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| DNA and Tradition: The Genetic Link to the Ancient Hebrews | 
 enlarge | Author: Yaakov Kleiman
Publisher: Devora Publishing
Category: Book
Buy New: $18.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (12 reviews)
Sales Rank: 505888
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 204
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6
ISBN: 1932687130
Dewey Decimal Number: 221.9
EAN: 9781932687132
ASIN: 1932687130
Publication Date: August 2004
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| Customer Reviews:
 Scattered and Gathered September 3, 2006
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
This remarkable book reveals recent discoveries in molecular genetics that provide scientific confirmation of Biblical and oral tradition. For those completely unfamiliar with genetics, it is advised to read chapter four first. The basics of DNA are covered there, including the history of its discovery and key concepts like genes, the human genome poject, genetic markers and mitrochondrial DNA (mtDNA).
Using DNA analysis, it has become possible to find definite answers to questions of Biblical tradition and genealogy. Chapter one discusses two pioneering studies that detected Y-Chromosome markers that occur with high frequency in the Jewish priestly line of Kohanim. This genetic signature has become known as the Cohen Modal Haplotype (CMH).
Further studies of Diaspora communities revealed that Jewish people around the globe are closely related to one another, distinct from their host communities, and share a common geographical origin in the Middle East. Chapter Three looks at the genetic and biblical Matriarchs through studies of the mtDNA, which is transferred through the female line. Studies seem to confirm that people like Sarah, Rebeccah, Rachel and Leah were real individuals, not mythical constructs.
Chapter Five deals with the Ancient Hebrews and the question of the Lost Tribes. It provides a historical overview of Ancient Israel, early exile communities, legends of the lost tribes and a look at modern groups that claim Hebrew roots, complete with the results of genetic tests. These groups include, amongst others, the Pathans of Afghanistan, Georgian, Kurdish and Bukharan Jews, the Bene Menashe of India, tiny communities in China and Japan, plus the Ethiopian Jews and the Lemba people of Southern Africa. The priestly Buba clan of the Lemba has a significant percentage of the aforementioned CMH. The Khazar question is also explored here.
The next chapter goes into more detail on the history of the Ashkenazi of Europe and the Sefardi of the Middle East and Mediterranean communities. Genetic studies reveal that these two broadly defined groups are closely related despite the long years of separation. This chapter contains the results of numerous genetic studies and includes a map of the history of Ashkenazi movements in Europe.
Chapter Seven addresses the question of who a Kohan is, discusses Aaron the High Priest and his descendents and includes a table of Kohanim Down The Ages. There is a fascinating section on Kohan names, which include Cohn, Kahn, Kaplan, Rappaport and Shapiro, and how they were adapted or derived. This interesting chapter also describes the duties and personality of the Kohanim, their lineages, plus the Tribe of Levi and their genealogy with a list of surnames that include Levy, Lewis, Segal and Horowitz. This section concludes with information on organizations working towards the reactivation of the Kohanim.
The next chapter is devoted to ancestor research, providing helpful information on Biblical and Rabbinical genealogy, how to go about searching out one's ancestors, special interest groups, online resources and a bibliography of useful books. All the tools needed for tracking down your forebears are provided here.
The next chapter is just as interesting as chapter seven as it examines the genetic indications of the historical Abraham. The CMH marker is also a signature of the Judeo-Christian patriarch. Research reveals that large populations in the Middle East, like Lebanese, Kurds and Armenians, share this marker. There are also Europeans, like Hungarians and the southern and central Italian people, that carry this genetic signature.
The last chapter provides a summary of the latest findings from molecular genetics as they relate to Biblical genealogy. The conclusion is that DNA research has verified both the oral and the scriptural tradition. It concludes with an illuminating section on the spiritual heirs of Abraham and his biological heirs through Jacob, to whom the land was given as an inheritance forever.
The Appendix includes three scientific studies; from Nature: Y-Chromosomes Of Jewish Priests (1997), and Origins Of Old Testament Priests (1998). The article from the Proceedings Of The Natural Academy Of Sciences of the USA (2000) is titled Jews And Middle Eastern Non-Jewish Populations Share a Common Pool of Y-Chromosome Biallelic Haplotypes.
There are illustrations, maps, charts and tables throughout the text and the book concludes with bibliographic notes arranged by chapter. I highly recommend this well-written and beautifully crafted work to all those who cherish our Judeo-Christian tradition. Not only does it reveal close correspondences between scripture and science, but also provides other insights with significant implications for the future. DNA & Tradition is a work of major importance.
A wonderful work, also a refutation of the review by Arthur Koestler August 27, 2006
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
The following is both a review of the book as well as a counter to the review called "Based on the wrong starting point by Arthur Koestler (Spain)." Please don't take my comments as a personal attack on Arthur Koestler it is simply a refutation about his comments on the book DNA and Tradition: The Genetic Link to the Ancient Hebrews.
To start off, the review called "Based on the wrong starting point" does not have the facts of the book right. The reviewer Arthor Koestler wrote, "According to the author, the book is constructed around a scientific comparison of the genetical properties of sefardita and askhenazim Jews. But accordingly to the book, the samples were obtained from anatolian sefarditas, theoretically expelled from Spain in 1492."
This statement is completely incorrect. DNA and Tradition: The Genetic Link to the Ancient Hebrews is based on genetic testing of Yemenite Jews, Iraqi Jews, Syrian Jews, Libyan Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Moroccan Jews, Spanish Jews, Indian Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, the Lemba, the Samaritans and a number of non-Jewish middle eastern ethnic groups. If one reads page 29 of DNA and Tradition it states that the, "findings were that Jewish men from communities in the Near East: Iran/Iraq, Kurds, Yemenites and Roman Jews, as well as Ashkenazim/European Jews - all have very similar, almost identical genetic profiles!" Page 30 of DNA and Tradition provides further detail on the specific communities and their histories.
The reviewer Arthur Koestler also does not seem to know that the term "Sephardic" is often applied, though incorrectly, to all Jews who are not Ashkenazi. This is mostly in the non-Jewish world, but sometimes it is the case in Israel. The reason is because many Sephardi Jews, African Jews, and Middle Eastern Jewish share some of the same traditions. At one time there was only one Chief Rabbi in Israel and he was always Sephardi (from the Middle East mostly) until the division of the Rabbinate into Chief Sephardi Rabbi and Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi. Also, Sephardi Jews always had contact with the Jews of North Africa and Iraq long before the Khazars ever converted. Yemenite Jews are recognized as being different from both Sephardim and Mizrakhim (Middle Eastern Jews) mainly because they have different Jewish traditions. Yet, there are times when compared to Ashkenazim that all Sephardim, Mizrakhim, and Yemenites are called Sephardi.
Furthermore the review called "Based on the wrong starting point" states, "If this hipotesis is correct, then the jews expelled from Spain in 1492, can be wrongly catalogued as true "sefarditas", as they could be mainly composed of poor, khazarian jews newcomers, that were forced to return as near as possible to their original land -anatolia- when the conversion process was executed."
This assertion is again wrong and DNA and Tradition covers the possible influence of the Khazars. It was found that there were similar DNA between Levites from the Middle East and North Africa, but when it came to Ashkenazi Levites they found more differences. One of the theories that the book talks about is that that many of the Khazars who converted to Judaism were priests in their former religion. After converting to Judaism it is believed that they claimed to be Levites in the Eastern European communities they joined due to their past as priests in their former religion. This only affected the Levites and not the Kohanim in Eastern Europe since the Kohanim all over the world have strict rules on whom they can marry, and often check backgrounds before getting married. Check pages 85 and 95 of DNA and Tradition. Levites don't have all of the rules placed on the Kohanim thus it is understandable that the Levites may have more differences. Also, the Kohanim and Levites who converted during the Inquisition often were not allowed to be Kohanim anymore once their genealogy was questionable so the idea that Kohanim and Levites with questionable background made their way into Sephardi communities is false especially since most Sephardim are real strict on bloodlines and such. This is why many of the forced converts to Catholicism upon return to Judaism in some cases formed their own communities, and were only later augmented by other Jewish communities.
Also, there were no Khazars in most of North Africa and there are a number of Jewish communities in North Africa who were known to be there long before the Khazars converted to Judaism. Several groups of Northern African Jews are know to have been Africa at or around 586 BCE and even the Muslims of North Africa know this. Also, a number of Spanish Jews had already left Spain before the Inquisition and never had contacts with the Khazars. There is also the fact that there are three distinct Moroccan Jewish groups and only one of them was made up of Spanish and Portuguese Jews who stayed separate from the other groups. There were no Khazars in Yemen, Ethiopia, South East Africa or India so the Khazar excuse does not hold up in trying to bring down this book.
Further the writer of the review "Based on the wrong starting point" states, "I don't see in the book any comparison -by example- between current spaniards and palestinian DNA haplotypes, to see the most than probable coincidences, then if the author wants to shut down forever the khazarian origin theory, this genetical study must be accomplished."
Yet, on page 187 there is a DNA report which shows the comparison between Jewish DNA and Palestinian DNA. On page 187 of DNA and Tradition there is a study called Jewish and Middle Eastern Non-Jewish Populations Share a Common Pool of Y-chromosome Biallelic Haplotypes performed by PNAS the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. In this study the DNA of Yemenite Jews, Iraqi Jews, Syrian Jews, Libyan Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Moroccan Jews, Spanish Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, Samaritans, the Lemba, and Palestinians was compared and found to be similar. Based on this statement I am not sure the reviewer Arthur Koestler even read the book DNA and Tradition.
The book DNA and Tradition: The Genetic Link to the Ancient Hebrews is a really good book with a dearth of information on how the testing was performed and the fact that the testing was performed by more than one medical group, and on a number of Jewish and non-Jewish communities shows the balance in the scholarship. Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman did a wonderful job of backing up the research and giving lots of sources from different backgrounds.
 Based on the wrong starting point May 28, 2006
24 out of 49 found this review helpful
According to the author, the book is constructed around a scientific comparison of the genetical properties of sefardita and askhenazim Jews. But accordingly to the book, the samples were obtained from anatolian sefarditas, theoretically expelled from Spain in 1492.
But according to Kevin Alan Brooks and Arthur Koestler, when the massive, definitive khazarian diaspora occurred from the 11th to 13th centuries, many khazarians arrived to Spain, motivated by the known existence of a previous powerful, old Jewish comunity , stablished at the iberian peninsula since the roman empire times. Apparently these khazarians arrived to Spain in the same migratory wave than indostanian gypsies. The old iberian jews were, at the medieval times, solid propietors of land and commercial business, with complex ties with both christian and muslim comunities along the entire peninsula. When the pressure to conversion occurs in 1492, a considerable majority of spanish jews prefered to remain in the iberian peninsula, and accepted the conversion to christianism, at least publicaly. As a result, a vast majority of current spaniards have at least a 50% of their surnames from converse-jew origin (names like Garzon, Franco, Delgado, Blanco, Cerdan, Rojo and many thousands more tipical spanish names were originated from this massive jew-to-christian conversion process ).
If this hipotesis is correct, then the jews expelled from Spain in 1492, can be wrongly catalogued as true "sefarditas", as they could be mainly composed of poor, khazarian jews newcomers, that were forced to return as near as possible to their original land -anatolia- when the conversion process was executed. In an opposed way, the old, well stablished jews from older diasporas to the iberian peninsula, surely melt in the spanish medieval society slowly, simply to mantain their well achieved "status quo" in the iberian society.
In other words, to compare askenazim DNA to this "sefarad" DNA can be poorly useful to clarify the true genetical origins of current jews.
I want to made a propossal, an interesting study to be done: I don't see in the book any comparison -by example- between current spaniards and palestinian DNA haplotypes, to see the most than probable coincidences, then if the author wants to shut down forever the khazarian origin theory, this genetical study must be accomplished.
This is the correct starting point to clarify the question, isn't? (Madrid, Spain)
A must read for those interested in the Bible, genealogy, and anthropology. January 4, 2006
36 out of 38 found this review helpful
This is a groundbreaking book for those interested in the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible, anthropology, genealogy, and diaspora peoples. The title and role of the Kohan, a Jew descended from the priestly cast of Aaron has been passed down orally for millennia from father to son. Until the discovery of DNA there was no way to test these claims. The scientists in this book actually find a unique gene among the Kohanim, priests. The Y-Chromosome is passed virtually unbroken patrilineally as mitochondrial DNA is passed matrilineally. This is a fascinating testimony as the Jewish people have been in exile, and often persecuted, for two millennia. This gene is found among Kohanim from all parts of the world. The author points out that groups of people can look very different but carry very similar genetic make up. The scientists also put to rest the myth that European Jews don't have any real claim to Sinai as they were descended from the Khazarim. The story goes that the Khazars, a kingdom of Central Asians converted to Judaism after hearing arguments from the three monotheistic religions; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The author points out that this could very well be true, but that the DNA proves that the Askenazim/ European as well as Sephardic/ North African and Middle Eastern Jews share common set of genetics.
The author also explores legends of lost tribes and DNA tests of some Mormon claims. Several genealogical websites are provided; including a few that would be of interests to the general public. This book is brief, well organized and easy for the layman to read. It is well documented without being cumbersome.
A closer understanding of 100 generations of history April 6, 2005
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Reviewer: Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
DNA & Tradition: The Genetic Link To The Ancient Hebrews
by Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman is an amazing discussion of what modern genetic science has to say about the origins and lineage of Jewish people, from ancient Hebrews to Modern Jews. Topics covered include the DNA confirmation of the middle east origin of world Jewry, tracing Biblical matriarchs, what genetics has to say about the lost tribes of Israel, the connections between science and the Torah tradition, a summary of Kohanim and the Tribe of Levi, and much more. DNA & Tradition of course emphasizes that being Jewish is not defined genetically, as Torah law specifically sanctions a conversion process by which people of any background can choose to join the Jewish people; but the discoveries of modern genetics open the way to a closer understanding of 100 generations of history. A truly captivating account and a very welcome contribution to Judaic studies as well as genetic and geneaology reference shelves.
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