there, and you know it better than I, all of a sudden we'll realize we have so much more in common with Jews than we do reasons for division. And that's the reason we need to go to the Land and connect with the people.
[1:29:00 Tommy discusses the differences between the xian and Jewish understanding of what it means that "the temple is within us".]
Ramona: "What we've just heard Tommy describe is a precursor of how Judah and Ephraim will begin to walk together... Although we want everyone to go to Israel, they can go to Israel by way of Missouri." [where they stop over in Waller's compound and learn Hebrew, etc.]
Ephraim: "...We just need the next stage and phase of developing something in this national movement* things like Tommy has going there and get people there...."
The simple fact of the matter is that Xians - all over the world - have been coached to say they are from the Ten Lost Tribes so Jews will be more receptive to them. They learned about Jewish ritual from Messianic missionaries. They began wearing prayer shawls and kippot and worshipping on the Sabbath, lighting candles and keeping the "Feasts", and now they want the right to make aliyah. But, it's still just Eisav - Eisav who "soneh et Ya'aqov". Think about that.
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* These so-called Ephraimites have decided to follow Herzl's First Zionist Congress as their model for restoring their "nation" to the Land of Israel. There are a lot of Jews in Israel organized to help them realize their "dream".
B'ney Yosef National Congress
Promo: First B'ney Yosef National Congress 2015
Promo: Second B'ney Ypsef National Congress 2016
But, HKB"H says through His prophet...
"I will make them into one nation in the land, ...they will no longer be two nations,
and they will no longer be divided into two kingdoms, ever again."
Ezekiel 37:22
20 August 2016
Who Are the Lost Tribes and Are They Returning? - Part 1: Introduction
17 Menachem Av 5776
Reposting from three years ago for background purposes. I have new information to give you on this subject which will be easier to explain if you read this first.
Introduction
Judea and Samaria - Yehuda and Shomron - are the very heart of our ancient homeland and heritage. It's the place where Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu first entered the Promised Land. It's where the Tribes of Israel, freshly freed from servitude in Egypt, first crossed over to begin settling the Land of Israel. It's where the Tabernacle stood, in Shilo, for 369 years before the Temple was built and where King David ruled, in Hevron, for seven years before Jerusalem was conquered. It was in this place that our forefathers received the great promise from the Creator of the World: "Unto you and to your seed will I give this land." For this reason, Judea and Samaria are under threat today from our three ancient enemies – the Erev Rav, Yishmael and Eisav.
1) The Erev Rav are working day and night to give this land to our enemies, wanting only to be rid of the national mission and destiny that go with it.
2) Yishmael is working day and night to rip it from us and create in it another murderous Arab country, wanting only to use it as a launching pad for taking it all.
3) Eisav comes from two directions most commonly referred to as "left" and "right." On the "left," they condemn us and boycott us and outright hate us without shame. In their hearts, they wish that Hitler, y"sh had finished the job. However, on the "right," they claim to love us and support us to the extent that they want to absorb us - assimilate us. But, the end result is still the same - annihilation, G-d forbid!
Each of these threats is well-perceived and well-understood by most Jews, all that is except the last one. The threat posed by the "right" hand of Eisav is simply unrecognized by most Jews. And that creates a danger for us all.
Take, for example, the most visible face of 'Messianic'-Christian activity in Israel - the Waller Family and their HaYovel Ministries. I've written about them before on this blog: "Why Isn't Every Jew an Anti-Missionary?" When that blog post was written, they had increased their volunteer force from 36 to 100. Today, they are bragging that in just a few weeks' time, they will be bringing in 500 volunteers - read "missionaries." Yesterday, I listened, with nausea, to one of their teachers describe how in the course of a recent visit to Jerusalem, he had openly missionized Jews at some particular intersection. He tells how when he told his friend Tommy Waller about it, Waller reportedly said "Man, you need to hang out at that intersection more."
However, this is nothing new... regrettable... tragic..., but not new. What is new, in this generation, and a fact with which you may not be fully conversant is their "tribal" claim to the land in Samaria. When the Jews for J- group became over-saturated with Gentiles, not being Jewish, they began to feel like second-class citizens. Along came a new 'prophetic' teaching that really appealed to their Eisavian ego - the so-called 'Messianic' Gentiles were in reality Israelites from the Ten Lost Tribes. Wait, let me correct that. Those who invented and propagated this lie were Americans, so, of course, they weren't descended from just any tribe, but the far 'superior' tribe of Joseph whose tribal portion is found in Ephraim; hence, they began calling themselves Ephraimites. (See my video on the subject.)
Over the last fifteen years, an entire theology has been developed on this subject. You can do that, you know, if you are already practicing a humanly-invented religion. Tommy Waller, his financial supporters (did you really think they worked for free?) and his volunteers participate in 'Messianic' Christian worship with open missionaries in Eretz Yisrael and associate with those who hold this belief. (You should also be aware that Tommy Waller is settling his kids here on a permanent basis. They dress like settlers, speak Hebrew and they are already raising the next generation, no doubt to believe this land is theirs.)
They like to speak of "reconciliation" between Joseph and his brother Judah. When they spell it all out, Ephraim must give up the Church's traditional pagan accouterments and swap them in for Judaic ritual. (Nothing with them is ever more than skin-deep.) Instead of the New Testament, now it's the Brit Chadashah with a tallit thrown around it to make it kosher. They speak of equality, love between brothers, breaking down the walls that separate us... in a word - assimilation. But, it's even worse, because they don't just want to absorb us until there is no discernible difference between us and them. They want us to become them. Because, at the end of the day, how does Judah make amends to his 'brother' Joseph? Why, he admits his "historical error" of having rejected J- as messiah at his first coming. G-d forbid!
They want to obfuscate the primary issue by making our differences one of mere opinion about who is the messiah, when, in truth, the unbridgeable gap is really about who is and who cannot be G-d.
Getting back to the land issue. These people who are coming to work the land every spring and fall are smiling into their Jewish hosts faces, all the time thinking: "This land that I'm working is really mine by Biblical right. I wonder where these Jews are going to live when I come to claim my birthright."
Is this too fantastic for you? Who in their right minds would think like this? Who in their right mind would believe in a religion like Christianity or Islam in the first place? Once a person has bought into the lie, there is no end to the ability of a mind to deceive itself.
I realize this is long and I apologize for that. It's a very complex subject which requires a lot of background information. For that reason, I will place corroborating quotes at the end. You can always come back to it when you have more time or need the reference.
While we're on this subject, I would be remiss if I did not share with you this really beautiful video demonstrating how beautiful the land is that G-d has given us. If you Jews in chutz laaretz don't want it, there are others who do - enough to kill your brothers to get it - by one method or another; through hate or through 'love.'
___________________________________________
Quotes from an "Ephraimite" at 10losttribes.com
...The Jews cannot give away this strategic high ground. They have built roads but in other regards they have not greatly developed the heartland of the Shomron because it is reserved for Ephraim [i.e. these Ephraimites]
...The Messiah and the descendants of Joseph are still persecuted and rejected by the religious leaders of Judah even as Joseph was rejected by Judah and his brethren many years ago. The very harshness in Judah that led to the division of the ten tribes of the House of Israel from the House of Judah still exists today. It doesn't matter if you follow Torah or not. [Yeshu] is the problem.
...There came a time when Judah had to leave his land out of necessity in order to reach reconciliation with his brother Joseph. Pray that this reconciliation will happen before the Jews are forced to flee Joseph's land, the land of Shomron. God has given this territory to Judah at present as a sacred trust. [i.e. we are saving it for them.] And they have been faithful in many ways. But to persecute the descendants of Joseph to whom the Shomron was given puts the Rabbinic leaders in the Shomron in a very bad position. It puts them in the very eye of judgement at the very time that judgement is coming,....
... Reconciliation is already beginning with the increasing links between Jews and bible believing Christians. This cannot be stopped but rather it will accelerate. The author of this rapprochement is [Yeshu]. He is drawing the two houses [i.e. Jews and Xians] together. And it can be a messy business reuniting a hurt and broken family. Many things need to be discussed. There are false understandings of Torah and Messiah on both sides. It's like surgery, it can be painful for all involved as the collective body of Jacob comes together. There will be one house made of two. Two trees bound to the lamb of God, the word of God, the Torah made flesh [i.e. Yeshu].
...We for our part cannot disown the Messiah for the sake of brotherhood, the Messiah is not negotiable. ... It is Messiah [Yeshu] that breaks the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile including the lost tribes. ...We may not be in agreement in all parts of theology, but they, the Jewish settlers, have every right to be there as opposed to the Arabs. God promised the land to all 12 tribes of Israel. And Judah comes to the land first. So they are even holding the land for Ephraim before he returns too.
The Jewish people in the state of Israel are holding Ephraim's land for him, that is, the land of Samaria, or the Shomron in Hebrew. ...Ephraim will look to the highway and turn to his ancient cities when he has no place else to go. Once Ephraim's cities in the USA, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand are destroyed he will turn! He will have no place to go but home. ...Soon large numbers of Ephramites will return to their land. The roads will be thick with bible believers [Yeshu worshippers] from America, Australia etc. Houses will be rapidly built and the hills will be alive to Israelite Music.
Reposting from three years ago for background purposes. I have new information to give you on this subject which will be easier to explain if you read this first.
Introduction
Judea and Samaria - Yehuda and Shomron - are the very heart of our ancient homeland and heritage. It's the place where Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu first entered the Promised Land. It's where the Tribes of Israel, freshly freed from servitude in Egypt, first crossed over to begin settling the Land of Israel. It's where the Tabernacle stood, in Shilo, for 369 years before the Temple was built and where King David ruled, in Hevron, for seven years before Jerusalem was conquered. It was in this place that our forefathers received the great promise from the Creator of the World: "Unto you and to your seed will I give this land." For this reason, Judea and Samaria are under threat today from our three ancient enemies – the Erev Rav, Yishmael and Eisav.
1) The Erev Rav are working day and night to give this land to our enemies, wanting only to be rid of the national mission and destiny that go with it.
2) Yishmael is working day and night to rip it from us and create in it another murderous Arab country, wanting only to use it as a launching pad for taking it all.
3) Eisav comes from two directions most commonly referred to as "left" and "right." On the "left," they condemn us and boycott us and outright hate us without shame. In their hearts, they wish that Hitler, y"sh had finished the job. However, on the "right," they claim to love us and support us to the extent that they want to absorb us - assimilate us. But, the end result is still the same - annihilation, G-d forbid!
Each of these threats is well-perceived and well-understood by most Jews, all that is except the last one. The threat posed by the "right" hand of Eisav is simply unrecognized by most Jews. And that creates a danger for us all.
Take, for example, the most visible face of 'Messianic'-Christian activity in Israel - the Waller Family and their HaYovel Ministries. I've written about them before on this blog: "Why Isn't Every Jew an Anti-Missionary?" When that blog post was written, they had increased their volunteer force from 36 to 100. Today, they are bragging that in just a few weeks' time, they will be bringing in 500 volunteers - read "missionaries." Yesterday, I listened, with nausea, to one of their teachers describe how in the course of a recent visit to Jerusalem, he had openly missionized Jews at some particular intersection. He tells how when he told his friend Tommy Waller about it, Waller reportedly said "Man, you need to hang out at that intersection more."
However, this is nothing new... regrettable... tragic..., but not new. What is new, in this generation, and a fact with which you may not be fully conversant is their "tribal" claim to the land in Samaria. When the Jews for J- group became over-saturated with Gentiles, not being Jewish, they began to feel like second-class citizens. Along came a new 'prophetic' teaching that really appealed to their Eisavian ego - the so-called 'Messianic' Gentiles were in reality Israelites from the Ten Lost Tribes. Wait, let me correct that. Those who invented and propagated this lie were Americans, so, of course, they weren't descended from just any tribe, but the far 'superior' tribe of Joseph whose tribal portion is found in Ephraim; hence, they began calling themselves Ephraimites. (See my video on the subject.)
Over the last fifteen years, an entire theology has been developed on this subject. You can do that, you know, if you are already practicing a humanly-invented religion. Tommy Waller, his financial supporters (did you really think they worked for free?) and his volunteers participate in 'Messianic' Christian worship with open missionaries in Eretz Yisrael and associate with those who hold this belief. (You should also be aware that Tommy Waller is settling his kids here on a permanent basis. They dress like settlers, speak Hebrew and they are already raising the next generation, no doubt to believe this land is theirs.)
They like to speak of "reconciliation" between Joseph and his brother Judah. When they spell it all out, Ephraim must give up the Church's traditional pagan accouterments and swap them in for Judaic ritual. (Nothing with them is ever more than skin-deep.) Instead of the New Testament, now it's the Brit Chadashah with a tallit thrown around it to make it kosher. They speak of equality, love between brothers, breaking down the walls that separate us... in a word - assimilation. But, it's even worse, because they don't just want to absorb us until there is no discernible difference between us and them. They want us to become them. Because, at the end of the day, how does Judah make amends to his 'brother' Joseph? Why, he admits his "historical error" of having rejected J- as messiah at his first coming. G-d forbid!
They want to obfuscate the primary issue by making our differences one of mere opinion about who is the messiah, when, in truth, the unbridgeable gap is really about who is and who cannot be G-d.
Getting back to the land issue. These people who are coming to work the land every spring and fall are smiling into their Jewish hosts faces, all the time thinking: "This land that I'm working is really mine by Biblical right. I wonder where these Jews are going to live when I come to claim my birthright."
Is this too fantastic for you? Who in their right minds would think like this? Who in their right mind would believe in a religion like Christianity or Islam in the first place? Once a person has bought into the lie, there is no end to the ability of a mind to deceive itself.
I realize this is long and I apologize for that. It's a very complex subject which requires a lot of background information. For that reason, I will place corroborating quotes at the end. You can always come back to it when you have more time or need the reference.
While we're on this subject, I would be remiss if I did not share with you this really beautiful video demonstrating how beautiful the land is that G-d has given us. If you Jews in chutz laaretz don't want it, there are others who do - enough to kill your brothers to get it - by one method or another; through hate or through 'love.'
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Quotes from an "Ephraimite" at 10losttribes.com
...The Jews cannot give away this strategic high ground. They have built roads but in other regards they have not greatly developed the heartland of the Shomron because it is reserved for Ephraim [i.e. these Ephraimites]
...The Messiah and the descendants of Joseph are still persecuted and rejected by the religious leaders of Judah even as Joseph was rejected by Judah and his brethren many years ago. The very harshness in Judah that led to the division of the ten tribes of the House of Israel from the House of Judah still exists today. It doesn't matter if you follow Torah or not. [Yeshu] is the problem.
...There came a time when Judah had to leave his land out of necessity in order to reach reconciliation with his brother Joseph. Pray that this reconciliation will happen before the Jews are forced to flee Joseph's land, the land of Shomron. God has given this territory to Judah at present as a sacred trust. [i.e. we are saving it for them.] And they have been faithful in many ways. But to persecute the descendants of Joseph to whom the Shomron was given puts the Rabbinic leaders in the Shomron in a very bad position. It puts them in the very eye of judgement at the very time that judgement is coming,....
... Reconciliation is already beginning with the increasing links between Jews and bible believing Christians. This cannot be stopped but rather it will accelerate. The author of this rapprochement is [Yeshu]. He is drawing the two houses [i.e. Jews and Xians] together. And it can be a messy business reuniting a hurt and broken family. Many things need to be discussed. There are false understandings of Torah and Messiah on both sides. It's like surgery, it can be painful for all involved as the collective body of Jacob comes together. There will be one house made of two. Two trees bound to the lamb of God, the word of God, the Torah made flesh [i.e. Yeshu].
...We for our part cannot disown the Messiah for the sake of brotherhood, the Messiah is not negotiable. ... It is Messiah [Yeshu] that breaks the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile including the lost tribes. ...We may not be in agreement in all parts of theology, but they, the Jewish settlers, have every right to be there as opposed to the Arabs. God promised the land to all 12 tribes of Israel. And Judah comes to the land first. So they are even holding the land for Ephraim before he returns too.
The Jewish people in the state of Israel are holding Ephraim's land for him, that is, the land of Samaria, or the Shomron in Hebrew. ...Ephraim will look to the highway and turn to his ancient cities when he has no place else to go. Once Ephraim's cities in the USA, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand are destroyed he will turn! He will have no place to go but home. ...Soon large numbers of Ephramites will return to their land. The roads will be thick with bible believers [Yeshu worshippers] from America, Australia etc. Houses will be rapidly built and the hills will be alive to Israelite Music.