Jewish views on the Lost 10 Tribes of

Israel

by Mikkel S. Kragh

Among modern Jews there are many who believe that the 10 Tribes are

not part of the Jewish people, while there are also many Jews who believe

they are. One notable Jew who holds the former view is the orthodox

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (born 1966), whom Newsweek magazine called

“the most famous rabbi in America”. In his best-selling book Judaism for

Everyone (2002), he wrote:

“An Israelite is someone who is a descendant of Jacob... After the

dispersion of the ten tribes, the Israelites were referred to as Jews

because the remainder of the Jewish nation, those who today form the

bulk of the Jewish people - all stem from the tribe of Judah.” (Shmuley

Boteach: Judaism for Everyone, p. 387, my underlining)

The Jews of the 3rd century BC to 2nd century AD believed the 10

Tribes were far away

Many modern Jews believe that the 10 Tribes are not part of the Jewish

people. Furthermore, among the Jews in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, it

was taken for granted that the 10 northern tribes of Israel were not part of

the Jewish people, and they were far away and separated for such a long

time that they had become “lost”. Jews who lived 500-800 years after the

Assyrian invasion and deportation of the 10 Tribes are obviously more

reliable sources for what happened to the 10 Tribes than Jews who live

2,700 years later.

The authoritative Encyclopedia Judaica writes: “The belief in the

continued existence of the ten tribes was regarded as an incontrovertible

fact during the whole period of the Second Temple and of the Talmud.

Tobit, the hero of the apocryphal book of his name, was depicted as a

member of the tribe of Naphtali; the Testament of the 12 Patriarchs takes

their existence as a fact; and in his fifth vision, IV Ezra (13:34–45) saw a

'peaceable multitude… these are the ten tribes which were carried away

prisoners out of their own land.' Josephus (Ant., 11:133) states as a fact

'the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates till now, and are an immense

multitude and not to be estimated in numbers.' Paul (Acts 26:6) protests

to Agrippa that he is accused 'for the hope of the promise made unto our

fathers, unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God, hope

to come,' while James addresses his epistle to 'the twelve tribes which are

scattered about' (1:1). The only opposing voice to this otherwise universal

view is found in the Mishnah. [Rabbi] Eliezer expresses his view that they

will eventually return and 'after darkness is fallen upon the ten tribes light

shall thereafter dwell upon them,' but [Rabbi] Akiva expresses his

emphatic view that 'the ten tribes shall not return again' (Sanh. 10:3).”

(Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., Vol. 19, p. 639)

The reason that Rabbi Akiva believed the 10 Tribes would not return was

not because he did not believe they existed outside the Jewish people,

but because he supported the false messiah Bar Kokhba and his

disastrous revolt against Rome in AD 132-135. Rabbi Akiva believed that

Bar Kokhba and Judah (the Jews) would succeed in gaining control of the

land of Israel without the 10 Tribes joining them. He was proven wrong.

Book of Tobit

The Book of Tobit is a part of the Apocrypha. The Catholic Church and

Eastern Orthodox churches view the Book of Tobit as canonical, while

Protestants view it as non-canonical, but useful for edification and liturgy.

It is believed to have been written down in the 3rd or 2nd centuries BC,

although it takes place in the 8th century BC. Tobit was a God-fearing

Israelite of the tribe of Naphtali who along with the rest of the 10 Tribes

was taken captive by the Assyrians and placed in northern Assyria. Tobit

and his family were placed in Nineveh. Tobit's relative Sarah was placed

in Ectabana in Media and she married Tobit's son Tobias:

“The book of the words of Tobit, son of Tobiel, the son of Ananiel, the son

of Aduel, the son of Gabael, of the seed of Asael, of the tribe of Nephtali;

Who in the time of Enemessar [Shalmaneser] king of the Assyrians was

led captive out of Thisbe, which is at the right hand of that city, which is

called properly Nephtali in Galilee above Aser. I Tobit have walked all the

days of my life in the way of truth and justice, and I did many almsdeeds

to my brethren, and my nation, who came with me to Nineve, into the land

of the Assyrians. And when I was in mine own country, in the land of Israel,

being but young, all the tribe of Nephtali my father fell from the house of

Jerusalem, which was chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, that all the

tribes should sacrifice there, where the temple of the habitation of the most

High was consecrated and built for all ages. Now all the tribes which

together revolted, and the house of my father Nephtali, sacrificed unto the

heifer Baal. But I alone went often to Jerusalem to the feasts...” (Tobit 1:1-

“And I went into Media, and left in trust with Gabael, the brother of Gabrias,

at Rages a city of Media ten talents of silver.” (Tobit 2:14)

“And it came to pass the same day that in Ectabane a city of Media Sara

the daughter of Raguel was also reproached by her father's maids;” (Tobit

3:7)

Whether the Book of Tobit is based on older information and only written

down in the 3rd or 2nd cen. BC, or if it is a fictional story written down in the

3rd or 2nd cen. BC, it does show that the Jews of the 3rd and 2nd cen. BC

took it for granted that the 10 Tribes of Israel were far away and that the

10 Tribes were not a part of the Jewish people.

Flavius Josephus

Flavius Josephus was a leader in the Jewish rebellion against Rome AD

66-73, but surrendered and became a historian. Next to the Bible his

books are some of the most quoted sources concerning ancient Israel and

the Jews in the 1st century AD. Josephus writes that the Assyrians

deported ALL the Israelites of the northern kingdom of the 10 Tribes out

of the land of Israel and settled them in Media and Persia:

“WHEN Shalmaneser, the king of Assyria, had told him, that [Hoshea] the

king of Israel had sent privately to So, the king of Egypt, desiring his

assistance against him, he was very angry, and made an expedition

against Samaria, in the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea; but when he

was not admitted [into the city] by the king, he besieged Samaria three

years, and took it by force in the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, and in

the seventh year of Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem, and quite demolished

the government of the Israelites, and transplanted all the people into

Media and Persia, among whom he took king Hoshea alive; and when he

had removed these people out of their land, he transplanted other nations

out of Cuthah, a place so called, (for there is [still] a river of that name in

Persia,) into Samaria, and into the country of the Israelites. So the ten

tribes of the Israelites were removed out of Judea, nine hundred and forty-

seven years after their forefathers were come out of the land of Egypt, and

possessed themselves of this country...” (Flavius Josephus: Antiquities of

the Jews IX, XIV, 1, p. 211)

Apocalypse of Baruch

The Apocalypse of Baruch is a book ascribed to Baruch, the scribe who

wrote down the Book of Jeremiah and Lamentations. Protestants and

Judaism regard it as pseudepigraphic ('falsely ascribed to an author')

while Catholics and Orthodox churches view it as Deuterocanonical

('belonging to the second canon'). Scholars believe it was written down

sometime between AD 70 and 130. (The Jewish Encyclopaedia, article

“Apocalypse of Baruch”:

https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2564-baruch-apocalypse-

of-syriac)

According to the author of the Apocalypse of Baruch, the 10 Tribes of

Israel were separated from the Jewish people and lived beyond the

Euphrates:

“And it came to pass in the twenty-fifth year of Jeconiah king of Judah,

that the word of the Lord came to Baruch the son of Neriah, and said to

him, 'Hast thou seen all that this people are doing to Me, that the evil which

these two tribes which remained have done are greater than (those of) the

ten tribes which were carried away captive? For the former tribes were

forced by their kings to commit sin, but these two of themselves have been

forcing and compelling their kings to commit sin.” (Apocalypse of Baruch

1:1-3)

“These are the words of that epistle which Baruch the son of Neriah send

to the nine and a half tribes, which were across the river Euphrates in

which these things were written. Thus saith Baruch the son of Neriah to

the brethren carried into captivity: 'Mercy and peace...'” (Apocalypse of

Baruch 78:1-2)

No matter who wrote the Apocalypse of Baruch (it was not Baruch), it does

reflect a mainstream Jewish view of the 10 Tribes shortly after the Fall of

Jerusalem in AD 70.

2nd Esdras

The Apocryphal book of 2nd Esdras is a pseudepigraphic book ('falsely

ascribed to' Ezra (Esdras) of the Old Testament). Most scholars believe

2nd Esdras is written around AD 100. But some believe that Jesus quoted

numerous times from 2nd Esdras in the Olivet Discourse (Matt chap. 24-

25), which would make 2nd Esdras considerably older. In any case, 2nd

Esdras was written by Jews who stuck to Pharisaical Judaism, and it was

viewed by the Jews as an important book because it was copied and we

still have it today. Regardless of when 2nd Esdras was written we know

that it reflects a mainstream view of Jews living in the 1st cen. AD. In 2nd

Esdras there is a passage about the 10 Tribes of Israel, which, the author

writes, had been carried away by the Assyrians and were now living in a

distant land:

“And whereas thou sawest that he gathered another peaceable multitude

unto him; Those are the ten tribes, which were carried away prisoners out

of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmanasar the king

of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them over the waters, and so

came they into another land. But they took this counsel among

themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go

forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt, that they might

there keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land. And they

entered into the Euphrates by the narrow passages of the river. For the

most High then shewed signs for them, and held still the flood, till they

were passed over. For through that country there was a great way to go,

namely, of a year and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth.” (2nd

Esdras 13:39-45)

The Talmud: the 10 Tribes of Israel are as Gentiles

The religion of the 12 Tribes of Israel in the Old Testament was the Law of

Moses, not Juda-ism. The religion of Juda-ism started to take shape after

Judah was carried away to Babylon approx. 587 BC and started to

formulate what would become known as the Talmud. The reason the

religion of the Jews is called Juda-ism is because it is the religion of

JUDA(H) (Judah-ism).

The Talmud is a massive collection of commentaries to the Law of Moses

(the Torah). The Talmud is also called the 'Oral Torah'. In the New

Testament Jesus called it the 'Tradition of the Elders' (Matt 15:2) The

Talmud as we know it today was compiled and edited between the 3rd and

6th centuries AD. The first part of the Talmud, the Mishnah, was written

down in the 3rd century, while the commentaries to the Mishnah, called the

Gemara, were written down around the 6th century. Together the Mishnah

and Gemara form the Talmud.

The rabbis of the Talmud were convinced that the 10 Tribes of Israel were

outside the Jewish people and that, according to Jewish law, they were to

be considered as “full-fledged Gentiles”. They wrote that children of

Jewish and non-Jewish women should be considered as non-Jews, even

if the non-Jewish woman is descended from the 10 Tribes of Israel. The

reason is, according to the Talmud, that lineage is determined through the

mother and that the rabbis had a tradition that only the women of the 10

Tribes became infertile and only the men of the 10 Tribes of Israel had

offspring with non-Israelite women. Therefore, the half-Israelite half-goyim

children were to be considered as non-Israelites:

“Rav Yehuda said that Rav Asi said: With regard to a gentile who betrothed

a Jewish woman nowadays, we are concerned that the betrothal might be

valid, despite the fact that a betrothal of a gentile is meaningless, lest he

be from the ten tribes of Israel who intermingled with the gentiles. The

Gemara raises an objection: But there is an important principle in halakha

that any item separated, i.e., not fixed in its place, is presumed to have

been separated from the majority. In this case, it can be assumed that any

individual singled out from the gentiles belongs to the majority of gentiles

and has no Jewish [i.e., Israelite] roots at all.

The Gemara responds: Rav Yehuda means that there is a concern only

with regard to those who came from the permanent dwelling places of the

ten tribes. As Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said that the verse states about

those exiled from Samaria: 'And he put them in Halah, and in Habor, on

the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes' (I Kings 18:11). Rabbi

Abba bar Kahana proceeded to identify these places. Halah; this is the

place called Ḥalzon. And Habor; this is Ḥadyab. The river of Gozan; this

is Ginzak. And the cities of the Medes; this is Ḥamadan and its

surroundings. And some say: This is Nihar and its surroundings. The

Gemara asks: Which are its surroundings? Shmuel said: Kerakh,

Mushkhei, Ḥidkei, and Domakya are the surroundings of Ḥamadan. Rabbi

Yoḥanan said: And all of them are for disqualification. In other words, if

someone from one of these places wishes to convert, there is concern

that he might be a descendant of a Jew [i.e., Israelite] and therefore a

mamzer. Consequently, they all are disqualified. ...

The Gemara asks: Aren’t there Jewish [i.e., Israelite] girls who were

captured by gentiles, whose children are considered to be Jews? And

Ravina said: Learn from this that the son of your daughter from a gentile

is called your son. If so, the descendants of Jewish [i.e., Israelite] women

captured by gentiles would indeed be Jews [i.e., Israelites]. The Gemara

answers: This is no concern, as it is learned as a tradition that the girls

from the ten tribes of that generation became barren and did not give birth

to any offspring, whereas some of the exiled men of the ten tribes married

gentile women. Consequently, all of the children born there were gentiles.

There are those who say that Rav Yehuda actually related the following:

When I said this halakha before Shmuel, he said to me: They did not move

from there, the place where they deliberated on this matter, until they

rendered all of them, including those who intermingled with the ten tribes

in different locations, full-fledged gentiles. Consequently, there is no

concern that their betrothals might be of any effect, as it is stated: 'They

have dealt treacherously against the Lord, for they have begotten strange

children' (Hosea 5:7).” (The Babylonian Talmud, Yevamoth 16a-17a,

https://www.chabad.org/torah-texts/5448697/The-

Talmud/Yevamot/Chapter-1/17a)

The Talmud: Will the 10 Tribes be redeemed?

In the Talmud there is also a discussion whether or not the 10 Tribes of

Israel will be redeemed and reunited with Judah (the Jews) in the land of

Israel. The rabbis all took it as an obvious fact that the 10 Tribes were not

a part of the Jews. Rabbi Akiva (AD 50-135) said that the 10 Tribes were

lost forever, while Rabbi Eliezer said they would be reunited with Judah.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda from Akko in northern Israel took the middle

position and said it depended upon whether they repented:

“MISHNAH: The ten tribes are not destined to return to Eretz Yisrael, even

during the messianic era, as it is stated: 'And he cast them into another

land, as it is this day.' (Deutoronomy 29:27) Just as the day never passes

to return, so too, the ten tribes go into exile and do not return; this is the

statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Eliezer says: 'As it is this day,' meaning

just as the day darkens and then the sky brightens the next day, with

regard to the ten tribes as well, although it is dark for them now, so it is

destined to brighten for them.

GEMARA: The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 13:12): The ten tribes

have no share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: 'And the Lord rooted

them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation; and

He cast them into another land, as it is this day” (Deutoronomy 29:27)

'And the Lord rooted them out of their own land indicates for the World-to-

Come; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Shimon ben Yehudah

of the village of Akko says in the name of Rabbi Shimon: If their actions

continue to be 'as it is this day' and they continue to sin, they do not return

to Eretz Yisrael. And if not, and they repent, they return to Eretz Yisrael.

Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Nasi says: The members of the ten tribes come to the

World-to-Come, as it is stated: 'And it shall come to pass on that day, that

a great shofar will be sounded, and they shall come who were lost in the

land of Assyria and who were dispersed in the land of Egypt, and they

shall worship the Lord at the holy mountain in Jerusalem.' (Isaiah 27:13)”

(The Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 110b:

https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.110b.8?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en)

The Talmud: rabbis not sure where the 10 Tribes are

In another place in the Talmud the rabbis discuss where the 10 Tribes are.

The rabbis all take it for granted that the 10 Tribes are not a part of the

Jewish people:

“The Gemara asks: To where did Sennacherib exile the ten tribes? Mar

Zutra says: He exiled them to Afrikei, and Rabbi Hanina says: To the Selug

Mountains. The Gemara adds: But those exiled from the kingdom of Israel

spoke in disparagement of Eretz Yisrael and extolled the land of their

exile. When they arrived at one place, they called it Shosh, as they said:

It is equal [shaveh] to our land. When they arrived at another place, they

called it Almin, as they said: It is like our world [almin], as Eretz Yisrael is

also called beit olamim. When they arrived at a third place they called it

Shosh the second [terei], as they said: For one measure of good in Eretz

Yisrael, there are two [terein] here.” (The Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin

94a: https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.94a.16?lang=bi)

Jerusalem Talmud: the 10 Tribes will return from three different

places

There are two versions of the Talmud: The more popular Babylonian

Talmud and the less popular Jerusalem Talmud. Speaking of the exile and

future return of the 10 Tribes of Israel we read in the Jerusalem Talmud:

“Rebbi Berekhia and Rebbi Helbo in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar

Nahman. Israel was exiled to three diasporas: one inside the river

Sanbation, one to Daphne of Antiochia, and one on whom the Cloud

descended and covered them. Just as they were exiled to three diasporas,

so the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasse were exiled

into three diasporas. What is the reason? You went in the way of your

sister and I gave her cup into your hand. So when they return, they will

return from three diasporas. What is the reason? To tell the prisoners,

leave, those who were exiled inside the river Sanbation; those in

darkness, become visible, those upon whom the Cloud descended and

covered them; on the roads they are grazing and on all plains is their

pasturage, those who were exiled to Daphne of Antiochia.” (The

Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 10:5)

The Midrash on the Lost 10 Tribes

The Midrash are Jewish exegesis compiled between the 5th and 12th

centuries AD. The Midrash gives the same account as in the Jerusalem

Talmud mentioned above, but adds the colorful twist that God is going to

make tunnels for some of the Lost 10 Tribes. When God is going to step

down on the Mount of Olives and it will split in two (Zech 14:4) that part of

the Lost 10 Tribes will emerge from under the earth!

“To three places were the ten tribes exiled. … And for those who were

swallowed in Rivlathah, G-d will create for them underground tunnels, and

they will travel through them until they reach the Mount of Olives in

Jerusalem. G-d will stand on the mountain, causing it to split, and the ten

tribes will emerge from within, as the verse states, 'On that day His feet

will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem from the east,

and the Mount of Olives will split in the midst thereof - toward the east and

toward the west - a very great valley. Half the mountain will move to the

north, and half of it to the south.' [Zech 14:4]” (Yehuda Shurpin: “Where

Are the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel? The saga of the ten lost tribes of Israel

– Part 3”

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2500863/jewish/Where-

Are-the-Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel.htm)

(Christians believe the prophecy in Zechariah chap. 14 to be about the 2nd

Coming of Christ, whom they consider as God Incarnate. Religious Jews

believe that the Messiah will be a mortal man who is not God-in-the-flesh.

And yet the Mishnah states that it is “G-d” who will step down on the Mount

of Olives...)

Famous rabbis on the Lost 10 Tribes

A number of the greatest rabbis throughout history have taught that the

10 Tribes were not a part of the Jewish people and that they one day would

be reunited with the Jews. These include:

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, a.k.a. Rashi (1040-1105), Bible commentator

and one of the most influential Medieval rabbis. Rashi identified Zarephath

(Oba v. 20) with France, and wrote that the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel went

there: “The first exile of the children of Israel who were exiled from the Ten

Tribes to the land of Canaanites unto Zarephath... The exegetes say that

Zarephath means the Kingdom called 'France' in common language...”

(Yair Davidiy: “Commentary on the Book of Obadiah”:

https://www.britam.org/obadiah.html)

Rabbi David Kimchi, a.k.a. Radak (1160-1235), Bible commentator,

philosopher and grammarian from Narbonne, southern France. (Yair

Davidiy: Hebrew Tribes, pp. 415-426)

Rabbi Moses ben Nahman, a.k.a. Nachmanides, a.k.a. the Ramban

(1194-1270), Sephardic philosopher, physician and Bible commentator

from Catalonia. In the Book of Redemption Nachmanides wrote that the

Lost 10 Tribes are still in exile and not a part of Judah. He wrote that they

are in Zarephath (Oba v. 20) in the far north, and that they in the End

Times will defeat Edom and return: “The vision of Obadiah... the house of

Joseph refers to the Ten Tribes... who were exiled and still are in their

place of exile, the exile of Zarephath and Canaan which are in the farthest

north...” (Yair Davidiy: “Commentary on the Book of Obadiah”:

https://www.britam.org/obadiah.html)

Rabbi David Bonfil (13th cen.) was one of the students of Nachmanides.

Rabbi Bonfil wrote that the part of the 10 Tribes that were placed in Media

became assimilated with the Gentiles, while the parts of the 10 Tribes that

were placed elsewhere will return and reunite with Judah during the

Messianic Era. (Yehuda Shurpin: “Where Are the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel?

The saga of the ten lost tribes of Israel – Part 3”

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2500863/jewish/Where-

Are-the-Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel.htm)

Don Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel (1437-1508), Jewish statesman,

philosopher, Bible commentator and financier from Portugal. In 1483 he

was forced to flee to Spain. In 1492 Jews were expelled from Spain and

Abarbanel settled in Monopoli, in the region of Puglia in the Kingdom of

Naples. He later moved to Venice where he became one of Venice's

leading statesmen. In his commentary on Obadiah, Abarbanel wrote that

the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel settled in France, England and Spain:

“Zeraphath is France and so too the exile of Sepharad is Spain ... and let

you not err just because Zeraphath [i.e. France] is spoken of and

Angleterre [i.e. England] is not recalled, for there too did the exiles go, for

lo and behold, that island is considered a part of Zarephath and in the

beginning belonged to it and in their ancient books they call it the Isle of

Zarephath [i.e. of France] even though it later separated itself from

Zarephath [France] and became a kingdom in its own right.

… And maybe the intention is too to those Children of Israel who

completely left Religion due to the weight of troubles and persecutions

and they remain in France and in Spain in their thousands and tens of

thousands, huge communities. They shall return and request the LORD

their God...” (https://www.britam.org/obadiah.html)

Rabbi Yehuda Loew (ca. 1525-1609), a.k.a. the Maharal of Prague, a.k.a.

the Maharal, was one of the most highly respected Jewish religious

thinkers of his age. Rabbi Loew “taught that we will never discover the

tribes by searching. He explained that the exile of the ten tribes is a divine

decree that will not be rescinded until the messianic era. Even knowing

their whereabouts would already be a measure of reunification, and G-d

has decreed that there not be reunification until the time of the final

redemption. In other words, ultimately it is G-d’s decree that is holding us

back from discovering the ten lost tribes.” (Yehuda Shurpin: “Where are

the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel”:

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2500863/jewish/Where-

Are-the-Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel.htm)

Rabbi Manasseh ben Israel (1604-1657), author, diplomat and founder of

the first Jewish printing press in Amsterdam in 1626. Manasseh was

respected for his writings and convinced Oliver Cromwell to allow Jews to

settle in England. Cromwell also granted Manasseh a state pension of 100

pounds (equivalent to 27,000 US dollars). Manasseh ben Israel wrote that

the recently discovered Native Americans were the Lost 10 Tribes of

Israel.

Rabbi Moshe David Vali (1697-1776), Bible commentator and physician

from Padua, Republic of Venice: “They [the Kenites of Jethro] were

destined to be exiled with the Ten Tribes who were exiled by the King of

Assyria... he [Jethro] should not mourn over this. The Exile merely moving

from one place to another... it does not involve extinction. In the same way

the Ten Tribes are destined to return so are they [the people of Jethro] to

come back with them... There will be a Realization and Complete

Comprehension given to Israel. This had been taken away when they

were exiled.”

Rabbi Meïr Leibush ben Yehiel Michal, a.k.a. the Malbim (1809-1879),

prominent rabbi and Bible commentator. The Malbim was chief Rabbi of

Bucharest and rabbi in different cities in the Russian Empire.

Rabbi Zadok ha-Kohen Rabinowitz, a.k.a. Pri Tzadik (1823-1900),

significant Jewish thinker and Hasidic leader from Lublin, the Russian

Empire (today Poland). Like the Malbim, Pri Tzadik wrote that the Lost 10

Tribes in the End Times will be led by Messiah ben Joseph while the Jews

of Judah will be led by Messiah ben Judah.

Rabbi Yisrael Alter, a.k.a. Beit Yisrael (1895-1977), was the 5th Rebbe of

the Hasidic Ger dynasty, which was based in Poland prior to the

Holocaust. After World War II most of the followers of the Ger dynasty,

including Yisrael Alter, moved to the new State of Israel where Yisrael Alter

became the head of the Ger dynasty in 1948. The Ger dynasty is today

the largest Hasidic movement in the State of Israel and plays a prominent

role in Israeli politics. Beit Yisrael wrote a commentary on the Torah where

he speaks about the Lost 10 Tribes and the task of Joseph. (Yair Davidiy:

Hebrew Tribes, pp. 415-426)

We therefore see that many of the most revered rabbis have seen it as a

self-evident fact that the Lost 10 Tribes were not a part of the Jewish

people and still were somewhere among the Gentiles of the world.

The Jewish Encyclopaedia on the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia from 1906, the Lost 10 Tribes must

exist somewhere outside the Jewish people if the prophecies in the Bible

are to be fulfilled:

“According to the Bible, Tiglath-pileser (II Kings xv. 29) or Shalmaneser

(ib. xvii. 6, xviii. 11), after the defeat of Israel, transported the majority of

the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom to Assyria, and placed them in

Halah and Habor, on the stream of Gozan, and in the towns of Media. In

their stead a mixed multitude was transported to the plains and mountains

of Israel. As a large number of prophecies relate to the return of 'Israel' to

the Holy Land, believers in the literal inspiration of the Scriptures have

always labored under a difficulty in regard to the continued existence of

the tribes of Israel, with the exception of those of Judah and Levi (or

Benjamin), which returned with Ezra and Nehemiah. If the Ten Tribes have

disappeared, the literal fulfilment of the prophecies would be impossible;

if they have not disappeared, obviously they must exist under a different

name.” (Jewish Encyclopedia, article “Lost Ten Tribes”:

https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14506-tribes-lost-ten, my

underlines)

British Chief Rabbis on the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel

In 1918 the British Captain Merton Smith asked the Chief Rabbi of United

Kingdom Joseph Hertz about the Jews and the Lost 10 Tribes. The Chief

Rabbi answered:

“1. The people known at present as Jews are descendants of the tribes of

Judah and Benjamin with a certain number of descendants of the tribe of

Levi.

2. As far as is known, there is not any further admixture of other tribes.

3. The ten tribes have been absorbed among the nations of the world.

(See II Kings Chap. 17, more especially vv. 22 and 23.)

4. We look forward to the gathering of all the tribes at some future day.

(See Isaiah 27, 11-12; and Ezekiel 37, 15-28.)” (W. H. Bennett: The Story

of Celto-Saxon Israel, pp. 187-188)

In 1950 C.H.L. Ingall asked the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom similar

questions, and the Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie replied:

“The Jews of today do not represent the whole of the twelve tribes. What

happened to the ten tribes who occupied Northern Palestine in Biblical

times is not definitely known. Various theories have been propounded.

Modern Jewry is considered as being descended from the ancient tribe of

Judah and, to a lesser extent, the tribe of Benjamin.” (ibid., p. 189)

The Chabad on the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel

The Chabad, a.k.a. the Chabad Lubavitsch, is one of the largest and most

influential Orthodox Jewish organizations. According to the Chabad the

10 Tribes of Israel are not a part of the Jewish people but are somewhere

among the Gentiles and will be reunited with the Jews in the Messianic

Era:

“Regardless of the current whereabouts of the ten tribes - whether they

are hidden in some remote, impenetrable place, or whether they have

been 'swallowed up' within the other nations - G-d has decreed that they

will ultimately return in the time of the final redemption: 'It shall come to

pass on that day that a great shofar shall be sounded, and those lost in

the land of Assyria and those exiled in the land of Egypt shall come, and

they shall prostrate themselves before the L-rd on the holy mount in

Jerusalem.' [Isaiah 27:13]” (Yehuda Shurpin: “Where Are the Ten Lost

Tribes of Israel? The saga of the ten lost tribes of Israel—Part 3”:

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2500863/jewish/Where-

Are-the-Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel.htm)

We can see that all Jews 2,000 years ago, as well as many Jews today,

believe that the Lost 10 Tribes of Israel are to be found outside the Jewish

people. We too should therefore look for them outside the Jewish people.

December 2024

Bibliography

The Authorized King James Version of the Bible incl. Apocrypha

Babylonian Talmud, The: chabad.org

BENNETT, W. H.: The Story of Celto-Saxon Israel (Windsor, Canada:

CBIA, 2002)

BOTEACH, Shmuley: Judaism for Everyone (New York, NY, USA: Basic

Books, 2002)

DAVIDIY, Yair: Hebrew Tribes (Jerusalem: Russell-Davis Publishers,

2021)

DAVIDIY, Yair: “Commentary on the Book of Obadiah”:

https://www.britam.org/obadiah.html

Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed. (Farmington Hill, MI, USA, Thomson

Gale, 2007)

Jerusalem Talmud, The

Jewish Encyclopedia, The: jewishencyclopedia.com

JOSEPHUS, Flavius: The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus (Grand

Rapids, MI, USA: Kregel Publications, 1981)

SHUPRIN, Yehuda: “Where are the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel”:

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2500863/jewish/Where-

Are-the-Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel.htm

SHURPIN, Yehuda: “Where Are the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel? The saga

of the ten lost tribes of Israel—Part 3”:

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2500863/jewish/Where-

Are-the-Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel.htm