The
following article appears as an introduction in Beyond the Sambatyon:
the Myth of the Ten Lost Tribes, published by MAXIMA Multimedia, publisher
of this magazine. This book includes a marvelous collections of letters
and travel writings that tell of the incredible quest of adventures, travelers
and scholars for the mythical Sambatyon River (and the Lost Tribes who live
beyond it). The CD-ROM accompanying the book includes a multimedia presentation
of an exhibition on the Ten Lost Tribes, mounted at the Museum of the Jewish
Diaspora, Tel Aviv, in 1991. The product may be purchased from our
store.
Historical reality is frequently
the mother of myths and, like good offspring, myths carry on the process of
creating history. We first encounter the mighty Sabbath river, the Sambatyon
(referred to alternately as Sanbatyon and Sabatyon), in rabbinic literature.
In numerous passages we read of a river unnavigable on weekdays when it flowed
with strong currents, carrying along stones with tremendous force; on the Sabbath,
however, it rested from its fury and lay tranquil.
In Jewish thought, the Sabbath
is associated with the exodus from Egypt, the prototype of exile and redemption.
It was natural, then, that the Rabbis connected the Sabbath River with the Assyrian
exile of the Ten Tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel in the 8th century
BCE. The Jerusalem Talmud relates that "Israel was sent into exile beyond
the Sambatyon…" [*] Settlement beyond
a river whose name and behavior reflect the holiness of the Sabbath day is thus
symbolic of spiritual and physical exile.
The Prophets, unwilling
to accept the finality of exile and assimilation, kept alive the hope that the
Ten Tribes continued to exist, by promising the ultimate ingathering of the
exiles and the reunion of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The rabbinic concepts
of exile "beyond the Sambatyon" and the prophetic promises of return
together inspired a messianic quest that persisted for centuries: the mythical
river had only to be found, and the final redemption might be expedited.
These motifs re-emerge in
medieval and post-medieval Jewish folktales and writings, in which the kingdom
where the Ten Tribes reside is described as the ultimate utopia, a fantasized
existence that was clearly a comfort to the downtrodden Jews of the Diaspora.
The Jews in this kingdom are strong, proud and fearless, often warriors, and
their land overflows with precious gems, fertile livestock, exotic fruits and
abundant produce.
"Once,"
said Rafael, "I read in a book about the River Sambatyon and
the Ten Lost Tribes and the Sons of Moses, and I would like to know
where it is better, there or in the Land of Israel."
"You should know the answer yourself," I replied. "The
Ten Tribes and the Sons of Moses [who live beyond the Sambatyon]
live in constant hope of setting out to the Land of Israel. They
would have done so at once had not the Holy One Blessed-be-He encircled
them with the River Sambatyon. All week long this river is filled
with wild rapids that cast about great stones; the river rests only
on the Sabbath, and on this day they cannot cross because of their
great piety. And you ask which place is better? Why, of course,
the Land of Israel!"
From
S.Y. Agnon's A Guest for the Night
Christian denominations
with messianic aspirations were equally eager to discover such a kingdom; the
existence of Israelites offered the possibility of converting them and thereby
hastening the arrival of the millennium. It was inevitable that the myth of
the Sambatyon became linked with a related story, which appeared in the latter
part of the 12th century and persisted for several centuries. According to this
legend, there lived a powerful Christian priest and monarch named Prester John
somewhere beyond the Moslem countries. Prester John ruled over a vast and wealthy
Empire, first placed in Asia (sometimes near Armenia), but later more generally
placed in Africa. More than one hundred manuscripts recounting the Prester John
story have been preserved in different libraries around the world; the texts
are similar to one another and all contain references to the Ten Tribes and
the myth of the Sambatyon River. References to Prester John may be found in
Obadiah of Bertinoro's letter, in the selection from David Reubeni's diary,
and in Gershon Yiddls' travel book.
In this collection of writings
from the 1st through the 17th century, we follow the river as it makes its way
through the dreams and fantasies of travelers, scholars and theologians. As
we read Jewish historian Josephus Flavius' description of future Roman emperor
Titus taking his morning walk in the 1st century, and the imaginative tales
of such travelers as Eldad the Danite (9th century) and Yiddls of Prague (13th
century), the Sambatyon seems to grow ever more marvelous and fantastic, taking
on new forms and implications. In the 17th century, we observe the myth fashioning
history in Menasseh Ben Israel's passionate plea to the English parliament regarding
the return of the expelled Jews to England, and in the messianic proclamations
of Nathan of Gaza.
In Letters from Beyond the
Sambatyon and its accompanying CD-ROM, the echoes of an event which took place
nearly 3,000 years ago resound across the world stage, carried along by the
myth of a magical river.
