Famous rabbis on the Lost 10 Tribes
By Mikkel S. Kragh
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.