Proposal for Aryeh De'eri Concerning the Settlement of Ephraimites,
“Ten Tribers” or Bnei Yoseph in the Land of Israel
written by Andrew Hodkinson of South Africa
Acknowledgment
Firstly, thanks must be given to Bruce Brill who has been active in helping the outer Ephraimite community link arms and him being willing to give of his own time to help with giving us a voice within the land of Israel.
Who are we?
We are the descendants of the exiled Northern Kingdom of Israel who were forced out of their homeland in 722 BCE by the Assyrians. We do not see ourselves as Jews (of the house of Judah), but we identify the Jewish people as a brother nation.
As the prophet Hosea said we would “eat unclean food”, “have the Sabbaths removed from us” and consider the “Torah as something alien to us.” These realities are found among our people as the vast majority of us come from the inheritance of Christianity where even though possessing the Tanach and our teacher himself observing these things, these curses have been nonetheless evident in our way of life.
We therefore comprise of a growing number of people who are awakening to our Ephraimite identity (or what is called the Hebrew Roots) and are adopting the festivals of Israel once again, eating clean food (although not necessarily according to Rabbinic specification) and are experiencing a revived love for the Torah.
This awakening is also causing a longing to return to the land. A few have converted to Judaism and joined themselves to the house of Judah, but the vast majority of us would wish to return not as Jews, but as Ephraim and be separately identified, but still allowed to return. The main reason for this is that the majority of Ephraimites remain believers in Yeshua (Jesus) and see the return to the Torah as still compatible with our faith. Regardless of whether this right or wrong, this is the reality of us as a people in our dispersion and what we believe.
Our Commitment To The State Of Israel (Should We Be Given The Right To Make Aliyah)
Our Commitment To the Religious Authorities Of Judaism (Should We Be Given The Right To Make Aliyah)
Rabbinic Recognition For Who We Are
There is rabbinic recognition of who we are. Rabbi Avraham Feld and Yair Davidi have noted that Ephraim has by and large migrated to the West and is represented in Western Nations. They see no other way for us to return at this point except by Rabbinic Judaism which is problematic for us who maintain Jesus (Yeshua) as Messiah. Yet, what is important is that there is a scholarly and biblical precedent for who we are and why at this time in history we are awakening to our identity and are have such pro-Zionist leanings.
Expected Economic Benefit To The State Of Israel Upon Return
Moving Forward and Summary
This is a petition put forward by the descendants of Joseph (Ephraim, House of Israel) looking for a way to return to the land. Though we acknowledge the hard work of many within Judaism to find a route for us to return through conversion, the situation of the ground leaves this option as untenable for the vast majority of our people. This is no criticism of Judaism but the nature of our different beliefs at this time. Our numbers at this point in time are in the 10s of thousands, with more and more of our brothers awakening to their Israelite heritage daily (projected by Davidi and Feld as eventually being in the millions).
This has caused a few of us to think outside the box and put forward the idea of whether it may possible for us to settle not as Jews, but as Ephraim and to petition the Israeli government to allow for a different branch of Israelite to settle the land. I believe that we have much to bring and give to Israel.
We are realistic and understand that this is not simply a yes, come back now process and understand that much negotiation will be needed to determine a satisfactory and legitimate naturalization of our people to come back into Israel and the Jewish community will need interaction with our community representatives so that they can better understand who we are, know the differences/dangers that we pose toJudaism and see if there are healthy ways in which our communities can somehow by HaShem’s grace be able to lie down together in the land and fulfill what Isaiah said:
Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (KJV)
And so we can begin the second wave of return of Israel.
Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
Isa 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. (KJV)
Firstly, thanks must be given to Bruce Brill who has been active in helping the outer Ephraimite community link arms and him being willing to give of his own time to help with giving us a voice within the land of Israel.
Who are we?
We are the descendants of the exiled Northern Kingdom of Israel who were forced out of their homeland in 722 BCE by the Assyrians. We do not see ourselves as Jews (of the house of Judah), but we identify the Jewish people as a brother nation.
As the prophet Hosea said we would “eat unclean food”, “have the Sabbaths removed from us” and consider the “Torah as something alien to us.” These realities are found among our people as the vast majority of us come from the inheritance of Christianity where even though possessing the Tanach and our teacher himself observing these things, these curses have been nonetheless evident in our way of life.
We therefore comprise of a growing number of people who are awakening to our Ephraimite identity (or what is called the Hebrew Roots) and are adopting the festivals of Israel once again, eating clean food (although not necessarily according to Rabbinic specification) and are experiencing a revived love for the Torah.
This awakening is also causing a longing to return to the land. A few have converted to Judaism and joined themselves to the house of Judah, but the vast majority of us would wish to return not as Jews, but as Ephraim and be separately identified, but still allowed to return. The main reason for this is that the majority of Ephraimites remain believers in Yeshua (Jesus) and see the return to the Torah as still compatible with our faith. Regardless of whether this right or wrong, this is the reality of us as a people in our dispersion and what we believe.
Our Commitment To The State Of Israel (Should We Be Given The Right To Make Aliyah)
- Unequivocal loyalty to the State of Israel. We will be prepared to send our children to the army and be socially responsible towards the State.
- We are prepared to settle the land, in particular the land of Judea and Samaria. We are not looking for a life in Israel to be handed on a platter, but are prepared to settle the barren landscape and invest money into the country and in particular the areas of Samaria that are still not populated, but are the ancestral lands of Ephraim.
- We are prepared to learn Hebrew as our first language and properly assimilate into Israeli culture
- Although we view ourselves as Israelites, we are prepared to be classified as a different category from Jews. This may provide opportunity for us to settle lands that Jewish people are not allowed to occupy, i.e. buying private land from Arabs because of ancient Jordanian laws prohibiting Jews to do this. This can be a double blessing as land could be acquired from Arabs and allowed for Ephraim to occupy. This would thus allow a means of further redemption of the land and, better still, us not competing with Jewish resources, but actually being able to expand all of Israel's resources.
Our Commitment To the Religious Authorities Of Judaism (Should We Be Given The Right To Make Aliyah)
- We will not missionize Jewish people. We will respect the House of Judah and any issues of salvation, Messiah or any such religious beliefs are the business of the House of Judah and none of ours.
- We are not looking to change Judaism nor are we looking for Judaism to change us.
- Even though in our eyes we have returned to the ways of our fathers, we in no way feel that Judaism is therefore obliged to make any concessions for us as we recognize and respect that Judaism’s standards are different to ours.
- Our religious beliefs that are contrary to Judaism are not an underhanded and scheming ploy to undermine Judaism even though some critical areas differ. The differences are simply due to the nature of our belief and are areas which are naturally contrary to Judaism because of our inheritance and this does not come from a place of actively wanting to undermine the Jewish faith. The same goes for the different ways in which our teachers teach the Torah to us as a people.
- We will teach that the Jewish people are our brothers – regardless of religious affiliation and will not tolerate any form of replacement theology that removes the Jewish people from being who they are and the covenant they hold.
- We will teach our right to live in the land promised to our forefather Abraham and stand against any group that seeks to give land that is under Jewish (or Ephraimite) control to anyone but the descendants of Israel.
Rabbinic Recognition For Who We Are
There is rabbinic recognition of who we are. Rabbi Avraham Feld and Yair Davidi have noted that Ephraim has by and large migrated to the West and is represented in Western Nations. They see no other way for us to return at this point except by Rabbinic Judaism which is problematic for us who maintain Jesus (Yeshua) as Messiah. Yet, what is important is that there is a scholarly and biblical precedent for who we are and why at this time in history we are awakening to our identity and are have such pro-Zionist leanings.
Expected Economic Benefit To The State Of Israel Upon Return
- The vast majority of Ephraimite people are from 1st world countries or previous protestant Christian countries; they are highly educated, well connected in business, financially well off and come from cultures that are hardworking (traditionally capitalist as opposed to socialist). This means that upon return, much investment and capital would come into Israel.
- Many of these immigrants would bring not just money, but technologies and skill sets needed for the State of Israel.
- There will be an increase in tourism as families will want to visit their relatives who settle and groups will want to visit religious leaders who have settled in the land and tour with them.
- Settlement of Ephraimites will need to be done in a very calculated manner. Because of having little to no tie with the Jewish community, settlements would most likely have to be done in large groups, with capitol raised and business plans being approved prior to settling. This will hopefully benefit Israel in that the communities can work with the government prior to their communities being established and bring goods and services that will be needed and of benefit to the greater nation of Israel.
- An example that can best describe Ephraimite impact upon settlement is that of the German Christian Colony of people in Zichron Yaakov who are known as the Bethel Group; who are highly industrious, in time have come to develop high-tech products and are seen as a blessing to the Jewish community in which they live.
Moving Forward and Summary
This is a petition put forward by the descendants of Joseph (Ephraim, House of Israel) looking for a way to return to the land. Though we acknowledge the hard work of many within Judaism to find a route for us to return through conversion, the situation of the ground leaves this option as untenable for the vast majority of our people. This is no criticism of Judaism but the nature of our different beliefs at this time. Our numbers at this point in time are in the 10s of thousands, with more and more of our brothers awakening to their Israelite heritage daily (projected by Davidi and Feld as eventually being in the millions).
This has caused a few of us to think outside the box and put forward the idea of whether it may possible for us to settle not as Jews, but as Ephraim and to petition the Israeli government to allow for a different branch of Israelite to settle the land. I believe that we have much to bring and give to Israel.
We are realistic and understand that this is not simply a yes, come back now process and understand that much negotiation will be needed to determine a satisfactory and legitimate naturalization of our people to come back into Israel and the Jewish community will need interaction with our community representatives so that they can better understand who we are, know the differences/dangers that we pose toJudaism and see if there are healthy ways in which our communities can somehow by HaShem’s grace be able to lie down together in the land and fulfill what Isaiah said:
Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (KJV)
And so we can begin the second wave of return of Israel.
Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
Isa 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. (KJV)