January 15th, 2004  

Vol.  III - No.11

In This Issue

 

  • A CALL FOR PAPERS

  • The Asitar

  • From the Editor

  • Sir Robert Anderson and Lady Agnes Anderson

    •

  • UNCOMMON BOOKS:

The Samaritan Update,  is a Bi-Weekly Internet Newsletter, a Division of The-Samaritans.com.

 

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Editor: Shomron

Co-Editor: Osher    

                  Sassoni

Staff Writer:

Staff Photographer:    

               Eyal Cohen

Staff Translator:

            Guy Tsabary

Special Contributors:

A. B. - Samaritan News

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Sunset Times for Central Israel calculated by Abraham Cohen from Holon

Sabbaths

begins Friday Sept. 16th, 4:59pm to Saturday 17th, 5:00 p.m.

23rd 5:05pm- 24th 5:06pm

Samaritan Calendar

of Festivals

Next fest: Passover

May 3rd, 2004

 

Samaritan

Studies and Related Conferences:

SES:In Haifa, July 5-8, 2004 organised by Menahem Mor, and a session at the EABS in Grooningen, July 25-28, 2004 organized by Ingrid Hjelm

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A CALL FOR PAPERS

An International  Symposium, July 5-8, 2004

The Samaritans: Current State of Research

The University of Haifa, the Departments of Jewish History and Multidisciplinary Studies, announce the International Symposium: "The Samaritans: Current State of Research." The Symposium will take place in Haifa, on Monday through Thursday, July 5-8, 2004.

The Program Committee of the Symposium: Florentin Moseh, Tel Aviv University, Mor Menachem and Rappaport Uriel, University of Haifa, Seeks proposals from presenters in all fields related to Samaritan Studies: History, Languages, Religion and Folklore, Archaeology and Art, Prayers and Music, Law and Politics, etc.

Those selected to participate in the Symposium will be expected to make original oral presentations of their material. Presenters must also submit written forms of their papers in a scholarly format; selected papers will be published in the proceedings volume.

The language of the conference will be English.

The Lecturers at the symposium will have twenty minutes to deliver their papers, and ten will be given for discussion.

For further information, please contact: Menachem Mor ( rhhi201@uvm.haifa.ac.il ) mail to: rhhi201@uvm.haifa.ac.il

Proposals, which must include a 200-word abstract and a complete CV, are due to M. Mor by February 15 2004, and may be submitted via e-mail, mail, or fax.  The mailing address is Menachem Mor, Chair, Dept. of Multidisciplinary Studies, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel; 972-4-8249118 (phone), 972-4-8249155 (fax).

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Section from The Asatir,

the Samaritan Book of the Secrets of Moses

Together with the Pitron or Samaritan Commentary

Written and translated by Moses Gaster, 1927. The Pitron-Page 279c, 281, 283a

Chapter XI. [Death of Moses and Prophecy.]

And after this war, the Lord said unto Moses- may the peace of the Lord be upon him "Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; and set him before Elazar the priest and before all the congregation," (Numb. XXVI. 18 and 19)

And this happened in the fortieth year of the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt in the eleventh month. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him with great joy and pleasure, as is evidenced from what is stated in the Asatir, P. 142 "thus did Moses with great rejoicing and pleasure, as if he were of his sons. May they never be lacking in happiness and faith." And the explanation of it is this, that none of the sons of our (page 281) Master Moses, -upon whom be peace- was with him on the day of his death, for he, at the time of his death, remembered them and prayed for grace for them, and , and sent them "greetings of peace everlasting," for there is be no other peace besides his- may the peace of God be upon him. And our master Markah- upon whom be the favour of the Lord- said in his well-known writing that Moses, at the time of his departure called the congregation of Israel and said, Oh Gershom and Eleazar, ye are the Two sons, upon whom I command the peace." And the meaning of this "peace" has been, that they shall never be in any trouble. Their father, the Master of the flesh, and the Lord-may He be exalted- shall befriend them through the prayer of their father. And their father testified about them in the Book Asatir wherein he says, "May they never be lacking in happiness and faith."

And afterwards there came the priests and elders of the children of Israel, and he commanded them to keep the Law of the Lord, which he had brought them down with his hand. And he told them that, except for the Law, the world could not exist; and behold, there is proof for my word that our Master Moses the Messenger-upon whom be the peace- took the Law from the hand of Glory, for no man could speak about that Book, no man could describe its true form, whether it be of skin or light, nor of its grand appearance, nor of the greatness of its majesty; and no man could touch it save Moses alone, our Master, -upon whom be peace; and from this he copied the book which he wrote down. And now we shall bring proof out of many proofs for the justification of our statement that God gave to our Master Moses with the first two tablets upon which He had written the ten words, also the book of the Law; and this proof is the word which Moses spake in his prayer to the Lord at the time when the children of Israel made the calf; "For their (page 283) own sake, now if thou wilt, forgive their sin, and if not, blot me out from the book which thou hast written." And if we should say that this was referring to the two tablets, we find that there was no mention of Moses to be found on the Tablets.-(Woe unto those who forsake the Law of Moses for there is no salvation for them!)

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From the Editor

By Shomron

Was there a Samaritan Synagogue in Rome? Some scholars still believe there was! Are they correct?

The only source of information that we have so far of the Rome synagogue came from Cassiodorus Senator. He wrote that  the Samaritan synagogue was confiscated by Pope Simplicius. And was their house of Prayer destroyed and replaced by a church?

Pope Simplicius reigned from 468 to 483 C.E.  During this time Simplicius established four new churches in Rome, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia; 1. The Church of San Stefano Rotondo (Was build from an existing round building and exists today), 2. A church dedicated to St. Andrew near Santa Maria Maggiore (building given to the church, but no longer exists), 3. A church dedicated to St. Stephen behind the church of San Lorenzo in Agro Verano (this building was built and no longer exists today). 4. A church in honor of St Balbina (it was built and still remains today). But the list may not be complete. Further investigation would be of interest.

 

In 488, five years after the death of Pope Simplicius, Theodoric the Ostrogoth was sent back to Rome by Emperor Zeno, to rule in his name. Remember that the Samaritan synagogue on Gerizim was replaced by a church in 486. Pope Simplicius most likely had nothing to do with the church on Gerizim since by that time he had been dead for a couple years.

On other note should be added to the information that is so closely similar in comparison is the burial location of Baba Rabba. He was buried in a beautiful tomb and a church was built over it. But this has been said to be on Constantinople.

One other fact could have to do with the Rome Synagogue is that it may have been a worship place of a sect in relation to Simon Magus since it has been said that he was in Rome. But we may never know the truth of the information as mysterious as it is, especially since the writing of Cassiodorus Senator says, " we should reveal whatever is hidden through a depraved interpretation." I wonder if his conclusions were correct.

You can read Sentor's writings in the book by Reinhard Pummer, Early Christian Authors on Samaritans & Samaritanism: Texts, Translations & Commentary (Texts & Studies in Ancient Judaism, 92) by Reinhard Pummer (Hardcover - Coronet Books Inc, 2002. 

Congratulations goes to Pini & Tami Kohen for Recently Wedding

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Sir Robert Anderson and Lady Agnes Anderson
by Arthur Posonby Moore-Anderson, 1947.
An example was the " assured result " that the Pentateuch was a Jewish work of a comparatively late date. A really strong case might be shattered by a single fact. And if the critics' case against the Mosaic books were as complete as it was faulty there was one fact which would explode it. That fact was the Samaritan Bible..

The C.I.D. story of the man who bought a false moustache was here requisitioned as an illustration, the sacrosanct Scriptures of the Samaritans were limited to the Pentateuch. The standing feud between them and the Jews was a matter of common knowledge. Yet the critics would have us believe that the Scriptures which the Samaritans held in such special reverence were literary forgeries compiled by the Jews after the separation from them of the Ten Tribes, a considerable portion dating from after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity ! The critical case, however, rested, on Professor Driver's own showing, only upon " plausible arguments, grounds of probability " and the like.

A diary entry in December 1906 is of interest here : " To Mrs. Finn's to view a wonderful old Samaritan Pentateuch. Her husband was British Consul in Jerusalem, and befriended the Samaritan colony at Shechem." The Rev. A. H. Finn was author of The Unity of the Pentateuch.

" The Samaritan evidence is of the utmost weight," said the Bishop of Durham in a personal letter. The reader will perhaps ask, said Sir Robert, what answer the critics give. " The critics give no answer whatever. Indeed they never notice anything urged against ` the assured results ' of their inquiries ; presumably because they imagine, as I have said, that if a case can be established for or against anything the question at issue is settled. It is an attitude of mind with which my experience of legal and police work has made me familiar.

Dr. Robert Sinker, Librarian of Trinity College, Cambridge, wrote to my father : " I think the parallel you draw between the Incarnate Word and the Written Word is very powerful ; the One human save only without sin ; the other human in its form, Divinely infallible in its teaching."

http://www.casebook.org/ripper_media/rps.apmoore.5.html

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UNCOMMON BOOKS:

OUR BIBLE & THE ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS by SIR FREDERIC KENYON, formerly Director of the British Museum, Copyright Sir F Kenyon 1895. First published Eyre & Spottiswoode 1895.fourth edition 1939. Prepared for Kata Pi by Paul Ingram 2003.

Section 1- The Samaritan Pentateuch, Its Origin.

The version of the Old Testament, which possesses the longest pedigree, is that which owes its existence to the Samaritans.Strictly speaking, it is not a version at all, as it is in the Hebrew tongue, though written in a different character from that of the extant Hebrew MSS. http://www.katapi.org.uk/BibleMSS/V.htm#I

 

"The Samaritan Pentateuch as an Empirical Model for the Literary Criticism of the Torah" (in Hebrew). Beth Mikra 3[70]:348-61, 1977 (revised version of "An Empirical Basis for the Documentary Hypothesis," 1975). By Jeffrey H. Tigay, A.M. Ellis Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages and Literatures

University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts and Sciences http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jtigay/index.html

 

Dissertation on the origin and position of Hebrew as the original language (Primaeva Lingua) by Stephanus Morinus [Etienne Morin]. Printed in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1694. EXERCITATIONES DE LINGUA PRIMÆVA EJUSQUE APPENDICIBUS

In quibus multa S. Scripturæ loca, diversæ in Linguis mutationes, Multiplices nummorum Isrælitarum, & Samaritanorum species, at que variæ Veterum consuetudines exponuntur by Auctore Stephano Morino, Ultrajecti, Apud Gulielmum Broedelet, 1694. First edition of this landmark work on Hebrew as the first language. 8vo (measuring circa 6 1/2 by 8 inches), bound in original full vellum, paginated [xvi], 448, [8]. The title page is printed in red and black, with engraved vignette. Illustrated with a frontispiece and four full-page plates. Illustrated with an extra-engraved title page (serving as a frontispiece) depicting the story of the Tower of Babel and the confusion of tongues (from Genesis XI), together with the story of the amalgamation of tongues at the festival of Pentecost. The other four full page plates show drawings of curious coins with images of Samaritan and Hebrew characters. Also illustrated with engraved head and tail pieces, ornate engraved initials, text vignettes and printers devices. Wonderful Greek, Latin, Hebrew and what must probably be early examples of Arabic typography. Stephanus Morinus [Etienne Morin] (1624-1700) was appointed the first professor or Oriental Languages at the Athenæum Illustre of Amsterdam in 1686, and was also a preacher at the Walloon Church..

A GENERALL GRAMMER FOR THE READY ATTAINING OF THE HEBREW, SAMARITAN, CALDE, SYRIAC, ARABIC AND THE ETHIOPIC LANGUAGES, WITH A PERTINENT DISCOURSE OF THE ORIENTALL TONGUES, by Christian Ravis (Ravius). London, Wilson, Slater and Huntington, 1650. 3 parts, general title page dated 1650, separate title pages to each part, with a different publisher's address, Wilson & T. Jackson and different dates of 1649 & 1648.

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