Ephraimites or Ephra I am nots? (Rebuttal)

"Ephraimites or Ephra I am nots?" I must admit. It is a clever title, but the content of the article isn't nearly as compelling, except for those who have already made up their minds. The article can be found and read here.

Ephraimites or Ephra I am nots?
Cleveland Jewish News/October 17, 2005
By Stephanie Garber

Imagine the outrage if a practicing Jew were to don a Roman collar, assume the title “priest,” and open his own “Catholic church,” interpreting its holidays and symbols however he liked, says Rabbi Tovia Singer, talk-show host, and founder and national director of Outreach Judaism.

First of all, she is laying the mental premise for all that follows: that those who she is about to attack are all imposters. What she hopes to plant in the mind of her reader is that Two House teachers are practicing one religion while trying to deceive another religious group into thinking he/she is a leader within their group. That of course would be offensive, but that isn't the situation here, thus it isn't a fair comparison. The number of teachers yet to be described herein are those who are actively and legitimately practicing Torah-lifestyles, not as Catholics of course and of course they aren't condoned by the Professional Rabbinic system. Even so, they aren't knowingly trying to decieve another religious group. Again, let me repeat, I know of no Two House teachers who are practicing Catholicism and then dressing up as rabbis. From the start, she uses a radically unfair comparison to move her readers in an emotional slant against legitimate and knowledgeable teachers within the Ephraimite-Two House Messianic Movement.

Also, let it be known from the start that the Two House reality is taught and condoned even within Judaism by such men as Rabbi Avraham Feld, Yair Davidiy, Dennis Jones, and the late David Horowitz (the name of Horowitz alone gives much credibility to Two House theology). To better understand that this isn't a religion as much as it is an ideology embraced by or a reality perceived within major religions, I've included a long list of works by Christian, Messianic, and Jewish authors here.

But that is exactly what “Hebraic Roots” adherents (also known as “Israelites” or “Ephraimites,” among other names) do. These groups are led by self-taught individuals who use the title “rabbi” and/or “congregational leader,” as well as “synagogue” (complete with Hebrew names like Beth HaKavod) for their churches.

As I stated above, her comparison is certainly not "exact". However, there are men who call themselves "Rabbi" within the Hebraic roots movement. I've questioned some of them in person and in writing, noting Yeshua's condemnation of men calling other men "Rabbi" or "Great One", which is what the word "Rabbi" means. The Hebrew word for "teacher" is "Moreh", and Yeshua said nothing on record against such a title. But mere men are not to be called "Great One" (Matthew 23:8).

These gentiles in Jewish clothing actually claim to be the “true Israelites” n direct, biological descendants of the lost tribe of Ephraim. Of course there are no DNA or blood tests to confirm this unsubstantiated claim.

Hmmm... "true Israelites"? I've never heard any of these "gentiles in Jewish clothing" claim the Jews aren't Israelites in the fashion she presumes. Many anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish groups do claim the Jews are fake, but NO prominent Two House teacher does this to my knowledge, BUT INSTEAD, they claim the Jews are largely from the Southern Israelite Kingdom of Judah, a very respectful designation which is usually levied also in a respectful way... unlike the Replacement Theologians and Holocaust-deniers who usually say the Jews are NOT a legitimate people at all.

And "unsubstantiated claims"? The Prophets of Israel claimed many promises which substantiate the Ephraimite identity claim to be a "multitude of peoples / nations". However, Garber somehow conveniently never mentions a single scriptural reverence in this entire treatise of criticism. You'll notice she prefers to quote modern rabbis.

And regarding her genetic evidence argument, even the Jews don't fall nicely into a single genetic Haplogroup. Jewish men fall into largely Haplogroup J and E, but they, as well as the women, are found in many other genetic groups (see study). And why? How about a "mixed multitude" which left Egypt with the Israelites? Not to mention, three thousand years of religious conversions.

There is indeed work being done regarding Ephraimite genetic markers, but they too are a mixed people and it was prophesied they would be so, thus Ephraim is not going to fall nicely into some genetic proof as she again presumes they would, however ignorantly. See some Ephraimite genetic theories here. The prophet Ezekiel indicates that Ephraim and Judah would be mixed populations when he mentions the "Companions" of Israel and Judah in Ezekiel 37:16. (Isn't it nice to have scripture references?)

Angus Wootten, one of the movement’s grandaddies, explains in his book Restoring Israel’s Kingdom how someone can find out if he or she is a biological member of the tribe of Ephraim: You simply “have a ‘conviction,’ a knowing that we know.”

While this David Koresh-sounding theology appears ridiculous to both Jews and the vast majority of Christians, the sobering fact is that their numbers are growing constantly. From their websites and links, it would appear there are about 30 Ephraim-style groups in Ohio alone, although it’s hard to get an exact count because they use so many names n Ephraimites, Hebraic Roots Christians, Lost Tribes, Northern Kingdom, Israelites, House of Israel, Messianic Christians, and House of Joseph.

HA... our numbers aren't just growing. They are exploding!! Just as the Prophet Hosea foretold, the House of Joseph will become "a people" again... and to become a people, they must awaken to their identity in some fashion, no matter if it is by some internal "conviction", spiritual awakening, or by reading through genetic evidence. It is going to happen and it is happening because the Almighty YHVH ordained it to happen. All the peoples of Joseph-Ephraim are going to awake. Some may not have Jewish or Ephraimite blood, but none-the-less, they will be considered companions of Ephraim or Judah in the End (Ezekiel 37:16).

And David Koresh? Come on. David Koresh thought he was the Messiah for goodness sake. How does that fit here? Wooten has never claimed such. Unbelievable.

Rabbi Melvin Granatstein of Green Road Synagogue says there are all kinds of ersatz groups like these. “Catholics have to follow certain scriptural interpretation, but Protestants can pick up a Bible and interpret on their own,” he explains. “Some (Protestants) are very respectable, but others just focus on the parts of scripture they like, and the Bible can have very diverse interpretations.”

Protestant Christians, I bet you love this argument. Somehow you just need to put away all your bibles because you're too dumb or stupid to read and understand the scriptures for yourself. According to Garber and the rabbis, you need a Priest to tell you what the scriptures mean.

Saying you’re from a lost tribe has a certain “romantic appeal,” continues Granatstein. “The neat thing about claiming to be part of a lost tribe is, if it’s lost, who’s going to be able to prove me wrong?”

While Hebraic Rooters claim to “unite Jews and Christians” as their ultimate goal, in reality, they seem to hold both groups in disdain. Jews seem to think they are “Cokes” (the real thing), says Wootten in his book Restoring. He questions Jewish ancestral lines “(that have) been affected by conversions, adoptions and extramarital sex (fornication, adultery or rape).” He seems to have particular disdain for the Orthodox, labeling them, among other things, as mean-spirited rock-throwers. Christians fare no better under Wootten’s scathing pen: They are guilty of “Esau’s folly” n throwing away their birthright as the “biological heirs of the tribe of Ephraim.”

It would be nice if Garber would reference the page numbers of these citations. How many people are going to go out and read the entire book by Wooten in order to see the context of his statements? Probably very few and I would bet Garber is hoping for such.

Tired of being “second-class citizens,” these self-proclaimed “Ephraimites” demand that Jews “recognize” them as “Israelites” n and that would include rights to the Middle East real estate.

I haven't seem Ephraimites demanding this. I've only seen those from Jew-dah trying to snuff out the two house reality. Most of the Ephraimite teachers are too busy teaching the overwhelming flood of Ephraimite newcomers.

In 1948, “... instead of naming this Jewish state ‘Judah’ ... they named it Israel,” Wooten writes. “Now, in one fell swoop, the Jews grabbed the title back.” Wootten is appalled that these Jews had the chutzpah to name their country “Israel” n when those of his “tribe” knew it was partially theirs!

The modern nation of Israel says their first exile was the Babylonian Captivity, which was the captivity of the Kingdom of Judah. The Kingdom of Israel was taken captive more than a hundred years prior. Check out Israel Ministry of Foreign Affair's history timeline here. Also, check out another official Israeli government "Jewish History" timeline here: Jewish Agency for Israel (Aliyah.org). Everyone say, "Hmmmmmmmmmm..."

Eddie Chumney, who was a computer specialist before going full-time into “the ministry” almost a decade ago, heads a “synagogue” in Stark County; his members, he claims, come from Tuscarawas, Carrol, Stark, Wayne, Summit and Cuyahoga counties. Chumney also founded “Hebraic Roots International,” which claims a database network of subscribers in all 50 states and in 55 foreign countries. He travels extensively, both nationally and internationally, at the invitation of gentile groups who want to hear about their “lost (but now found!) heritage.”

Come on Garber, where is the basis and substance for this attack? Why not attack the message with real evidence instead of attacking an individual's credentials? The history of Israel and Judah is quite simple. You don't need a PhD to talk about it in an intelligent and meaningful way.

Raised Protestant, Chumney says he was “awakened” to what the New Testament “really” teaches after studying Jewish texts and taking Torah classes from a Reform rabbi in Akron. Chumney accuses Jews of “blindness” for not acknowledging their “Northern Kingdom” relatives. He threatens that peace will only come to Israel when they do so. He also says that Christians are “drunkards like Ephraim,” who have been lied to over the millennia n mostly because of the Catholic Church n as to what Jesus really taught.

Chumney doesn't "threaten". I've heard him teach on this a number of times. When he talks about the "blindness of Israel" he is usually talking about the blindness that Scripture indicated would be present in part for a time (Romans 11:25).

The gospel according to Chumney is that Jesus came to “unite the two kingdoms” (i.e., Jews and “Israelites”) and teach the “Israelites” (gentile Christians) to observe Jewish law. Of course, this is contrary to halachah (Jewish law), which actually says gentiles are forbidden to observe Shabbat, a doctrine which Chumney asserts is false and put forth by “the rabbis.” It’s a title he occasionally uses himself. (See sidebar, p. 29.)

Nope. Not to "observe Jewish Law", but "to observe the Torah of YHVH". The Jewish Law belongs to the Jews, transmitted by the Rabbis into what was codified within the Talmud, etc sometime after the Roman Diaspora. Chumney teaches that Yeshua came to teach the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel the Written Torah of Moses. He also teaches that the Torah claims the native born Israelite and the stranger are to observe the SAME Torah... which is what the Torah actually claims in a number of places ITSELF (references here). And Yeshua claimed the rabbis shut-up or shut off the Kingdom of Heaven to men (Matthew 23:13), and by their claiming that only Jews can observe Shabbat, thus we have a perfect example of what Yeshua meant.

While Chumney alludes to both Jewish texts and the New Testament scriptures, mixing doctrines and beliefs from both, he chafes at the accusation that he has made up his own religion. He simply wants “the house of Judah” to recognize “the house of Joseph” (his house) and for the latter to recognize Jesus’s “true” mission “foreshadowed in the Torah when those who received the law at Mt. Sinai were the only ones who escaped Egypt because they had put the blood on their doorposts.”

Chumney asserts that “obviously, there’s not going to be paper documentation” for the Ephraimite/Northern Kingdom/Lost Tribe/ House of Joseph connection. The only “proof,” it seems, is that one adheres to Chumney’s instruction.

Eddie Chumney is well-known for teaching humbly, honorably, and meticulously from the scriptures. He is a scripture contextual maniac. His teachings aren't altogether new nor are they difficult to conceive nor are they the primary source for Two House theology. As I stated from the beginning, there are Messianic, Christian, and Orthodox Jewish authors who support the Ephraimite Identity aspect of what Chumney teaches.

The Chumney/Wootten type of teaching is mushrooming. Rick Ross, an internationally-recognized cult expert, and a former Clevelander, calls it “a growing phenomenon in the United States.”

Ross “runs into these groups all the time,” but says the “Hebraic Roots” movement is really just an old teaching with a facelift. He points out that the Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert Armstrong in 1934, taught that Anglo-Saxons are direct descendants of the 10 lost tribes of Israel, and that church viewed that teaching as the key, unlocking a true understanding of biblical prophecy. At its peak, there were 65,000 Armstrongists, says Ross.

“These groups are very misleading and very disingenuous,” he cautions. “They have an affinity for Jewish holidays and symbols but have no Jewish background whatsoever,” says Ross. “It really becomes a shanda (shame), as my grandmother would say, when they start parading around with Torah scrolls and trotting out Jewish symbols.”

Actually, says Ross, there is a psychological component as to why certain types of people are attracted to these types of groups. “It gives them a sense of elite identity. In fact, there is a Yiddish phrase that sums it up perfectly: kol mamzer melech n Every bastard wants to be a king.”

So Jews are Kings or the truly elite? Hey, I'm not the one who forced Ross to make such a comparison. I realized Judah was promised the Sceptre of Kings, but... come on? Kings? So Ephraimites all think they are peasants and thus want to be elevated? Can we just talk about the two house reality in Ancient Israel and then discuss the possibility that there is a two house reality today? Why do we have to digress into these racial/ethnic-based falsehoods?

Will the real rabbi please stand up?

“Anyone can invent his own religion,” says Tovia Singer, founder and director of Outreach Judaism. “But the reason these movements are dangerous is that they don’t respect boundaries. They are not Jewish at all, and (its leaders and adherents) have no rabbinic background whatsoever; they are simply playing with Jewish beliefs and rituals.”

We aren't starting a new religion and we aren't teaching Rabbinic Judaism thus we don't need professional Talmudists to teach us the Talmud.

Certainly one of the ways the Hebraic Rooters play with Judaism is with their cavalier use of the title “rabbi.” For example, in the advertisement for Eddie Chumney’s “2005 Midwest Feast of Tabernacles” event to be held in Ohio next month, three of the four speakers are listed as rabbis, although not one of them has any rabbinic training at all.

If, as the former computer specialist-turned-self-proclaimed-minister says, people will be coming from as far as Florida to attend the weeklong event, they will paying to attend something where the rabbis are not rabbis at all, and the Succot experience is certainly not going to be a very “Jewish” one.

If someone were to call him or herself an attorney or physician and attempt to practice as such, that individual would be thrown in jail, says Rabbi Singer. Using the title “rabbi” won’t get someone thrown in jail, but it is consumer fraud, he adds.

“The parameters of Jewish identity exclusively and historically lay within the Jewish community,” says cult expert Rick Ross. “Unless you recognize the parameters of a religion’s identity, you are going down a slippery slope and opening the doors to anything and everything, such as Catholics for Krishna, Mormons for Mohammed, Baptists for Buddha.”

That's correct. It is about the only accurate statement I've seen Garber cite thus far: "The parameters of Jewish identity exclusively and historically lay within the Jewish community". The kicker is: many Ephraimite teachers don't claim to be "Jewish" (there are some who are legitimately born Jewish), although many newcomers in their initial zeal don't realize what traditions are derived from "Jewish" custom and what practices are actually commanded in the Torah, and they strive to look "Jewish" in their ignorance. Some learn the difference and still want to look Jewish in the traditional sense. Regardless, what is truly wrong with that? Is it not generally complimentary when people try to look like you? In fact, many non-Jews have joined Jew-dah throughout her history (Ruth and Caleb are probably the most prominent). Judah has a long and active history of converting people from within diaspora host countries. Why is it such a big deal for Messianic - Ephraimite - Hebraic Roots - Two House movement-types to look Jewish? I'll tell you what the problem is: they aren't falling under the long standing system of controls within Judaism and that ruffles the feathers of Orthodoxy watchmen. This is the same problem Catholicism has with all the rogue Protesting-Protestants all over the world. They want, they demand centralized control, which isn't always a bad thing. Just note the order that Moshe (Moses) put into place. The difference is, Moses gave the commands of the Creator of the Universe while Orthodox Judaism and Orthodox Catholicism issues the "commandments of men" on a routine and precedential basis. Here were Yeshua's thoughts on the matter: Mark 7:6-7; Isaiah 29:13.

Remember, Ross (quoted above) is an Institutionalist (as you'd quickly discern from his website) and apparently believes most people are too ignorant to interpret the Scriptures without a strong hierarchical structure such as that found in Orthodox Judaism or Catholicism (being a cult expert, he likely leans in that direction to the extreme for obvious reasons). In his and Garber's mind (implicated by what has issued forth from their lips), we the peasantry should leave "God" and "religion" to be judiciously delivered only by the "professionals", "specialists", and "experts". The insane growth of Protestantism over the last few hundred years is fairly good evidence that we the commoners would prefer to stick a thumb in the eye of the Professional Religionist and their "Orthodox" institutions before swallowing every wind of doctrine they interpret for us. A great deal of war and blood shed has been waged by the free-minded in order to escape Religious tyranny.

The Two-House and Hebraic-Roots Movements aren't "new religions" forming out of thin air, like what Garber and Ross would have you believe. They aren't cult movements. They are the manifestation and culmination of ancient Hebrew prophecies... issued from within an ancient faith (not a religion), which trusts in the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The prophecy of the Northern Kingdom of Israel ceasing to be "a people", then becoming "a people" again was clearly described by the Prophet Hosea. It only appears to be a new movement because we are in the Last Days when Israel was to become "a people" again. Like in the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, the older more faithful brother (Judah) is frustrated that his lost rebellious brother (Joseph/Ephraim) is finally coming to himself.