Entangled Stories: The Red Jews in Premodern Yiddish and German Apocalyptic Lore

“Far, far away from our areas, somewhere beyond the Mountains of Darkness, on the other side of the Sambatyon River…there lives a nation known as the Red Jews.” The Red Jews are best known from classic Yiddish writing, most notably from Mendele's Kitser masoes Binyomin hashlishi (The Brief Travels of Benjamin the Third). This novel, first published in 1878, represents the initial appearance of the Red Jews in modern Yiddish literature. This comical travelogue describes the adventures of Benjamin, who sets off in search of the legendary Red Jews. But who are these Red Jews or, in Yiddish, di royte yidelekh? The term denotes the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, the ten tribes that in biblical times had composed the Northern Kingdom of Israel until they were exiled by the Assyrians in the eighth century BCE. Over time, the myth of their return emerged, and they were said to live in an uncharted location beyond the mysterious Sambatyon River, where they would remain until the Messiah's arrival at the end of time, when they would rejoin the rest of the Jewish people. This article is part of a broader study of the Red Jews in Jewish popular culture from the Middle Ages through modernity. It is partially based on a chapter from my book, Umstrittene Erlöser: Politik, Ideologie und jüdisch-christlicher Messianismus in Deutschland, 1500–1600 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011). Several postdoctoral fellowships have generously supported my research on the Red Jews: a Dr. Meyer-Struckmann-Fellowship of the German Academic Foundation, a Harry Starr Fellowship in Judaica/Alan M. Stroock Fellowship for Advanced Research in Judaica at Harvard University, a research fellowship from the Heinrich Hertz-Foundation, and a YIVO Dina Abramowicz Emerging Scholar Fellowship. I thank the organizers of and participants in the colloquia and conferences where I have presented this material in various forms as well as the editors and anonymous reviewers of AJS Review for their valuable comments and suggestions. I am especially grateful to Jeremy Dauber and Elisheva Carlebach of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies at Columbia University, where I was a Visiting Scholar in the fall of 2009, for their generous encouragement to write this article. Sue Oren considerably improved my English. The style employed for Romanization of Yiddish follows YIVO's transliteration standards. Unless otherwise noted, translations from the Yiddish, Hebrew, German, and Latin are my own. Quotations from the Bible follow the JPS translation, and those from the Babylonian Talmud are according to the Hebrew-English edition of the Soncino Talmud by Isidore Epstein

Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413 — 13 novembre 1414)

Posnanski Ad. Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413 — 13 novembre 1414). In: Revue des études juives, tome 74, n°147, janvier-mars 1922. pp. 17-39

Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413 — 13 novembre 1414) (suite et fin)

Posnanski Ad. Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413 — 13 novembre 1414) (suite et fin). In: Revue des études juives, tome 76, n°151, janvier-mars 1923. pp. 37-46

New York Nationals coach sees beauty in losing, December 24, 2007

Printed version of a Kansas City Star article about Louis "Red" Klotz, roommate of Joseph Lyles during the 1952 Globetrotters world tour. Article describes Klotz's career as a player and coach for the teams that play and have played against the Harlem Globetrotters since the 1950s. Klotz talks about how being part of the Globetrotter show and losing more than 13,000 games as either a player or a coach has been a benefit. He also talks about playing to win in any situation. Joseph Lyles & Kloz were members of the U.S. All Stars and the New York Celtics, this team and the Harlem Globetrotters were the first professional basketball teams to ever tour the globe.The Harlem Globetrotters were celebrating their 25th anniversary by touring the World. They played in 44 countries in 168 days and covered 58,849 miles! Some of the locations on the tour included London, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, the grave of General Patton, St. Peter’s in Rome, Egypt, Hong Kong, Athens, Singapore, Tokyo and Osaka. Lyles was born on Oct. 28, 1929. He died on November 13, 2012 at the age of 83. He coached and taught at Washington and Lee University for 50 years. He was also a minor league baseball player and professional basketball player who toured with the Harlem Globetrotters on their 1952 World Tour. In 1958, Lyles earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Springfield College and a Master’s Degree in 1959. The full article can be found online at the Kansas City Star's Archive but can only be accessed by subscription. http://archives.kcstar.com/Printed version of Kansas City Star article about Louis "Red&quot. This article can be found online at the Kansas City Star's Archive but can only be accessed by subscribtion. http://archives.kcstar.com/; Klotz, roommate of Joseph Lyles during the 1952 Globetrotters world tour; Note with article identifies Klotz as Lyles' roommate on the tour; Last page is missing; No master file

Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413-13 novembre 1414) (suite)

Posnanski Ad. Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413-13 novembre 1414) (suite). In: Revue des études juives, tome 75, n°149, juillet-septembre 1922. pp. 74-88

Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413 — 13 novembre 1414)

Posnanski Ad. Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413 — 13 novembre 1414). In: Revue des études juives, tome 74, n°148, avril-juin 1922. pp. 160-168

Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413-13 novembre 1414) (suite)

Posnanski Ad. Le colloque de Tortose et de San Mateo (7 février 1413-13 novembre 1414) (suite). In: Revue des études juives, tome 75, n°150, octobre-décembre 1922. pp. 187-204