The
Samaritan Update
“Mount Gerizim,
All the Days of Our Lives”
January / February 2013 Vol. XII - No 3
Future
Events
The Eleventh Month 3651 - February 10, 2013
The Twelfth Month 3651 - March 12, 2013
The First Month 3651 - April 10, 2013
Paschal Sacrifice – April 23, 2013
Pesach – April 24, 2013
The Unleavened Bread Festival – April 30, 2013
Shavuot – June 16, 2013
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Photo right: Snow on Mount Gerizim Jan. 10, 2012
Photo by Hakam Cohen
~~~~~~~
Nethanel b. Abraham
The Deputy High
Priest Nethanel b. Abraham 83 (1930-2013) gave his
soul to the Creator, on January 31, 2013.
Nethanel b. Abrahan, the Deputy High Priest and head cantor of the
Israelite Samaritan Community died in Petach Tikava Rabin Center Hospital after a long disease.
The Israelite Samaritan Community is now
in a deep mourning about his death. He was buried in the early afternoon in the
Samaritan Cemetery in KIriat Luza on the top of Mount Gerizim over Nablus,
Samaria.
Priest Nethanel
was born in Nablus in 1930 and educated by the High Priests of the Israelite
Samaritan Community. From his childhood he was recognized as wise and absorbed
easily all his Samaritan Studies. He became very prominent as a cantor in the
main synagogue thanks to his loud and beautiful voice to be the head cantor and
teacher of the Samaritan youth the Israelite Samaritan heritage.
He was also thanks to his rich
personality the leader of the worshipers in the synagogue and knew to sing all
songs and hymns of the Samaritan poetry. He educated many of the new cantors to
lead the prayer at the synagogues. As a deputy high priest he helped the High
Priest in directing the Samaritan religious life and personal happy and sad
events.
It was a sad week for the community as a whole
and all members of the community will miss him. He has left his widow Paz and a
stable family of his three sons and two daughters and many grandchildren, one
brother and two sisters.
May his soul rest in peace till the time,
he will be removed to stay in paradise forever.
There is no one immortal but the
Almighty.
A.B. - The Samaritan News
~~~~~~~
The 1954-2013 Survey of the Natural Increasing of the Israelite-Samaritans
A.B. - The Samaritan News is summarizing the survey of the natural increasing of the Samaritan Community in the years 1954-2013. The survey was edited by Chaver-Samir Hadinfi, the chairman of the Center of the Studies of The Samaritans, Nablus. The center is located under the Samaritan synagogue in the Samaritan neighborhood in Nablus' that her original tenants abandoned it at the end of the 1990's completely and moved to live in Kiriat Luza neighborhood on Mount Gerizim. Most of the houses of the neighborhood in Nablus were rented by Palestinian welfare organizations and only 4-5 houses never been rented' but there is no intention to return to live there.
The expansion of the community of those who left Nablus to Mount Gerizim is a result of abandonment of the neighborhood in Nablus. Never the less the activity of the center of the studies of the Samaritans in the neighborhood in Nablus is going on.
The heads of the center are Chaver=Samir Sirrawi Hadinfi, Priest Phinhas b. Tsadiq, and Maher Altif Hadinfi and their spouses. The main activity is giving information about the Samaritans to the Arabs of Nablus. Sometimes there are single visitors and groups of Arabs from outside of Nablus and Samaria region. Our last visit to the place of the center has discovered the immediate need to clean and preserve the surroundings and the entrance to the center. In the center itself there are still study materials, illustrations and copies of Samaritan manuscripts. The center is registered by the Palestinian department of charities, and from time to time is helped by grants from the Palestinian Authority and private donors.
The last project of the center was made for the request of A.B. - The Samaritan News. It is the survey that completed recently of the natural increasing of the entire Israelite - Samaritan community, in Holon in the State of Israel and on Mount Gerizim and Nablus under the administration of the Palestinian Authority, in the years 1954-2013, the last 59 years. If you like this is also the story of the natural increasing of the community in Holon after 1967 that part of it was a result of natural increasing and the other part was the joining of 25 Samaritan families that moved from Nablus to Holon after June 1967. Also 20 Jewish girls and 10 non-Jewish were married to Samaritan boys of Holon's community during that period and 29 persons have excommunicated it, 11 males and 18 females.
In January 1, 1954 the Samaritan community in Holon numbered only 87 individuals. In January 1, 2009 the Israelite-Samaritan community in the State of Israel numbered 382 individuals, an increasing of 439%.
The Samaritan community in Nablus numbered in 1.1.1954 - 226 individuals and in 1.1.2009 - 341 individuals an increasing of only 151%, mainly as a result of the 25 families that moved from Nablus to Holon after June 1967.
In total the Israelite Samaritans in both cities numbered in 1.1, 1954- 313 individuals. From them 162 males and 151 females.
The survey is exposing an interesting datum about a very positive development in the birth rate of males and females. In the first two decades of the survey the relativity is 103 males to only 69 females. In the next two decades the relativity between males to females has increased to 107:86 and the last 15 years the relativity between birth of males to births of females almost equalized to 100:94 of the ages 1-15 years. Minimizing the survey to the last 12 years showing the result that the relativity minimized to 83:82.
Since the survey made by age High Priest Yitzhaq b. ‘Amram [His priesthood in office was from 1917 to 1932] the Israelite Samaritans numbered in March 1, 1919 - 141 of them 80 males and 60 females, and the fact that in January 1, 2013 the Israelite-Samaritans numbered 756 [of them 357 in Kiriat Luza and 399 in Holon; of them 399 males and 357 females] the entire number of the community members increased by 536%.
The editor of the survey Samir Hadinfi, 62, a retired employee of the Palestinian Statistics Bureau, states that the survey is showing the recovery of the Samaritan Community and completely compare her slowly to the relativity in the general world society of 51% females and 49% males.
Chaver=Samir Sirrawi Hadinfi survey is helped by the following registration that still edited non-stop by Zebulan Altif one of the heads of Mount Gerizim Community.
Presented by A.B. - The Samaritan News, January 15, 2013
~~~~~~~
THE ISRAELITE SAMARITANS WORRIED ABOUT THE
PREPARATIONS FOR PASSOVER 2013 [APRIL THE 23RD]
The Israelite Samaritans have observed in
February 16, the first Sabbath of the 11th month of the Israelite Samaritan
Hebrew Calendar when they memorized the first of the 11 plagues of Egypt whose
the last one - The Egyptian first born plague - will be memorized at the end of
the Passover ceremony on April 23, 2013, midnight.
It is understood and for grunted that the
Israelite Samaritan Holon's community have had sleepless nights recently
disturbed by the concern if all steps were taken and taking now to ensure safe
stay on Gerizim Mountain during the seven Passover days in their houses on the
mountain, in Kiriat Luza
neighborhood.
In the last sad and joyful events on Mount
Gerizim Kiriat Luza
neighborhood the Israelite Samaritans of Holon have noticed a new phenomena
that is making them worried, as well as many of their relatives in Mount
Gerizim, that since the military barrier on the Nablus-Kiriat
Luza road was removed over a year ago there is such a
flooding of visitors from Nablus in the only street of Luza
during the evening hours; thousands of them seeking for buying alcohol in the
Samaritan shops in Luza. During the few snowy days
some of then threw snowballs at the windows of the Samaritan houses and some
even dared to speak unwelcomed compliments towards the Samaritan girls and
women in the street. All these new events have made the Israelite Samaritan
worried and they demand renewing the barrier on Luza-Nablus
road and check every visitor to avoid persona non grate.
It should be noted that the seekers of alcohol
are only buying the bottles and not staying to drink them on the Mountain but
return back to Nablus area immediately.
Nevertheless the removing of the barrier was
integral part of the new Israel's policy to remove most of the barriers to
permit easier moves and transports between the main West Bank cities and
encouraging the economic life of all Palestinians.
There are also positive aspects as a result of
the removing of the barrier between Luza and Nablus:
It improved the tendency of creating new businesses in Luza:
A new paid visitors center just opened in Luza, a new
Tourist center was developed nicely on the top of the Mountain, there are new
shops and mini markets for visitors in Luza where a
visitor can buy souvenirs, soft drinks and alcohol or eat Samaritan dishes in
the new restaurant, also the new Tahini factory was
doubled in size and going to be removed to a better place near the
neighborhood. Also added many hoarding storerooms of products
to sale in Luza.
The committee of Mount Gerizim Kiriat Luza is calming now the
worried persons in the community nor to worry because at least in the days of
Passover the barrier on Nablus-Luza road will be set
up and secured by the Israel Defense Forces all the days of the festivals of
Passover and specially during the Passover ceremony itself expecting a flooding
of visitors that their number with be adjusted to the capacity of the watch
facilities. New signboards to welcome the visitors and explaining to them the
rules of behavior in Luza are planned to be set in
the gate of the Samaritan neighborhood.
A.B. - The Samaritan News
~~~~~~~~~~
Book Reviews:
The Israelite Straying in the Sinai Peninsula by Cohen Ḥusnī (Yefet) ًًWāṣif (Asher) the Samaritan. The Good Samaritan Center, Nablus - Gerizim Mountain, Palestine. Jerusalem - Beit Ḥanina, Palestine, Al-Quds University Publishing House, 1st ed. 2012, 287 pp.
ISBN-13, 078-9950-384-00-2 (in Arabic).
See the full article in Arabic & Hebrew, the English brief is below:
Recently, an extraordinary book, written by a Samaritan about Samaritanism, has been added to the Arabic library. Its six chapters are preceded by three prefaces: one by the president of Al-Quds University, a second by the lecturer in history at the same university and a third by the author himself. In addition there is a brief survey on Samaritans (pp. 270-276), a list of abbreviations, a glossary of selected terms, a bibliography, an index of the 43 maps and a list of contents, all of which appear at the volume’s end (pp. 277-287).
Chapter one (pp. 3-44) serves as an introduction to the rest of the book. It deals with the “Hebrews” from the time of Abraham until the Exodus. The next four chapters include the 42 stations of the Children of Israel in the wilderness. The last chapter divides those stations into six stages and explains the historical and geographical settings. Jacob’s male family members, numbering, about 70 in all, went to Egypt at the end of the nineteenth century BC and lived there about two centuries; by the time they started their 40- year trip to the Land of Canaan (Numbers 14: 29-30 ), Jacob’s descendants had grown to some two million.
The book’s author, Cohen Ḥusnī, born in 1944 (and often known as Husney Cohen), is an active figure in his community on Mount Gerizim. He founded the Samaritan Youth Club in 1968 and the Good Samaritan Center in 2011; he is currently the director of the Samaritan Museum established in 1997 and of its library. He has spent time and effort in preparing this volume. The primary source used by the author, as he states several times, is the Samaritan Pentateuch. This version of the Torah differs from the Masoretic text in over than 6,000 instances. Astonishingly, the Arabic translation of the Torah used by the author is a modern Christian translation, not a Samaritan version. Although there is no mention of such a usage in the book, anyone who undertakes a painstaking comparison of the plethora of Pentateuchal quotations in Arabic with modern Christian Arabic translations would come to this conclusion. Nor has the author always followed the Samaritan version! of the Torah. It seems that he intended to present a better style and language of Arabic to Arabic readers, as was done earlier with regard to Arabic translations of the Torah. Although the Arabic of this book is Modern Standard Arabic and is clear and eloquent as a whole, there are numerous linguistic mistakes –over 350 – a tremendous number, especially given that that, according to the first preface, the book was checked by a language examiner. Furthermore, the differences between the two versions of the Torah, the Samaritan and the Masoretic, has not been dealt with sufficiently.
The Samaritan Arabic version of the Torah indicated in the bibliography was not used. In fact, the version cited in the bibliography is the publication of a single manuscript erroneously attributed to Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ṣūrī (Av Ḥisda) and published in Nablus and Cairo in 1978. The bibliography of 40 items is not presented as it should be. In some cases basic details are lacking, especially where manuscripts are concerned. In many cases an inaccurate reference is given. And fundamental sources are missing, including the following: Z. Ben-Ḥayyim’s The Literary and Oral Tradition of Hebrew and Aramaic Amongst the Samaritans; A. Tal’s Critical Edition of the Samaritan Targum and H. Shehadeh’s Critical Edition of the Arabic translation of the Torah. In addition the wealthy Pentateuchal Samaritan commentary preserved in manuscripts has remained almost untouched in this volume. The author, who is well versed in this material, could have brought an original contribution to this area.
I expected to find at least a short discussion of the term tiih (not attested in the Qur’ān) in the title, since it has several meanings and perhaps does not fit this context. In the wilderness the children of Israel were guided by God through his prophet Moses and his brother Aaron. I also believe that a suitable place for a survey of the Samaritans is at the beginning of the book rather than at the end. Such a survey is required for Arabic readers whose knowledge of Samaritans, as a rule, is meagre. In this survey as well as in the other chapters, the book fell short, with errors and other faults. Some examples: Torah does not mean ‘pun’ but ‘teaching’, the word being derived from yrh, horah; the claim that the Samaritan language is the most ancient in the world is false as is the statement that the Jewish language is an Assyrian one altered by Ezra the scribe; also incorrect is the assertion that Samaritan music has over one thousand melodies. The great number of Pentateuchal quotations could have been considerably reduced by summarising the contents and referring to additional sources for comparison. The author’s point of view is obvious and understandable from the beginning, namely, that the Samaritan Torah is the authentic text. Such a belief is a matter of faith, but the author has not made any serious attempt to refute other opinions and interpretations put forward by other scholars and archeologists.
Ultimately, this book is characterised by two features: the frequent use of folk etymology and the use of gematria (or gimatia = assigning numerical value to a word or phrase); both have a little place in scientific writings. One of the lessons of the Exodus as stated on the book’s page 29 perhaps depicts the present situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Among other things, the author writes: “Power is not with those having a weapon and might, but with those having great patience; … the right way to solve a problem is by peaceful means … what is significant in the end is to reach a decision and a satisfactory result, whether peacefully or militarily”.
Haseeb Shehadeh, University of Helsinki
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A Book on Samaritanism and Mandaeism
Rainer Voigt, hrsg. /ed. Und das Leben ist siegreich!: mandäische und samaritanische Literatur. Im Gedenken an Rudolf Macuch (1919–1993) / And Life Is Victorious: Mandaean and Samaritan Literatures: In Memory of Rudolf Macuch.Mandäistische Forschungen Band 1/Vol. 1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2008. 288 pp., 68€. ISSN 1861-1028; ISBN 978-3-447-05178-1.
This book consists of papers read before the international conference on Mandaean and Samaritan studies, held at the Freie Universität Berlin in the autumn of 2003. The conference was organised on the tenth anniversary of the death of the well-known scholar in Semitic languages and cultures, Professor Rudolf Macuch (16 October 1919 –23 July 1993). I had the honour of knowing Professor Macuch, who was my host during a research stay in Berlin, from 1 April 1985 to 31 July 1986, arranged and financed by the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung. It was no secret that Professor Macuch was an authority in various fields of Semitic study: classical and modern Mandaean, new Syriac literature and Samaritan studies in general, and Samaritan Hebrew and Aramaic in particular (see his Grammatik des samaritanischen Hebräisch [Berlin 1969]; Grammatik des samaritanischen Aramäisch [Berlin 1982]). In addition Professor Macuch made such contributions to Arabic studies as translating the Qur<ån into Slovak. His doctoral dissertation, completed in 1948 under the direction of Professor Ján Bako¡, dealt with Slovak names and expressions in Arabic geographies. Yet Rudolf Macuch is best known for his remarkable achievements in the Mandaean language. In the 1950s he discovered a new, spoken Mandaean in Khuzistan (Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic [Berlin 1963]; Neumandäische Texte im Dialekt von Ahwāz [Wiesbaden 1993].
Rudolf Macuch was born in the small village of Dolnie Bzince in Slovakia on 16 October 1919. Later he lived in various cities in North America as well as in Paris, Tehran, Oxford, and Berlin, where he resided from 1963 until his death on 23 July 1993. Macuch had a profound command of numerous languages: Czech, Slovak, German, Persian (he lived in Iran from 1948 until 1961), French, English, Greek, Latin, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Mandaean, and Syriac. He used to say that an educated person has to speak at least five languages fluently. This reminds me of the gloomy reality today when many orientalists or even professors of living languages such as Arabic and Hebrew are unable to speak these tongues or to write in them.
In all, twenty papers are presented here, fourteen on Mandaean aspects (pp. 19–216) and six on Samaritan subjects (pp. 219–282) followed by a register (pp. 283–286). Twelve articles are written in German, and the other eight are in English. Among the conference participants was one Mandaean, Sabih Alsohairy, and one Samaritan, Benyamim Tsedaka……..
Haseeb Shehadeh, University of Helsinki
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The Oldest Samaritan Manuscripts
1. Abisha Scroll, very Old, never checked, Moses Gaster estimated
it to the 1st century, other scholars suggest the 11-14th centuries. The
Israelite Samaritans say it is 3638 years ago, written the 13th year after
"the entrance of the People of Israel to the Sacred Land of Israel"
2. Nablus, Yishmael
the Priest, a scroll, 1064 A.D.
3-7 - Abi Barakatta codices, 1195-1203. Two in Nablus, one in the
National Library in Jerusalem, one in the British Library and one in Chester
Bitty Library in Dublin.
Four of the manuscripts [Except the BL Ms.] were the foundation of the new English translation that is in print, expected now on 3-31-2013, The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version, Benyamim Tsedaka (Editor / Translator), Sharon Sullivan (Co-Editor), James H. Charlesworth (Introduction), Emanuel Tov (Foreword) Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. (Hardcover). $100.00 or pre-order for $53.76 at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com
~~~~~~~~~~
From The Editor
Recently I read the article which you will find below, To Bring True Peace To The Middle East, Women In Palestine And Israel Must Take Center Stage by Ralph Benko. This popular online article is appearing under different names as I write this (examples below under Benko’s name).
These ladies of the self declared Fellowship of Mothers (FM) could be on to something that could affect the world. Could these ladies really have the power to move people we shall see, but my bet is that they do!
As a male myself, which I know you yourself have also seen in the past, the strength that a woman can have on a man, especially if he is in the doghouse. While the Fellowship of Mothers, will consist of women, there will be many men that will also support their undertaking. I spoke with a man years ago in Nablus about the troubles in the area and he informed me that, he just wanted to ‘make a living and take care of his family.’ Family is one of the most important aspects to life, whether a mother, grandmother, father, grandfather, sister, brother, etc.. Family brings joy and sadness, so Fellowship of Mothers, please bring the joy back to the family!
Directly below you will find a draft of their purpose and outline:
Declaration / Narrative of the Fellowship of Mothers
Dear Board Members:
Please see below the update to the narrative to the Fellowship of Mothers. This text has been adjusted to incorporate the Islamic view of Hagar and Sarah, and create terms that are mutually agreeable to Israelis and Arabs. Please provide feedback as you see fit.
Thank you, Sharon Sullivan
Ibrahim - إبراهيم - Avraham - אברהם
- Husband of Sarah and Hajar
- Father of Islam (Millat and Abeena Ibrahim)
- Father of Judaism (Avraham Avinu)
Hajar - هاجر - Hagar - הָגָר / Quran Sura Ibrahim 14:37 and Bereshit 16
- Our role model of the great strength of women and mothers. She protected her son, and she had faith Allah would provide. She is the heroine and mother of the Arab nation.
Sarah - سارة - Sara - שָׂרָה
Quran Sura 11 (Hud) ayat 69-72 and Bereshit 17
- Our role model of the great strength of women and mothers. She protected her son, and she had faith HaShem would provide. She is the heroine and mother of the Israeli nation.
To bring Peace to the Middle East it is necessary, first to restore harmony by honoring the fact that our history is connected by family.
As Arab and Israeli women we all come from the family of Hajar and Sarah. These two women, in equal dignity, shared the love of, and bore the sons of the same man.
As Arab and Israeli women we must submit to the will of Allah/HaShem to share the land together and be at peace. We promise to be good wives in peace with our husbands. We promise to be good mothers who teach our children the truth of one family of Israeli and Arabs together.
We reject the lie of men that declares this is only Arab land. We reject the lie of men that declares this is only Israeli land.
The men born of these two women for almost 4000 years have been warring. They are brothers and yet they war. They deny they are brothers! We as women say "enough!"
Now it is time for the Daughters of Sarah and the Daughters of Hajar to do that which our men folk have not proven capable: the bringing of Peace to the family, to our communities, and to this Land.
We, Daughters of both Sarah and Hajar, therefore promise to apply our hearts and hands to the persuasion of our fathers, husbands, brothers and sons to put aside our ancestral hatred and rejoin our family as one family, emulating the Mercy which Allah/HaShem, the Merciful, HaRachaman, has shown to all of us, his faithful servants.
Submitted with respect, Sharon Sullivan
~~~~~~~~~~
In the News
To Bring True Peace To The Middle East, Women In Palestine And Israel Must Take Center Stage
By Ralph Benko, Feb. 25 2013 Forbes
Recently, in the offices of the Mayor of the city of Nablus, Palestine, the missing pieces that would permit a just and lasting peace in the Middle East to flourish may have been presented. If harmony can be restored (as it can) within the social fabric that underlies the political fabric, peace finally becomes a possibility. If women, who are respected, not marginalized, in Palestinian and Israeli society will take center stage a fundamental rapprochement can be effected. Might this happen?
On February 14th, an American resident of Israel, Sharon Sullivan, who leads a gallant, if tiny, new group called “the Fellowship of Mothers” met with nine Palestinian women leaders under the generous auspices of Ghassan W. Shakaa, Mayor of Nablus, and Benyamim and Yefet Tsedaka, two social leaders of the Israelite-Samaritan community, and three members of the Samaritan Committee of the Mount Gerizim Community over Nablus. The meeting was led by Third Deputy Mayor Rima M. Zeid Al-Keilani.
Well Met In Palestine: How To
Bring True Peace, Not Truce To The Middle East
By Ralph
Benko, Feb. 27, 2012 Townhall.com
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/ralphbenko/2013/02/27/well-met-in-palestine--how-to-bring-true-peace-not-truce-to-the-middle-east-n1520655
To Bring True Peace To The
Middle East, Women In Palestine And Israel Must Take Center Stage
by Ralph Benko, Feb. 27, Hawaii Reporter.com
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/to-bring-true-peace-to-the-middle-east-women-in-palestine-and-israel-must-take-center-stage/123
Taking Passover Back to its Roots
Judy Lash Balint / JNS.org
JERUSALEM—When most
Israeli Jews sit down for the Passover seder on the night
of March 25, the 14th of the Hebrew month of Nissan, they’ll wait for the kids
to recite Mah Nishtana, the four questions; pucker up
to inhale the bitter herbs; relish the sweetCharoset; dip herbs
in salt water; sing rousing renditions of Dayenu and Chad Gadya; and knock back four cups of
wine.
But none of these rituals are part of the Passover observance of Israel’s Karaite and Samaritan believers, who observe the biblically mandated holiday in quite a different way.
Continued http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2013/2/24/taking-passover-back-to-its-roots.html
Israeli Election Preview: The Samaritans, Caught Between Two
Votes
By Gabriele Barbati | January 21 2013
At 881 meters (2,900 feet), Mount Gerizim is one of the highest peaks in the West Bank -- and the view from it is a snapshot of what the Holy Land has become today.
On the one hand, the Arab city of Nablus covers the valley, its urban development sprawling eastward to absorb Balata, the largest camp in terms of population for the Palestinian refugees who were displaced in 1948 after the foundation of the state of Israel.
Continued: http://www.ibtimes.com/israeli-election-preview-samaritans-caught-between-two-votes-1028684
How Ukrainian women saved the Samaritans of Mount Gerizim
By Harriet Sherwood, Sunday 10 February 2013
The Samaritans of Mount Gerizim were a rapidly dwindling religious community facing extinction. Then a handful of young Ukrainian brides made the journey to the West Bank, bringing with them fresh hope…
The Guardian Continued: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/11/ukrainian-women-samaritans-mount-gerizim
Messenger
for the voiceless
By Rafique Gangat, Special to Weekend Review
Published: February 14, 2013
A Palestinian documentary in the race for an Oscar is representative of a whole generation of filmmakers which is capturing the plight of an embattled people. Sawsan Qaoud is one of them……
… Her first documentary film of note was based on an aspect of life of the Samaritan community, the world’s smallest minority that lives on Mount Gerizim, adjoining the ancient Palestinian city of Nablus. As she herself was born and raised in Nablus, her interest in her neighbours was nurtured while growing up. She spent two years filming Samaritan women in arranged marriages, and followed her main character, a pregnant woman, until the delivery, especially documenting their unique traditions around the birth of the child. This project, which was funded by National Geographic, Al Jazeera and the Goteborg Film Festival, propelled her to the ranks of talented Palestinian documentary filmmakers……..
Gulf News Continued: http://gulfnews.com/about-gulf-news/al-nisr-portfolio/weekend-review/messenger-for-the-voiceless-1.1146336
'Asıl İsrailoğulları biziz'
Nüfusları sadece 766 kişi olan Samiriler, nesillerinin devamı için erkeklerin yabancı kadınlarla evlenmesine vize vererek kapılarını
'dışa' açtı...
27 Ocak 2013 Pazar Timeturk / Haber Merkezi
Yer, İsrail yerleşim yerleriyle parçalanmış Filistin’deki
Gerizim Dağı’nın etekleri.
Tanya’nın apartman dairesi oldukça modern, kendisi de hayatından memnun görünüyor. Bir yandan canı gibi sevdiği kedisini kucağına almaya çalışırken,
diğer yandan yabancı bir adamla nasıl bu kadar
kısa bir sürede evlenebildiğini anlatıyor yüzündeki tebessümle. Şöminenin üzerinde asılı
duran düğün fotoğrafını gösteren
Tanya “Evlilik için tek şartım evde kedi beslemekti”
diye özetliyor dest-i izdivacının önkoşulunu. Ukraynalı
Tanya bir yıl kadar önce
Batı Şeria’nın
kuzeyindeki ‘Samiriye’ adı verilen bu küçük köye
gelin gelmiş. Kocası Kamel’le, ülkesinde kadınlara yabancı damat adayları bulan bir ajansta çalışırken
tanışmış. Kamel, Nablus’taki
Samiri toplumuna mensup. ‘Dünya
lügati’nde ‘Samiri’ kelimesinin karşılığında
‘yardımsever’ yazıyor
ama günümüzde pek az kişi
onların bir ‘efsaneden’ ibaret olmadığının farkında.
Continued: http://www.timeturk.com/tr/2013/01/27/samirilerin-yabanci-gelin-acilimi.html
«Mystérieux Samaritains»
en kiosque et en librairie
Le numéro 203 de décembre 2012-janvier-février 2013 du Monde de la Bible Mystérieux Samaritains vient de paraître.
Ils sont entre 700 et 800 à se revendiquer « Samaritains » et qui vivent aux alentours de Naplouse et à Holon, proche banlieue de Tel Aviv. La Bible, dans ses Ancien et Nouveau Testaments, les évoque à plusieurs reprises. Qui sont-ils ? D’où viennent-ils ? Quelles sont leurs croyances ? Comment ont-ils forgé leur identité jusqu’à aujourd’hui ?
Pour répondre à ces questions, nous avons demandé à Jean-Daniel Macchi (université de Genève) de nous révéler tout ce que nous pouvons savoir sur leur origine. David Hamidovic (université de Lausanne) restitue au regard des découvertes archéologiques, épigraphiques et littéraires la formation du Pentateuque samaritain, tandis que Philippe Abadie (université catholique de Lyon) cherche à définir l’identité des habitants de Samarie à l’époque de la domination perse. Émilie Formoso, journaliste, présente une synthèse de trente années de fouille au sommet du mont Garizim. L’archéologie ici nous en apprend un peu plus sur l’histoire de ce temple et du peuple qui continue aujourd’hui d’y célébrer ses rituels. Tout comme les Juifs, les Samaritains n’ont pas échappé à l’hellénisation ni à la diaspora. Marie-Françoise Baslez (université de Paris-Sorbonne) explique comment s’est forgée, à l’époque hellénistique, leur identité spécifique. Aux premiers siècles de notre ère, que disent les chrétiens de ce peuple ? Michel Quesnel (université catholique de Lyon) montre à travers les évangiles de Luc et de Jean les bonnes relations entre chrétiens et Samaritains, mais souligne les inimitiés entre ces derniers et les Juifs. Enfin, Catherine Dupeyron, journaliste à Jérusalem, est allée à la rencontre des Samaritains d’aujourd’hui, héritiers « d’un peuple vieux de 3600 ans », comme ils le disent eux-mêmes… » Contd
« Samaritains » ou « Samariens » durant l’époque perse ?
Évoquer un conflit entre Juifs et Samaritains durant l’époque perse relève tout autant de l’anachronisme que de l’erreur historique, puisque c’est reporter au Ve siècle. av. J.-C. une opposition radicale qui ne survient vraiment qu’avec la conception d’un « territoire sacré » au temps de la dynastie hasmonéenne (Cf. F. Schmitt, La pensée du Temple. De Jérusalem à Qoumrân, éd. du Seuil, 1994). Il s’agissait d’étendre alors à l’ensemble des territoires conquis par Jean Hyrcan la notion de domaine réservé au Dieu d’Israël, réintégrant ainsi la divinité nationale dans l’ensemble du pays débarrassé de toute influence païenne. Dès lors qu’est aboli le découpage administratif antérieur entre province de Samarie et province de Judée, il n’y a plus de place pour un temple concurrent à celui de Jérusalem; d’où la destruction violente par Hyrcan du temple du Garizim (128 av. J.-C.) en application des lois deutéronomiques sur les sanctuaires idolâtres (comme Dt 12,1-3).
Il convient donc de reprendre à la base la présentation biblique du conflit, largement amplifiée par les récits polémiques de Flavius Josèphe au livre XI des Antiquités Judaïques.
La Samarie, terre mêlée et syncrétiste ?
À en croire 2 Rois 17,24, après la chute de Samarie et la déportation de la population de l’ancien royaume du Nord, le roi d’Assyrie fit venir là « des gens de Babylone, de Kuth, de Awa, de Hamath et de Sefarwaïm » qui s’établirent dans le pays « à la place des fils d’Israël ». Cont’d
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News Article from the Past
NOVEMBER 5, 1930
Rabbi Silber Purchaser of Original Samaritan Bible
New Orleans, Nov. 4 (JTA) –
The arrival here of one of the few extant copies of the Samaritan Bible in the original, a hand-written manuscript of the Hebrew Pentateuch dating from the 15th century, has been announced by Rabbi Mendel Silber.
The Bible came into Rabbi Silber's hands following negotiations extending over a period of years between the late Ephraim Deinard, famous bibliophile and author, father-in-law to Rabbi Silber, and the family of the high priest at the Samaritan settlement in Nablus. Acceptance of an offer for the script made some years before was announced by the Samaritans the day of Mr. Deinard's death which occurred during the past summer.
Twenty-five years ago a similar Samaritan Bible was offered for sale in this country and among those interested was Mr. Deinard. But because the price asked, $35,000, was not met, it disappeared and was thereafter impossible to locate.
Four years ago Rabbi Silber, visiting Palestine, resumed the negotiations with the Samaritans who this time were in a more responsive mood, but the price they asked was prohibitive. Economic stress, however, rendered the owners of the Bible more reasonable and the last offer of Rabbi Silber was accepted. The Bible has been placed on exhibition at a public library in New Orleans.
Jewish Daily Bulletin, pg. 4, Wednesday, 5th 1930.
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An English Translation of the Samaritan Defter
A Critical Edition and Translation of the Ancient Samaritan Defter (i.e.liturgy) and a Comparison of it with Early Jewish Liturgy. Translated by Solomon Brown for his PhD thesis, University of Leeds. 1955
This thesis by Solomon Brown is the fullest English translation of Samaritan Sabbath prayers to date. It was typed in 1955 and has places that are a little difficult to read but still understandable. Most of the prayers were taken from the Samaritan Torah.
The thesis begins with a Forward, Introduction, Table of Order of Service, etc. (I- XLVIII) with the English translations from pages 1-236.The Sabbath prayers translated are for the eve of Sabbath, Sabbath morning and Sabbath afternoon. Also included, the prayers for washing of hands (p. XLVII-XLVIII).
It is therefore that these prayers are not only for worship but said to instill and to be a constant reminder of the reader of praises, warnings, blessings and how one should live especially on the Sabbath.
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Future Publications
Jews and Samaritans: The Origins and History of Their Early Relations
by Gary
N. Knoppers (Jun
1, 2013)
· Hardcover
· Publisher: Oxford University Press (June 1, 2013)
· Language: English
· ISBN-10: 0195329546
· ISBN-13: 978-0195329544
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Antique 19c CDV Carte de Visite Cabinet Card Samaritan High Priest
A card recently sold on Ebay.com for $49.99. The card is the image of Yaacob b. Aaharon b. Shalma, who was the Samaritan High Priest during the years 1874-1916. The card given and signed by Yacob measured 4 1/8” x 2 ½”. It appears the card was given to S.M. Tibbile
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