Lost tribes, and claiming to be a Jew

[placebofactor]

I have two questions:

1. Are the ten Northern tribes of Israel lost?

2. Why would anyone in their right mind claim to be a Jew if they were not Jews?

[onewithhim]

What's your point? I'm curious

My point is : That at the time the bible was being written, the ten tribes were not "lost" but today, thousands of years later, for all intent and purposes they are.

Only the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Catholics follow that line of thinking. When you say lost, are you meaning they can't find their way home, or they don't exist? They exist. My proof, Israel exists today, and 8 million Jews of all 12 tribes now live in Israel.

Maybe all 12 tribes live in Israel today but they don't know which tribe they belong to. All those records were lost when the Romans destroyed the temple in 70 AD.

The following came from Wikipedia
Jewish genealogy is the study of Jewish families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Since Judaism is not only a religious community but an ethnic group that claims descent from common ancestry, there has been significant interest in tracing Jewish descent. To this day there are Jews who trace their descent from the ancient tribe of priests and Levites of the Jewish Bible and who still receive special recognition in areas such as the Jewish synagogue service.

Due to the importance of Torah learning in the Jewish tradition, genealogical records of rabbis and Hasidic rebbes are carefully recorded and readily available.

The Holocaust was a significant factor in stimulating the research of Jewish genealogy. Many Jews were tormented by questions of what and who had been lost. In response, a number of genealogical agencies were created, including the International Tracing Service in Arolsen, the Search Bureau for Missing Relatives in Jerusalem, and museum and resource Yad Vashem. CRARG (Czestochowa-Radomsko Area Research Group)(www.crarg.org) finds and translates Holocaust survivor lists and death lists from around Poland. Its database is one of the largest on the web, with over 300,000 records so far, covering hundreds of towns and consisting of more than 150 separate projects.

The 1976 TV miniseries of Alex Hailey’s book, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, is generally credited with popularizing genealogy. Finding Our Fathers: A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy, by Dan Rottenberg, published in 1977, was the first modern guide to tracing Jewish ancestors. From Generation to Generation: How to Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Family History by Arthur Kurzweil, published in 1980, was a significant text in the evolution of Jewish genealogy. Avotaynu magazine was launched in 1985. JewishGen, an electronic resource for Jewish genealogy, was established in 1987. Following the formation of a number of Jewish genealogical societies, the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) was set up in 1988. Their activities include hosting annual conferences, normally in the United States.

They can go all the way back to before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD?

[placebofactor]

What's your point? I'm curious

My point is : That at the time the bible was being written, the ten tribes were not "lost" but today, thousands of years later, for all intent and purposes they are.

Only the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Catholics follow that line of thinking. When you say lost, are you meaning they can't find their way home, or they don't exist? They exist. My proof, Israel exists today, and 8 million Jews of all 12 tribes now live in Israel.

Maybe all 12 tribes live in Israel today but they don't know which tribe they belong to. All those records were lost when the Romans destroyed the temple in 70 AD.

The following came from Wikipedia
Jewish genealogy is the study of Jewish families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Since Judaism is not only a religious community but an ethnic group that claims descent from common ancestry, there has been significant interest in tracing Jewish descent. To this day there are Jews who trace their descent from the ancient tribe of priests and Levites of the Jewish Bible and who still receive special recognition in areas such as the Jewish synagogue service.

Due to the importance of Torah learning in the Jewish tradition, genealogical records of rabbis and Hasidic rebbes are carefully recorded and readily available.

The Holocaust was a significant factor in stimulating the research of Jewish genealogy. Many Jews were tormented by questions of what and who had been lost. In response, a number of genealogical agencies were created, including the International Tracing Service in Arolsen, the Search Bureau for Missing Relatives in Jerusalem, and museum and resource Yad Vashem. CRARG (Czestochowa-Radomsko Area Research Group)(www.crarg.org) finds and translates Holocaust survivor lists and death lists from around Poland. Its database is one of the largest on the web, with over 300,000 records so far, covering hundreds of towns and consisting of more than 150 separate projects.

The 1976 TV miniseries of Alex Hailey’s book, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, is generally credited with popularizing genealogy. Finding Our Fathers: A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy, by Dan Rottenberg, published in 1977, was the first modern guide to tracing Jewish ancestors. From Generation to Generation: How to Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Family History by Arthur Kurzweil, published in 1980, was a significant text in the evolution of Jewish genealogy. Avotaynu magazine was launched in 1985. JewishGen, an electronic resource for Jewish genealogy, was established in 1987. Following the formation of a number of Jewish genealogical societies, the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) was set up in 1988. Their activities include hosting annual conferences, normally in the United States.

They can go all the way back to before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD?

If Jews knew who they were today, it would appear obvious that they could trace their families back even further than 70 A.D. Jews are notorious for keeping records. "To this day there are Jews who trace their descent from the ancient tribe of priests and Levites of the Jewish Bible and who still receive special recognition in areas such as the Jewish synagogue.