NovDec 2008

Vol.  VIII - No.2

In This Issue

·      Cohen

·      Magen Books

·         Past & Present

·         Archive

·         Medal

·         Deciphering

·         Inscription

·         Nova

·         My Land

·         2009 Meeting

·         Republished

·         Book 4 sale

·         Web Links


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

Subscription is free via E-mail only.

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Editor: Shomron

Co-Editor: Osher    

                  Sassoni

Staff Writer:

Staff Photographer:    

              

Staff Translator:

           

Special Contributors:

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Contact information:

The Editor 

 


Your link to the Update Index

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Web Site: The-Samaritans.com

 


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     The Samaritans call themselves

    Bene-Yisrael (“Children of Israel”), or Shamerim (“Observant Ones”)

     

     

    Samaritan

    Studies and Related Conferences:

     

     

     

     

     

     


    Important Links

     

    Samaritan Museum on Mount Gerizim.

     

     

     

    New Samaritans-

    A DOCUMENTARY on Samaritan brides from the Ukraine

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Have you purchased your book lately?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Feasts & Fasts, A Festschrift in Honor of Alan David Crown

     

    Available from www.mandelbaum.

    usyd.edu.au

     

     

     

    New Samaritans-

    A DOCUMENTARY on Samaritan brides from the Ukraine

     

     

    Finnish Arabic
    Dictionary
     by H. Shehadeh

    here for article in Arabic

     

  • A Cohen will be Missed

    Yiftach Cohen, of the Samaritan-Israelites passed away on Mount Gerizim of a stroke on Nov. 27, 2008. He was a money changer and well respected in Nablus. He was a promising cantor in the community of Luza, on Mount Gerizim. He will be missed by his mother Niamat, his wife Nawal, his sons Yoser, Amirand Amit, his brother Yoqob and as well as the whole Samaritan-Israelite community. (From the Editor: I personally will miss him, he was such a great person, respectful and caring when I was a guest at his home. You were like a brother to me. I miss you my friend.)

    Dr. Magen’s Latest Books

    JSP VII – The Samaritans and the Good Samaritan

    This volume encompasses most of the historical and archaeological material regarding the Samaritans. The excavations in Samaria, Neapolis, and other Samaritan sites shed new light on Samaritan material culture, archaeology, and history. The discovery of Samaritan synagogues and ritual baths identical to those used by the Jews, point to the connection between Samaritans and Jews from the Persian to Byzantine periods. The volume also discusses Samaritan everyday life, Sabbaths, and holidays, as well as the site of the “Inn of the Good Samaritan.”

    JSP VII – The Samaritans and the Good Samaritan. Author: Magen, Yitzhak

    Editor:  Carmin, Noga 320 pp, color photographs. Hardcover

    ISBN 978-965-406-206-0

    Mount Gerizim Excavations. A Temple City.

    This volume is a preliminary report of the Mount Gerizim excavations. The discovery of the Samaritan temple solved a highly significant historical question that puzzled scholars for years, confirming that the temple was built in the mid-fifth century BCE. The volume discusses different aspects of the site, including layout, private construction, the sacred precinct, Mount Gerizim versus the Temple Mount at Jerusalem, Samaritan material culture and halakhic observance, Hebrew and Aramaic inscriptions, and the site during the Roman and Byzantine periods.
     
    By Magen, Yitzhak; Editors: Haber, Michal and Carmin, Noga ; 316 pp, color photographs. Hardcover.  Price $50.00

    Both books can be found at Israel Antiquities Authority web site

    http://www.antiquities.org.il/shop_eng.asp?cat_id=14

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    SAMARITANS' PAST AND PRESENT: Current Studies (Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies) (Hardcover) by Menachem Mor (Editor)

    List price $109.00

  • Hardcover: 250 pages

  • Publisher: Walter de Gruyter (November 30, 2008)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 311019497X

  • ISBN-13: 978-3110194975

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    Michigan State University to Create Digital Archive of Sacred Israelite Texts

    EAST LANSING, Mich. – From book to Web, some of the world’s rarest religious documents will soon be available to anyone, anywhere, thanks to work provided by a Michigan State University research center.

     

    Using a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, MSU’s Writing in Digital Environments research center will digitize 20 pages from two of MSU Libraries’ three Israelite Samaritan Pentateuchs, written more than 500 years ago in Egypt and Syria.

     

    The goal: to bring together religious studies scholars and members of the Israelite Samaritan community – two groups that have a significant stake in the cultural and scholarly value of the university’s Samaritan archive – through an online environment in which they can view and interpret the Samaritan texts, interact with members of their own communities, and interact with one another.

    Read the full article at: http://www.news.msu.edu/story/5751/

    And do not miss

    Sacred Samaritan Texts Building community and expanding access

    From book to Web, some of the world’s rarest religious documents will soon be available to anyone, anywhere, thanks to work provided by a Michigan State University research center.

    “Our project aims to provide an online space where two distinct groups of stakeholders in the Samaritan collection – biblical scholars and members of the Samaritan community – can both access and make use of these texts,” said William Hart-Davidson, co-director of the research center. “A digital archive has the potential to simultaneously preserve artifacts for posterity while broadening access.”

    Read the full article at: http://special.news.msu.edu/scrolls/

    And do not forget to download the pdf , “The Chamberlain Warren Samaritan Collection at MSU: The Museum Trail,” by Robert T. Anderson, “Biblical Archaeologist,” March 1984.

    http://special.news.msu.edu/scrolls/resources.php?resources

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    The Samaritan Medal for Peace and Humanitarian Achievement

    Many organizations offer “Samaritan medals,” recognizing those who demonstrate in their lives the behavior of the Good Samaritan. Few, if any, know that “Samaritan” isn’t merely a name of the past, but rather the name of a living, vibrant people in the heart of the Middle East who offer the unique distinction of getting along well with all sides in that land of conflict.

    Now the Samaritans themselves step forth to offer the first and only Samaritan medal awarded by the authentic historical Samaritan people of the Holy Land. As is the case with other “Samaritan” medals, its purpose is to recognize and reward service to humanity, especially in the cause of peace.

    It aims to do more, however. The Samaritan Medal forms a bridge among all the People of the Book, the Children of Abraham: Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Samaritans. The “Good Samaritan” spirit can live inside all people, even those who are despised by others.

    We invite you to share this important work by demonstrating the outlook and behavior of the Good Samaritan in your own life.

    http://www.samaritanmedal.org/Welcome.html

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    Deciphering Samaritan

    On Thursday of hol haMoed Pesah, my family and I joined Jameel for a trip to the Samaritan community on Har Greizim, where we were given a fascinating tour of the Samaritan museum, and got a glimpse of a Samaritan synagogue. You can see some of the videos and photos that Jameel shot here and here.

    Read the full article at:

     http://muqata.blogspot.com/2008/05/deciphering-samaritan.html

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    Oldest Possibly Hebrew Inscription Possibly Found

    Fox News.com

    HIRBET QEIYAFA, Israel  —  An Israeli archaeologist digging at a hilltop south of Jerusalem believes a ceramic shard found in the ruins of an ancient town bears the oldest Hebrew inscription ever discovered, a find that could provide an important glimpse into the culture and language of the Holy Land at the time of the Bible.

    The five lines of faded characters written 3,000 years ago, and the ruins of the fortified settlement where they were found, are indications that a powerful Israelite kingdom existed at the time of the Old Testament's King David, says Yossi Garfinkel, the Hebrew University archaeologist in charge of the new dig at Hirbet Qeiyafa.

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445132,00.html?sPage=fnc/scitech/archaeology

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    Nova Program Speaks of Samaritans

    A program on Nova, entitled 'The Bible's buried Secrets,' aired on PBS channels in the US recently mentioning the Samaritans in chapter 10, 'Ideas of Worship'. The entire program or by chapter can be viewed on the link below using QuickTime or Windows Media.

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bible/program.html

    From this program even more people have found that the Samaritan-Israelites still do exist today as one viewer of the program was so astonished he found our website and contacted me. From the Editor of the SUD (SamaritanUpDate.com)

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    My Land of Israel: A trip to the 1930s  (1934)
    Rivkah Zelner from the US used to visit her sister who immigrated to Israel and was one of the founders of Kibbutz Ein Hashofet. Rivkah enjoyed touring the country and even documented her journeys with her camera Nadav Man

    http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3504531,00.html
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    2009 Annual Meeting

    New Orleans, LA

    Meeting Begins: 11/22/2009
    Meeting Ends: 11/25/2009

    Call For Papers Opens: 12/15/2008
    Call For Papers Closes: 2/28/2009
    Requirements to Submit a Paper Proposal

    Aramaic Studies

    Description: The Aramaic studies section is intended to provide a forum for scholars interested in various aspects of Aramaic language. Previous paper topics have included aspects of the Targumim, Qumran Aramaic, Peshitta, Samaritan papyri, and Elephantine Aramaic.
    Call for papers: The Aramaic studies section is intended to provide a forum for scholars interested in various aspects of Aramaic language. Previous paper topics have included aspects of the Targumim, Qumran Aramaic, Peshitta,
    Samaritan papyri, and Elephantine Aramaic.

    http://www.sbl-site.org/meetings/Congresses_ProgramUnits.aspx?MeetingId=15

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    Republished Book

    The Samaritans, The Earliest Jewish Sect: Their History, Theology And Literature (1907) (Paperback) by James Alan Montgomery (Author)

  • Paperback: 424 pages

  • Publisher: Kessinger Publishing, LLC (October 1, 2008)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 1437141498

  • ISBN-13: 978-1437141498

  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches

  • ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Book for sale:

    76. • (Samaritan) Marqah; Hermann Baneth. DES SAMARITANERS MARQAH: AN DIE 22 BUCHSTABEN, DEN GRUNDSTOCK DER HEBRÄISCHEN SPRACHE ANKNÜPFENDE ABHANDLUNG. מן מרקה; מימר מדבק בשנים ועשרים אות עקרי מלי עבריאתה Halle: No Publisher. 1888. Cloth. 8vo. 56 pages. In German. SUBJECT(S): Samaritans – doctrines; Samaritan religious poetry, Hebrew. OCLC lists 4 copies worldwide (Univ of CA-Berkeley, Center for Research Libraries, UPenn, New York Public Library). Ex library, good condition. (GER-28-7) (ID #20254) $145.00.

    Dan Wyman Books, Inc. 
    47 Dartmouth St. Springfield , MA 01109    USA   ph: 1.413.846.6357  
    Dan @ DanWymanBooks.com www. DanWymanBooks.com

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    Web links

    Great photos of Mount Gerizim

    http://www.pbase.com/rdavid/20061103

    The Samaritan Bible and the Torah

    http://www.spiroark.org/#/samaritanbible/4526045469

    2008 Member of Samaritan sect decorates traditional hut on Mount Gerizim

    http://www.nancarrow-webdesk.com/warehouse/storage2/2008-w41/img.373483.html

    Samaritaner in Nablus (Westjordanland)

    http://www.rbenninghaus.de/samaritans.htm

    One of the Samaritan Mt. Gerizim community elders (Yosef)

    http://picasaweb.google.com/beranek.zdenek/WestBankJudeaSamaria#5248048459197570178

     

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