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Assuming we will, at some point, be reunited with some or all of the exiled Ten Tribes of Israel, will we expect them to celebrate holidays that are specifically Judaic in nature, by which I mean that they are commemorations of events that happened to Judah as opposed to the other tribes?

I am obviously referring to the holidays of Chanukkah and Purim. Should the Ten Tribes celebrate such holidays?

On the one hand, these are well-established holidays in Jewish tradition and law, and would we want a large portion of Jews (Judah) to be celebrating such days while the rest of Israel does not?

But on the other hand, why should they have any reason to celebrate? Perhaps we should treat this the same as any other customs that arise within communities in exile (i.e. inserted prayers like Yekum Purkan and Av HaRachamim etc.), which the individual communities observe and others communities have no reason to accept. If one of the Ten Tribes with whom we will be united, for example, has accumulated one or two holidays in commemoration of events that occurred in their exile, would we be expected to observe them?

Loewian
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jake
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    קימו וקבל היהודים עליהם ועל זרעם ועל כל הנלוים עליהם – Double AA Apr 28 '13 at 22:26
  • Frankly, what about Tisha b'Av? Do we have a tradition as to when Samaria fell? – Double AA Apr 28 '13 at 22:50
  • @DoubleAA, I thought about including T"B in this question, but assumed that would be cut down by the argument that the only basis for this question is a Messianic era, in which case the observance of T"B (and potentially, the downfall of the Northern Kingdom) would anyways be irrelevant. Purim and Chanuka, on the other hand, arguably are included in the Messianic calendar. – jake Apr 29 '13 at 01:40
  • assuming the reuniting happens in ymot hamashiach, does the rambam's statement in hilchot megillah answer this? כל ספרי הנביאים וכל הכתובים, עתידין ליבטל לימות המשיח, חוץ ממגילת אסתר--הרי היא קיימת כחמישה חומשי תורה, וכהלכות של תורה שבעל פה, שאינן בטילין, לעולם. ואף על פי שכל זכרון הצרות ייבטל, שנאמר "כי נשכחו, הצרות הראשונות, וכי נסתרו, מעיניי" (ישעיהו סה,טז)--ימי הפורים לא ייבטלו, שנאמר "וימי הפורים האלה, לא יעברו מתוך היהודים, וזכרם, לא יסוף מזרעם" (אסתר ט,כח). – rosends Apr 29 '13 at 13:38
  • @Dan, To me it looks like it reinforces the question. – jake Apr 29 '13 at 13:49
  • @jake it seems to answer the question to me -- Purim will be observed once we are all united -- everyone will celebrate it. This shiur suggests that channukah will be celebrated http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/720495/Rabbi_Ally_Ehrman/Chanukah_In_The_Time_Of_Moshiach_-_Will_We_Be_Celebrating but that would also be by everyone. – rosends Apr 29 '13 at 14:07
  • @Dan, First of all, I'm not convinced Rambam believes in the redemption of the Ten Tribes. Second, וימי הפורים האלה לא יעברו מתוך היהודים, (emphasis added). – jake Apr 29 '13 at 15:36
  • @jake i do see the nomenclature question (who counts as yehudim) but he does say in hilchot melachim, perek 12 "בימי המלך המשיח, כשתתיישב מלכותו ויתקבצו אליו כל ישראל" so it seems to me (in an uninformed way) that the title "yehudim" will be applied to all of yisrael after all are redeemed. But I can still see the basis for the question based on your understanding of the term as specific to yehudim and not the 10 tribes. – rosends Apr 29 '13 at 15:45
  • If the sanhedrin hagadol in Jerusalem decreed it upon all israel, it should be binding on all of the tribes. – Loewian Oct 23 '20 at 05:20
  • If nothing else, the 10 Shevatim would have reason to celebrate those holidays because, had the (known) Jews at the time have been wiped out ח"ו physically (Purim) or spiritually (Chanukah), there wouldn't be a Jewish nation left for the 10 Shevatim to rejoin. – Meir Oct 23 '20 at 14:50
  • This is nitpicky, but implied in the question is only the tribe of Judah remains. Not necessarily correct. When the kingdom split, Benjamin remained with Judah and even in the book of Esther, Mordechai is stated as being from the tribe of Benjamin. In addition, the tribe of Levi still exists. Yes, the tribe of Judah would dominate, numbers wise, but that is three tribes today observing Purim and Chanukah. Also, and this is just speculation, the tribe of Simeon did not have a specific territory, but resided within the tribe of Judah. Did they all pick up and leave when the kingdom split? – Dennis Oct 23 '20 at 21:32

1 Answers1

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It seems that it is generally agreed that they would have to celebrate Chanukah and Purim (as is the case nowadays with Ethiopian Jews and Bnei Menashe and other groups).

The Chida wrote in Devarim Achadim, Drush for Shabbat Zachor, 3:

"וא"כ הכא שהיו רוב ישראל תחת רשות אחשורוש נתחייבו שאר ישראל שבכל מקום כי עשרת שבטים המה נדחים ולא נודע מקומם איה ולכל דבר אזלינן בתר רובא דאיתיה קמן..."

Translation: "And if so, that this was the case that most of Yisrael were under the rule of Achashverosh, then the rest of Yisrael everywhere else became subject [to keeping Purim] because the Ten Tribes were lost and their location was not known, and in any case we go after the evident majority..."

Perhaps that's the reason that Rabbi Shlomo Aviner wrote:

ש: האם אתיופים חוגגים חנוכה?

ת: כן. על אף שאבותיהם לא היו באותו הנס, אין זה משנה, הם שייכים לכלל ישראל.

Translation: Q: Do the Ethiopian [Jews] celebrate Chanukah?

A: Yes. Though their ancestors weren't part of the miracle, it doesn't matter, because they are a part of Klal Yisrael.

In the publication Belelchtecha Baderech of 5767, it is brought in the name of Rav Ovadyah Yosef zt"l from Shu"t Yabia Omer O"C 41 (I don't have access right now to the book itself and can't find the relevant quote online) that the reason that the Ten Tribes would have to celebrate Chanukah is that: a. It was a "woe of the Temple" (צרת בהמ"ק), which is a woe (צרה) for all of Am Yisrael, no matter where they were at the time. b. According to the Tosfot in Gittin 36a, even though not all of the Ten Tribes were in Eretz Yisrael during the Second Temple era, some were1, and so that's enough to say that "all of its [the land's] dwellers are upon it", and therefore things like Yovel can be instituted. Likewise, in the case of Chanukah, it would mean that it was as though the majority of Yisrael accepted upon themselves celebrating Chanukah, and as such - everyone would have to celebrate it.

1 For some examples of evidence from the sources, see here.

Harel13
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  • How about arava (as it applies outside the mikdash), which is specifically a minhag and not a chiyuv? Ethiopians etc. didn't have that minhag. – Heshy Aug 03 '21 at 13:22
  • @Heshy That's a good question, I don't know. I'd venture a guess that we could say that it's a מנהג שקיבלו רוב ישראל and רוב ישראל here goes according to what the Chida said, that we go per the evident majority. – Harel13 Aug 03 '21 at 14:37