The 10 Lost Tribes
What happened to the lost tribes of Israel? Join Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman as he traces the story to modern times. Explore what Jewish sources say about descendents of the lost tribes. Learn a famous teshuvah on the matter by Rav Aharon Lichtenstein z”l.
The 10 Lost Tribes: Lesson
Hello Everyone,
In the general culture there is a common notion of “Ten Lost Tribes.”
In today’s talk we will see how the Halacha sees (or saw?) the “Ten Lost Tribes.” Are they lost? Are they coming back? Can we find them on our own? We will see how this subject is discussed.
I look forward to meeting with you tomorrow.
Stuart Fischman
The 10 Lost Tribes: Lesson
Hello Everyone,
Last week we began our discussion of the Ten Tribes who were exiled by the kings of Assyria. The important idea that I sought to get across was that we need to understand how the Halacha views the descendants of these Ten Tribes. We saw last week that the great 16th century authority , Rabbi David ben Zimra did not think it all bizarre to hear that there are people in Ethiopia who claim to be Jews descended from the tribe of Dan.
The Jews of Ethiopia maintained their identity as Jews. Tomorrow we will see how the Halacha treats descendants of assimilated Jews, such as apparently was the fate of most of the members of the Ten Tribes.
Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman graduated from Yeshiva University in 1980 and the dental school of Columbia University in 1985. In 1989 he began studying and teaching at Yeshivat Hamivtar and now studies and teaches at Yeshivat Machanaim in Efrat. He has rabbinic ordination from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.