Chapter 12
WHO is the House Israel?

 

A Rabbi of Rabbis

We walked to a small park in an ultra orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem in the fall of 2002. Then sitting down on a couple of park benches we began to talk. The Rabbi that we were talking to was introduced to us as a Rabbi of Rabbis. The meeting had been arranged for us to discuss the movement within Christianity in which Christians are being drawn to a more Jewish way of life. I began by posing the question, “If there are Christians being drawn to their Hebrew roots ...” The Rabbi stopped me. “Let’s not say “if”, he said, “We know its happening”. For a moment I was struck speechless. I began again. “Could this phenomenon that is going on … be the northern kingdom (House of Israel) returning?”, I asked. The Rabbi cocked his head to the side, “Maybe yes, maybe no, We will have to wait and see.”

No Magic Wand

So Who exactly is the House of Israel?  Rabbi Chaim Richman from the Temple Institute in Jerusalem says "There is no magic wand" for detecting who or where the House of Israel is.  The Lost Tribes have vanished from history.  They are, after all, LOST! Although many people have traced genealogies, looked at languages and cultural practices, and studied archeology, the question of who and where the Lost Ten Tribes are, is still one of the greatest mysteries of history.

I propose that we don't need to know WHO or WHERE they are ... only that they ARE. They will become self evident.

One tradition in Judaism is that the lost souls of Israel will be redeemed as a "spark of holiness".

 

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