Across the Sabbath River: In Search of a Lost Tribe of Israel

Hillel Halkin has done a marvelous job of consolidating the knowledge of a lost people and weeded out myth, superstition and misplaced information. S P O I L E R DON'T READ PAST HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT THE CONCLUSIONS THAT HALKIN CAME TO IN THE END. On a trip to NorthEast India, Halkin was bit by the "Lost Tribe" bug that has had Jews looking all over the world for the northern tribes of Israel who were exiled by Assyrian Empire in the 7th century b.c.e. Where did they go? Based on this study by Hillel, part of the tribe of Manasseh migrated across central asia, past Tibet and into the Burma/India border area. He studied the stories told by " the old people " who predated the Kuki-Mizo-Chin migration into the Mizoram/Assam area of northeast India. Once the area was under British protectorship in the late nineteenth century, many of the stories/storytellers were lost because of the proselytizing of Christian missionaries. The missionaries did their best to destroy the old religion, and force people not to teach it or the language of the priesthood to the next generation. Luckily, Hillel was able to find one man, who himself was quite elderly, who had spent forty years, collecting and documenting the old stories and religious rites. What he was able to prove in the end was that included in the old stories were parts of stories from the Old Testament that had been passed down in families prior to the OT being translated into the indigenous language or taught by the missionaries (many who considered the OT to be too Hebraic and not 'christian' oriented). Though these families had 'israelite' traditions, they were a hodgepodge of stories that had been enbedded with local history and myth. Halkin was able to establish the authenticity of the stories. But, it need study by Forensic Anthropologists to prove how much of the story was OT and how much was passed on from another (members of a lost tribe?) people.

This is an enormously enjoyable book that is both educational and thrilling. In 1999, Israeli journalist Hillel Halkin accompanied the eccentric Rabbi Avichail to Mizoram (in Northeast India near the Burma border) in order to investigate whether the Mizo people who lived there were indeed the descendants of one of the "Lost Tribes of Israel." Halkin is skeptical and constantly has to challenge Rabbi Avichail's fanatic true-believer mindset. Then Halkin's own investigative methods begin to reveal surprising things. This is a fascinating scientific mystery. Halkin entertainingly gives a clear history of the lost tribes as well as the many theories about what happened to them that have been posited by others over the centuries (including the once popular notion that the Lost Tribes wound up in North America, in which belief the Mormon Church is rooted). The Mizo people believe that they are Jews and want to get back to their true roots. They also want to immigrate to Israel for a better life. As a result they throw themselves into the study of Judaism with the zeal of Holy Rollers at a revival meeting. Rival synagogues are founded that try to incorporate Jesus into Jewish teaching. Rabbi Avichail has his hands full when he tries to explain to them that they cannot do that. The Mizo people had thrown off their indigenous religion in favor of Fundamentalist Christianity at the beginning of the 20th Century. There are very few people among them who remember anything about the former religion. Halkin tries to find out what, if anything, their former religion had in common with Judaism. His efforts are hampered, Halkin realizes, by his third-rate con man translator, who is not above creating phony evidence and altering existing evidence. His investigations hit mostly dead ends until several tantalizing clues and his non-academic approach seemingly solve the mystery in which there were next to no clues. Journalist, linguist and scientist, Halkin is a brilliant man who has written a brilliant book. I found ACROSS THE SABBATH RIVER a very satisfying reading experience. Highly recommended. Five Stars.

Hillel Harkin's study of the fabled 10 lost tribes of Israel succeeds because he is not an anthropologist or biblical scholar. Indeed, if one is looking for an in depth study of the lost tribes and their hypothetical present locations, this probably is not the best place to go. However, if you are looking for a story rooted in history, told by a world traveler who writes sweeping narratives and locale descriptions, than this is your best bet.The story of the lost tribes is a fascinating one. It is so interesting that thousands of anthropologists and explorers have spent their whole life looking for this group of ancient Jews. The story is as mysterious as it is educational. In the 8th century BC, the Assyrians conquered northern Israel. The ten tribes of Jews that inhabited the area were mostly uprooted and moved, east, to the vast areas of the Assyrian Empire. After that, no one is sure where they ended up. It would be a good guess that wherever they settled, they were assimilated into the native culture, but influenced the natives greatly, possibly with their monotheist religion. This may seem to many as a curious historical footnote, but to some in the Jewish religion, it is one of the most important factors in the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. The location and return of the 10 northern tribes is an integral part of Jewish tradition, even if many have cast it off as a relic of the past.Harkin story follows the travels of one Rabbi Avichail, an eccentric but dedicated Jewish scholar. Avichail firmly believes that the tribes and their culture can still be found, in former Assyrian areas such as India, Central Asia, and China. Now, just years ago, this was deemed almost absurd. However, with recent technological and genetic discoveries, the lineage of some of these groups is no longer hypothetical. Roman genes in China and Greek genes in Afghanistan have been discovered, pointing to ancient connections. Avichail believes that he can find these groups, and return them to the promise land. Harkin is skeptical at first, mainly because the often shaky evidence Avichail provides, and the fruitless tribe search in southern China. However, he, and the reader, soon become fascinated by the Mizo people of northeastern India. They passionately claim lineage to the Manasseh, one of the lost tribes. They share some intriguing similarities, such as one God known as Ya (Yahweh), an old song of the Red Sea, and ritual circumcision. The Mizo are constantly split from within, as Christianity and cultural strife strain the relationship between them and their old ways. Avichail and his party, including Harkin, are quickly wrapped up into this intriguing cultural and religious situation.The book benefits from Harkins insightful eye, which look into almost every facet of Avichail, the Mizo, and their claims. The sweeping descriptions of the areas the party visits and the surrounding political situations are vivid and entertaining. It is a r

First, before starting this book, I recommend that you take a look at the author?s two page guide to pronunciation, to better understand the Hebrew, Mizo, Thado, and Burmese words in the text. Halkin, a well known translator of Hebrew books, posits that a little-known ethnic group living along the Indian-Burmese border is descended from the ancient Jewish tribe of Manasseh. The fate of the ten lost tribes of Israel has haunted Jewish and Christian imaginations throughout the ages. Hillel Halkin has long been intrigued by the subject. And why not? Many American Jews of a certain age dreamed of an aboriginal, strong, warrior Jew, the type who could win fistfights on the way to and from junior high school. And so, Halkin embarked on a journey. In 1998, he accompanied a Jerusalem rabbi and dedicated lost-tribes hunter to China, Thailand, and northeast India, where the rabbi hoped to discover traces of the lost tribes. Halkin went with a very healthy dose of skepticism. Most look at Rabbi Avichail as a well meaning crackpot. Whatever the Rabbi is, he makes for an interesting story, having traveled to Marranos in Portugal, Karens in Burma, Tatars in Dagestan, Kananites in Kerala, and ?Indians? in Manipur and Mizoram. The book captures your interest from its first paragraph. The Sabbath is approaching as Halkin and the rabbi are searching out the non-Chinese Chiang?s in Western Szechuan. Then the police arrive at their hotel. You?ll have to read the book to find out what happens. After a variety of adventures and misadventures, Halkin returned several times to the Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram, where 5000 people belive they are a lost tribe of Hebrews. Are these people the victims of a mass cultural delusion, having accepted a myth to promote and reinforce their distinct cultural identity? Or are the actually descendants of some Bnai Menashe? Are these Kuki-Chin-Mizo people, living along the Indian-Burmese border, descended from the ancient biblical tribe of Manasseh. Halkin isn?t a scholar, linguist, or ethnographer, but neither am I, and the story is still fascinating. Why do they have a song about crossing the Red Sea while living in Northeast India, a song they have sung prior to any missionaries showing up and one that contains ancient words? Why do they have a god named Yah(za), a history of brit milah circumcision on the eighth day after birth, a mourning period of 7 days, a Spring festival of unleavened bread (among rice eaters), and the use of the word ?selah.? There are some who broke away and even started a competing shul (if that?s not Jewish, what is?) Whatever you decide, the book is an exciting, mysterious and enlightening read. Sign me up for a Bnai Menashe kippah?

Is it possible that one of the Lost Tribes made its way to East Asia or the Indian subcontinent more than two thousand years ago and that even today vestiges can be found of its beliefs and culture? Only someone with the heart of an explorer and background of a Jewish history scholar could have written this wonderful book, which reads like a good mystery. Halkin takes the reader with him along jungle backroads and into out-of-the-way villages on his search for the tiny clues that might just pull away the curtain on two thousand years of history. It's an exciting journey. The author's sense of humor and colorful writing keep things lively, and his scholarship adds unusual depth. I read the last two hundred pages in one sitting. I won't give away the ending - and what Halkin finds - but I will say that the heroes of this story are those tenacious souls who memorized the traditional stories of their people and remembered them long enough for someone like Halkin to finally come along and listen.