[Avodah] Aseres haShevatim

[T613K at aol.com]

Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:53:04 -0400
From: Micha Berger  <micha at aishdas.org>

>> There are two  things odd about the south-west corner of the
map. First, the  Gaza Strip is not included, and second, the tribe
of Shim'on  lives in an island within Yehudah's land.

These two are  connected. Shim'on never succeeded in conquering its
promised  portion of Israel, and therefore settled within an empty
part  of the Judean desert. ...


...In response, I was asked -- well then  how did Shim'on end up exiled and
lost with the aseres hashevatim? Did Ashur  penetrate Yehudah and manage
to exile the Shim'on settlement in their  midst?


...One might be tempted to explain that some of the aseres  hashevatim were
exiled by Ashur and assimilated among nachriim, but others  assimilated
into Yehudah. ... Now if all Shim'on did to get lost from  history
is assimilate into Yehudah, why would they be included along with  Malkhus
Yisrael for such a harsh judgment? 
....I replied with an "I don't  know". Thoughts?


-- 
Micha  Berger              





>>>>
 
You also asked about Ephraim and Menashe -- I deleted that part because I  
have no thoughts.  But re Shimon, well, Yakov's bracha (Ber.49:7) says  
about Shimon and Levi:  "Achalkem beYa'akov, afitzem beYisrael--I will  separate 
them in Yakov, I will scatter them in Yisrael."  Levi we know had  no 
contiguous land mass, but only scattered cities.  As for Shimon, Rashi  says they 
were poor people, sofrim and teachers of children, and therefore they  were 
scattered, for their work or to collect tzedakah.  It is reasonable to  
assume that some of them assimilated into Yehudah and that many assimilated 
into  all the other tribes among whom they lived for their parnassah.  
Therefore  most of them would have ended up going into exile with the Ten Tribes.
 
 

--Toby  Katz
==========

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