Call for papers: The 2011 Aramaic Studies section will have an open
call for papers in any area relating to the various aspects of Aramaic
language, literature, and context. Previous paper topics have included aspects
of the Targumim, Qumran Aramaic, Peshitta, Samaritan papyri, and Elephantine
Aramaic.
The Festival
of The Seventh Month - Tuesday,
September 27 Day of Atonement - Thursday, October 6 Succot [Booth] Festival, Thursday, October 11 Shemini 'Atzeret.
the Eighth Day of Succot Festival - Thursday, October 18,
A Group of Samaritans from Vol. X. of "Jewish Encyclopedia."
Funk & Wagnalls Co. 1905
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Journal of My visit to the Israelite Samaritans And to Mount
Gerizim, Samaria By: Tsafon Etzion, Dallas, Texas
A.B. - The Samaritan News, Issue no. 1090-1091,
15.7.2011 (Photos:
Tsafon
Etzion [On the right] with Mr. Geoffrey Ben Nathan from
London in Joseph Tomb in
Nablus and with Archimendrit Stephanus in Jacob's Well
for his journal of his first visit to the Israelite Samaritans
and Mount Gerizim)
Warmest greetings to the
Israelite Samaritans from Dallas, Texas, USA. Just this past
Shavuot I had the great pleasure of meeting many of you. I am
sorry I didn't get the chance to meet all of you but you
probably saw me sitting in the back of the synagogue. I am happy
to share about my first trip to the Holy Land. Unlike the vast
majority of tourists who travel to Israel, I did not visit
Bethlehem, nor the sea of Galilee. I did not float in the salty
Dead Sea. I did not get baptized in the Jordan River. I did not
even go to Jerusalem like 2.4 million other tourists this last
year. I did not have a need to visit those sites. My heart's
desire was to go to Mount Gerizim, where the ancient Israelites
were commanded to go first and proclaimed the Blessing. I also
believe that the Name of The Almighty and the Commandments were
written into the plastered rock on Gerizim (The Mountain of
Blessing) and not on Ebal. I believe that Mount Gerizim is where
we are to seek Him out and go to like it says in Deuteronomy.
12:5. Monday, the week prior to Shavuot, I was picked up at the
airport by my good friend Benny Tsedaka and brought to his home
in Holon. I had a brief tour of the neighborhood and then that
afternoon we loaded up a van and headed into the West Bank, and
up to the top of Mount Gerizim where I spent the rest of the
week. There on the top of the mountain, in your community of
Kiryat Luza, I met many of the Samaritan Israelites. I know many
of you wondered what that goyim [Gentile] was doing in the back
of your synagogue. Many of you asked me why I was there, where I
was from, what I thought of the Samaritans and eventually,
several people asked if it was true that I wanted to join the
Samaritans. Allow me to give a brief history of who I am in
introduction and to help answer those questions. I was born in
the U.S.A. I was born into a very religious evangelical
Christian family. My ancestors came to the United States from
Norway and Sweden three generations before I was born. I can
only trace my heritage back a handful of generations which is
not uncommon for Americans. I am 40 years of age. I have a wife
and six children. Up until the year 2007 I was an active,
passionate, Christian. I worked in a worldwide ministry of
Christianity for 10 years. I have an Associates degree in Bible
studies and a Bachelor of Science degree from a Christian
university. Everything I pursued in life was Christian but I am
the kind of person who
wants
to understand why we do things a certain way and believe what we
believe. In my desire to search for God and for what He wanted
from me, I knew the closest thing to the pure truth would be
looking back at the origins of the Bible. I began to study the
Jewish origins of the Christian faith. While studying the
Pentateuch ( Torah ) I began to wonder what it meant to truly
fear God. I began to pray for God to teach my heart what it
meant to fear Him. I began to question the religion I so
passionately participated in. I began to ask why Christians
don't keep the feasts, why Christians don't keep the Sabbath on
the seventh day of the week, and where in Torah did it prescribe
that a righteous man had to die for the wickedness of others.
Obviously, it didn't. I came to the conclusion that what God
wanted was for His people to obey Him, to obey His Torah. So I
and my wife and kids removed the New Testament from our
collection of "sacred" books and began to keep Shabbats and the
cleanness laws to the best of our understanding. At that point
I was only following the Tanak (Old Testament). I was never
interested in the Talmud or Rabbinical writings. So for a few
years we were pursuing Karaite Judaism. They believe that only
the Old Testament is "sacred". As I studied the Old Testament I
began to have questions about the Prophets and specifically
about King David and Solomon and Jerusalem. I began to have
questions about the Priest Eli and his two sons and the prophet
Samuel. What kept playing over and over in my mind was "do not
add to or take away from Torah." Well, the Jewish Tanak has
added the Prophets and the Writings to the Torah. It adds
Jerusalem, and a messiah of the lineage of David. Well, that
does not fit with Torah. I was wondering if there were any
people on the planet that just kept Torah. Then some friends of
mine heard about the Samaritans from the Internet and asked if I
had ever heard about them. I said, "Do you mean like the Good
Samaritan from the New Testament?" They said, "Yes. And they
still exist and they say only Torah is sacred." My friends were
not interested in pursing any more information but I was and I
began to do as much research as I could about you Israelites.
Unfortunately, most of what you'll find on the Internet is
either written by Christians or Jews or academics, and they
usually focus on negatives or don't have accurate facts. But I
did find some information written by Samaritans themselves
including information from Benny Tsedaka and his e-mail address.
I decided I needed to hear what the Samaritans say about
themselves so I contacted him and asked many questions. I was
delighted to hear his sincere love for Torah and willingness to
answer our questions. Then a year and a half ago Benny was so
kind to meet us in Texas and spent five wonderful days answering
questions and sharing with my wife and kids and I about the
Samaritans. So for two years now we have been learning about the
traditions kept by the Samaritans and have been trying to keep
Torah as best we can in Texas. Then I decided I needed to come
and see you all and the Mountain for myself. I came to Israel as
an observer and visitor and student. You had questions about me
and I had many questions about you. I wondered if the Samaritans
were sincerely keeping Torah or just following rituals passed on
from generation to generation. As you can see most people in
this world just do what they have been given to do without
asking if they are on the right path. I wondered if you had
added to Torah or taken away from Torah. I just did not know
what to expect. So I came to see for myself. I am thrilled to
say that I found a sincere people that obviously love Torah and
keep Torah to the best of their ability. I found a people that
love God and fear God, love their families, and love their
community. One Samaritan was explaining to me that the Israelite
Samaritans are a people of peace. They do not want to destroy
other people and they respect others because they fear God. They
are not like animals. They are men created in the image of God.
That statement was very important for me to hear because I
wanted to know specifically if the Samaritans are a people that
fear God. I want to be around people who have the fear of God. I
want my children to grow up to love God and fear God. All of my
experiences were so wonderful and so new that it is hard to say
one was more incredible than the other but a few do stick out. I
had the great honor of meeting both the Samaritan High Priest
and the Vice High Priest on different days. This world does not
understand, like you do, that the High Priest is the highest
authority of mankind granted by God. I would rather meet him
than the President of the United States, or the Pope in Rome, or
any movie star. They were both so kind to me and welcomed me
into their homes. I pray that the whole country of Israel would
acknowledge their authority some day. Wouldn't that be
incredible? Visiting many of your homes was wonderful. I was
overwhelmed with how many of you said to me, "welcome, welcome."
I enjoyed sitting in your homes, sharing tea and bread and
listening to your stories. Much of the time I could understand
only a word here and there but I could see your passion and
kindness. I felt welcome. Sitting in many of your homes reminded
me of when I would sit in my relatives' homes as a small child
listening to the adults. It felt very comfortable. I also loved
to observe when two of you would debate. The boldness that you
would speak to each other with and yet remain friends was
refreshing to see. Voices could be raised, people could express
their opinions and even get mad, but it was very healthy and
honest and good. In the U.S. people are often too polite. They
smile and listen but don't express their true feelings. They are
too careful to not hurt feelings and it just is not honest. I
would much rather have an honest relationship where people can
express differences and not worry about it. One of my very
favorite things was to hear the Torah read out loud in the
Ancient Hebrew. I especially enjoyed the Memorial Day of "the
Assembly on Mount Sinai" on Wednesday when the whole Torah was
read out loud. I happily sat for many hours listening. One
embarrassing event that you may have heard about happened on
that evening. I was given a most delicious meal of potatoes,
onions, and lamb that had been roasted by the family of Yoseph
Alteph. When asked what I had eaten I explained that I had had
the most wonderful potatoes, onion, and CHICKEN I had ever
tasted. Well, it was lamb. They must of thought I was crazy. You
see, I have only had lamb maybe three times in my entire life. I
have chicken many times a week so without thinking I just
assumed it was chicken. So, it was the best lamb I had ever
tasted and all I can do is laugh about it. Finally, I was there
as an observer but I was also there as a worshiper. How could I
not be? I believe Torah with all my heart. I was at the Mountain
of Blessing with God's people. I was a visitor but my desire was
also to worship and obey the Almighty with all of my heart for I
do fear God. So as the week went on I did try to worship more. I
could not understand the ancient Hebrew but I loved hearing it.
It was beautiful music to my heart. I could only pray in English
but I was praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the
Samaritan Israelites. When you would bow down I bowed down also.
When you would stand I would stand also. If any of my actions
were offensive to any of the Samaritan Israelites I am deeply
sorry. You must realize that I and my family are like children
just learning about you now. We have not had parents and
grandparents to pass on the traditions, songs, prayers, or
language. Benny is like a father to us now teaching us and I ask
that you will all be patient with us and kindly point out to us
anything we may need to know. The next step for us: We know that
we are commanded to make the pilgrimage to the Mountain three
times a year but we do not have the money or time off from work
that would allow that. So our goal is to someday live in Israel
where we can keep Torah as completely as possible. We need the
Israeli citizenship to be allowed to work. But, as it stands
right now, the Jewish Government says we must become Jews to
become Israeli Citizens and they will not allow a convert to the
Samaritan Israelites to be acceptable for citizenship. Well,
obviously, that is unacceptable. Your people have never left the
land. You are Israelites in every way. The Jews are your
brothers. You should have every right that they do and more when
you consider that you have the system of Levitical Priesthood
still functioning. This may be a battle that will have to go to
your Supreme Court but it is important for the Israeli
government to acknowledge the Samaritans' rights. So our prayer
is for God to make the way and we will be patient and do this in
the right way. I hope that the next time I can come and visit
you I will be able to bring my whole family. That of course is
very expensive so maybe we will be coming to stay. I pray that
God would bless your people and keep you safe in the middle of
this world of turmoil. We will be praying for prosperity and
health and joy for you and your families. And we will be praying
for the ability to join you someday.
S
incerely
with Highest Regards, Tsafon Etzion, Dallas, Texas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Israelite Samaritans Today, July 2011
By: A.B. - The Samaritan News Services
Issue no. 1090-1091 15.7.2011
The Samaritans are aware of the latest changes among the
Palestinians in their attempts to organize a united government
from all their different political parties. The Samaritans are
in no way taking sides or cooperating with these changes, but as
an entity that is fighting for her existence in the most
sensitive region in the political world - the Middle East in
general and the region of the conflict between the Palestinians
and Israelis in particular. The Samaritans cannot be
indifferent to what is happening and yet they have to prepare
themselves in all ways in order to ensure their future
existence. They keep their activity with an aim in becoming a
bridge of peace between all entities involved in the Middle East
Conflict, by keeping friendship with all sides. This policy
proves itself every day when Palestinians from every stream and
the Israelis from all of their streams give respect to the
Samaritans and speak favorably about the Samaritans. This is
also expressed by both sides granting aid to the Samaritans for
different projects on Mount Gerizim.
For this matter a delegation of Samaritan seniors came in recent
days to meet with Dr. Salam Fayaad, the Prime Minister of the
Palestinian Authority. The High Priest, Aaron Ben AbHisda, the
Secretary of the Community Committee, Yitzah Altif, and the
member of the committee, Abed Cohen - all came especially to
wish Fayaad well who is now recovering from the CPA to his heart
that was done while he was in the USA. Fayaad welcomed the
delegation warmly and spoke of his deep friendship with the
Samaritans.
The future changes in the Palestinian government caused the
delay of the transmitting of the sum that was donated to
activate the sewage project on Mount Gerizim
Fayaad promised that he would make it happen faster, and
regarding this it should be stated that Fayaad is the most
discussed candidate as the Prime Minister of the United
Palestinian government, a fact that will expedite all
development projects on Mount Gerizim.
At the end of the meeting the Palestinian Prime Minister
insisted to escort his guests for a long distance from his
office to the elevators, while he continued to hug them and to
make friendship statements to the Samaritans. On the other
side, the recent calm regarding the tomb of Joseph in Nablus is
due to the cooperation between the Palestinian security forces
and Israeli security forces and has caused an increased number
of visits from within the Samaritans in Holon and Mount
Gerizim. Joseph, the righteous, the father of Ephraim and
Manashe, the forefathers of the Israelite Samaritans, holds a
place in the Samaritan belief having the qualities at this tomb
of receiving blessing and healing for thousands of years. The
testimonies of the visits to the tomb of Joseph are the most
ancient testimonies in written sources that tell about the
history of the region without leaving any doubt about the
ancientness of the place. Unfortunately the tomb of Joseph
became in the last three decades a center of political
confrontations between Palestinians to religious Israelis and
extremists on both sides, some of these confrontations ended
with casualties on both sides, but mostly the tomb of Joseph
suffered destruction and burning by Palestinian extremists as a
reaction to stimulation of Israeli extremists that entered the
site during the middle of the night without coordination of the
security forces. There are some people that we call intelligent
ignorants from the academia, the media and politics, that
destroy the peaceful atmosphere by creating doubts if this is
the original tomb of Joseph. When we say intelligent ignorants
we mean that there are people who have ambitions to know
something about everything, but there are some things that they
are totally ignorant about, and they cannot admit that they do
not know. In this matter we must note that the unending visits
to the tomb of Joseph of Jews and Samaritans for thousands of
years never lied. It is not the tomb of Yosef Alony, nor Sheik
Yusef London, nor Yusef Kirchenbaum, and not even the Islamic
Sheik Yusef being buried there, but this is the original
righteous Joseph. To this place came Jews and Samaritans to
visit for thousands of years. This is a historical fact.
The uprising of thousands of Israelis in recent days to visit by
the thousands to this place, who are not coming for pure
intentions of admiration to Joseph the Righteous. In a talk
that we had with Mr. Noam Arnon, one of the leaders of the
visitors, agreed with us that all holy places should be
ex-territorial and out of the political conflict and should be
accessible to everybody without any of the site we try to
control the holy place by force. To these attempts there are
three results, destruction of the place, casualties, and
reinforcing the hatred between Jews and Muslims.
Lately there is cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis to
give the tomb of Joseph its original respect as it was the first
15 years after 1967. A.B. the Samaritan News begs the Israelis
and the Palestinians to start mutual cooperation. Joseph the
righteous was a seeker of peace and consolation as he acted
between his own brothers, and it is recommended that everybody
learn from him. In Holon since the centrality of the activity
moved to the hands of Elitzur Marchiv there is feeling that
there is movement in the activity of the community committee.
He leaves all his business as a manager in private business and
arrives as an official of the committee. The result is more
grants to the pleasure of the committee and activity that is
very prominent in the area after a long stagnant period. There
are new air conditioners in the central synagogue in Holon and
the sight of the two synagogues improved. There is activity to
preserve the respect of the two cemeteries in Kiriat Luza in
Mount Gerizim and Kiriat Shaul in Tel Aviv. Elitzur reported
lately that the committee allowed the payment of 500 shekels
monthly to a private contractor for the maintenance of the
cemetery on Mount Gerizim. During the last Pesach the cemetery
on Mount Gerizim was cleaned totally, but since then the bushes
became overgrown. Constant care will prevent the neglect of the
cemetery on Mount Gerizim.
A.B. the Samaritan News is very satisfied with the fruitful
participation of the committee in Holon with the committee in
Mount Gerizim. The trust between the two has increased and both
are active with full energy for the communities of Luza and
Holon.
Samaritan Sports Activity And
we will finish this report with the sports activity in Holon and
on Mount Gerizim that doubles when summer comes. In Holon a new
summer league began successfully with six teams from all of the
Samaritan young people in Holon. Each of the teams is called by
one of the stones that was on the breastplate of Aaron the High
Priest as mentioned in Torah. At the same time Mount Gerizim's
youth organized a league of basketball with six teams as well
that hold names of the most prominent teams of the NBA, National
Basketball Association. The enthusiasm is very high. In Holon
it is escorted by a special leaflet that reports the results,
scores, the games. On Mount Gerizim they do so by a special
website as a part of Facebook, in which they express their
enthusiasm in Arabic and Hebrew. It is very helpful to unite
the Samaritan young people around one subject and prevent them
from being involved in other unhealthy subjects which are
against the general Samaritan spirit. The Samaritan girls are
very involved with the teams and they are coming in great
numbers to the games to watch and admire the most successful
players. A.B. the Samaritan News is not responsible for other
results of this activity, other than reporting the scores of
this game and giving the report.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English
Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version
[Hardcover]
The Division of Authority Amongst the Leadership of the
Samaritan People Helped Their Survival [A & B Editorial]
Issue no. 1090-1091 15.7.2011
From the very beginning in which a chain of command for the top
leadership of the people of Israel was created, sharing the
authority between the High Priest with a leader of the people
who was not from the tribe of Levi was tradition. The beginning
of creating the roles was not between Moses and Aaron, because
both of them were Levites chosen by the Almighty; Moses who
centralized all roles of authority as a priest and as a prophet,
as a judge and a recognized representative of the People of
Israel before the nations: the Egyptians, the Moabites, the
Edomites, the Ammonites and the Midianites. Aaron started his
activity as the spokesman of Moses and ended it when he was
crowned with the crown of the priesthood upon his head, as the
main activist in offering the sacrifices in the tabernacle. The
authority roles started with the clear division between the
civil role of the leaders from among the people - Joshua bin
Nun, the successor of Moses in the leadership alongside Elazar
ben Aaron the first High Priest of the People of Israel in the
Land of Israel of whom from him derived the family of the High
Priests. Joshua served as a chief of staff, the leader who took
out and brought in the army of Israel during its wars to fulfill
the promise of dwelling in the Land of Israel for the People of
Israel. His partner in the leadership, High Priest Elazar,
continued in his father's role for being responsible for the
cult in the tabernacle of Moses, that was erected at the top of
Mount Gerizim, but in addition to his religious leadership role
was added the fame of being the representative of the Almighty
here on earth; the personality who made the coronation of the
king and the chief judge in regard to all matters that were
connected with fulfilling the commandments of the Torah. After
centralizing most of the roles in the hand of one person, Moses,
his duties were divided between the heads of the tribes of
Israel to the head of the tribe of Levi. However, there is a
clear difference between the two leaders at the time that the
leader from within the people is a man of initiative that was
prominent with his natural leadership over all heads of the
People of Israel, whereas the High Priest serves by being the
choice of the Almighty and the successor of the chosen family to
lead the People of Israel, the family of Pinchas, son of Elazar,
son of Aaron the Priest; that through it the High-priesthood is
delivered from father to son or to another family member if
there were not natural siblings to the holder of this great
position. However, here enters the factor of the personality of
the two holders of these greatest positions, in most number of
cases he who held the position of the High Priest had his
control directly from the blessing of the Almighty, and due to
that he was the chief leader, the most prominent between the
two. In some other times the military leader himself was a
member of the chosen priestly family, as it happened during the
Byzantine period in the Land of Israel, when the High Priest was
the Iqbon ben Natanel, and the main leader of the People of
Israel, the head of the army and the chief of judges who renewed
the religious cult; and yet the builder of the synagogues to
reinforce the religion was his brother Baba Raba the Great. The
main role of these leaders, the high priest and the leader of
the people, was to take care of the continuation of the
political and religious activity of the people. Sometimes the
leaders of the people was the prominent one, and sometimes the
high priest was the one who directed everything in the
leadership.
So was the High Priest Yair, son of Yonaton, from his place in
Mount Gerizim before King David, so was the High Priest
Hezekiah, before Alexander the Great, so was Baba Raba before
the Byzantine rulers, so was the High Priest Elazar before the
Islamic rulers. At the time of the Mameluke rulers, the
leadership was divided between the high priest alongside a
president position. During the Ottomon period the position was
divided between the Phinchas high priest alongside the position
of the Judge of Israel. Both the president and the judge were
from within the people and not from the priestly family, and
they fulfilled their civil position by representing the
Samaritans before the authority of that time in which the high
priest continued to be holding the supreme religious authority
that centralized the cult and encouraged the religious and
social culture. In this way the priest Abisha ben Pinchas, ben
Yosef, described the duty of the high priest in a short hymn
that is sung on the Shabbat of the ten days of forgiveness.
"The prayer ended, with the praising of our God. The noon
prayer started with the Name of our God. I have to mention who
established it for us, they are the high priests, our
forefathers."
Abisha indicates that the high priests, sons of Pinchas, his
forefathers were the founders of the structure of the prayers
and the poems in the synagogue cult. Since ancient days after
the animal sacrifices ceased from the center in Mount Gerizim
the high priests of Pinchas were those who determined that the
prayers replaced the offerings. Two prayers a day, in the
morning and in the evening, they are the fulfillment of the
commandment "the first sheep you have to make in the morning,
and the second sheep between the sunsets." The prayers of
Shabbat replaced the sacrifices of Shabbat, and this is the same
with the first days of each month, and the seven festivals of
the year. The high priests of Pinchas were those who
established the ancient songs and poems in rhythm to stabilize
the poetry early in the Hellenistic period. They were the first
that fixed the cult of public bath purification, and they led
the Samaritan synagogue that probably was earlier in purity and
in the cult of the synagogue in comparison to the Jewish ones.
The Priests of Pinchas led the structure of the prayer and they
were those who made changes to this structure. Yes, there were
changes to the structure of the cult of the prayers from time to
time. At the beginning the prayer was focused on the reading of
the Torah, all of it or a portion of it, in regard to the
festivals and shabbats. After that hymns of the ancient sages
of the Samaritans were integrated into the cult. The best of
the authors, such as Amram Dareh, Marqeh, Ninna, Yehoshua son of
Baraq, The Dustan, and Matanah the Son of Abraham, and many
anonymous writers. In the second golden age of the Samaritan
culture during the fourteenth century the high priests of
Pinchas, Joseph ben Azzi, and mainly his son Pinchas and the two
sons of Pinchas Elazar and Abisha, started a new prayer
structure, and they were helped by the giant poet Abed Ela Ben
Shalma, the father of the High Priest of our days, and also he
composed many musical vocal pieces, and processed and integrated
the hymns of the contemporary writers in the cult, the authors
of his days, until today the Samaritan singers are honored to
give first priority to these hymns after it is agreed that the
most ancient ones are the foundation of every prayer in the past
and to the future. Besides all of these the clear division
between the religious activity that is led by the high priests
of Pinchas, to the civil and military and regular activity that
was led by the national leader was prominent, because without
this division it was impossible to lead and establish the people
to any activity that the people demanded to do from time to
time. Baba Rabba divided the land according to the Samaritan
centers into twelve regions and in each region he appointed a
priest who would take care of the religious activity and would
be an address to all Samaritans in the region in regard to the
cult and the commandments in the synagogue that was built in the
region, and with him he appointed a president from within the
people in which his duty was to judge and centralize the
military activity in each time that the leader Baba Rabba (who
lived in Shechem) asked him to draft an army for revolts against
the Byzantines, in which all ended in success, this and much
more.
Beside the High Priest, his brother Iqbon ben Natanel, Baba Raba
appointed a supreme court of seven members, three priests and
four Israelites. It was a supreme court and discussion for the
religious and cultural needs of the people. Significant
reference to the divisions of the authority between priests and
leaders of the people is prominent in the time that Baba Rabba
succeeded to establish the people around him and bring them to
military, religious, and economical success in a period that was
considered the most prominent golden age of Samaritan history.
This Samaritan leadership establishment that was in its prime at
the time of Baba Rabba and continued among the Samaritan people
through all generations. The high priests and the leaders of
the people exemplified by their lives before the people in their
personal behavior in which they led to have the authority to
teach the people the laws of the Almighty and His book. They
led the people in the hardest periods, the high priest and the
chiefs of the people, the heads of the big households were like
a magnet to the whole parts of the people by being personalities
that could be trusted in leadership and strong during the
hardest events that happened through the generations. They
stood together before their persecutors, but also they worked
together religiously and structurally to stabilize the people,
like the stabilization of the leader Abraham, the son of Jacob
the Dinfi, with the High Priest his friend Tabia son of Yitzhaq,
of which both fixed the structure of the prayer and hymns of the
first fourteen days of the first month and its two shabbats.
The High Priest Amram ben Shalma was the priest and the leader
in one person in the mid 19th century, and to him shouted the
unmarried person in the community to help them with their
marriage in the dying community of his time - to the leader of
the Samaritans outside of Nablus, Yefet the son of Abraham
Tsedaka approached the High Priest Abisha Ben Pinchas and Amram
ben Yitzhaq to help in drafting donations for the religious
institutions in Nablus during the first half of the 20th
century.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sitzungsbcrichte der Kais. Akademie der
Wissenschaften in Wien(Philosophisch-Historische
Klasse), Band cxlvii, contains a paper by Dr. Alois
Musil, entitled 'Sieben Samaritanische Inschriften aus
Damaskus.' These seven inscriptions in the Samaritan
character were found on stones in the wall of an old
house at Damascus, and are at present in the possession
of a Turkish surgeon there. Information regarding them,
accompanied by copies of the inscriptions, was sent to
Dr. Musil by A. Xanthopulos, the vice-consul for
Austria, who imagined that the stones might have
originally belonged to the Gerizim temple. That, of
course, is out of the question; they are much more
likely, as Dr. Musil suggests, to have formed part of a
Samaritan house of prayer at Damascus. Meanwhile,
pending further investigations, Dr. Musil has published
facsimiles of the inscriptions, with transliteration
into Hebrew letters, and a German translation.
The Expository Times Edited by James
Hastings, (p. 256) vol. 15, Oct. 1903-Sept. 1904,
T. & T. Clark, 38 George Street
The most general reference is that which occurs
on one of the doors
of the great palace
of Khorsabad in one
of the summarizing
documents with which these doors are inscribed (see
Winckler, I, p. x). In the course
of a list
of Sargon's
achievements, we have the statement (Winckler, PI. 38,
1. 31 f.): "The conqueror of
the city of
Samaria and the whole land of
Beth-Omri." In the Cylinder Inscription, 1.19,
Sargon calls himself
"the subjugator of the
broad land of Beth-Omri."
The long summarizing inscription on the walls
of the Khorsabad palace
(see Winckler, p. x) gives the following account
(lines 23-25, Winckler, PI. 30 f.): "The city Samaria
I besieged (and) 27,290
people, inhabiters of
it, I took away captive; 50 chariots (which were) in
it I appropriated, but the rest
(of the people) I
allowed to retain their possessions. I appointed my
governor over them and the tribute
of the late king I
imposed upon them."
The report in the Annals
is the fullest, but it is unfortunately
mutilated. I give a translation
of what remains, along
with the restorations that seem probable (for the text
see Winckler, PI. 1, 10 ff.): "In the beginning
[of my reign] the city
Samaria ... [I took] . . . with the help
of Shamash, who secures
victory to me [. . . 27,290
people inhabiters of
it] I took away captive; 50 chariots the
property of my royalty
[which were in it I appropriated . . . The city] I
restored, and more than before I caused it to be
inhabited; people of
the lands conquered by my hand in it [I caused to
dwell. My governor over them I appointed, and tribute]
and imposts, just as upon the Assyrians I laid upon
them." Here we have an indication
of the clemency
of Sargon towards the
Samarians and of his
desire to have the city repeopled.
History, Prophecy and the Monuments, by
James Frederick McCurdy, Vol. I, New York,
MacMillan and Co., New York and London, 1894, p. 425)
Visit To
Samaria.—I bad no idea before of the beautifully romantic situation
of this ancient Sychcm, or Sychar. Here the Samaritans still are dwelling;
about fifty families. M'e visited their synagogue, and saw the ancient
Samaritan pentateuch, which they hold in
great veneration. The rabbi who attended us (a fine and venerable man)
took it out of the ark with a great deal of ceremony, seated himself on
the ground, and opened it before us; not, however, until after we had
particularly entreated him to do so. It bears all the marks of antiquity:
is written on vellum, rolled up, and dressed just in the same manner in
which the Jews do their books of the law. The rabbi said it was 3,500
years old. There were several other manuscripts of the pentateuch, quite
modern ones, deposited in an ark covered by a veil, just as in all the
Jewish synagogues. The place itself is a very plain large room. We were
soon surrounded by nearly the whole community: all seemed to understand
and speak Hebrew, more or less; but they do not read it in the square
character. With the chacham I conversed freely: they all speak Arabic. The
first question they asked was whether there are not Samaritans in England?
It seems they confound England with India, where there are supposed to be
some. When I asked whether they believed in the coming of the Messiah, the
old rabbi replied in the affirmative with some enthusiasm, and immediately
quoted Deut. xviii. 18. I could perceive at every sentence a great hatred
towards the rabinnical Jews. When we left the synagogue the chief took us
into his room, which was a respectable, clean apartment. A fine young
Samaritan attached himself to us as our
guide, and took ns to see the town and
neighbourhood. When we approached the Jewish burying-ground, he made us go
on, but remained himself at a distance, saying they are not allowed to go
near it, considering the place unclean. A striking proof of how to this
day the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. There are a few Jews
residing in the place, but they seem to keep quite aloof from each other.—Bishop
Alexander.
The Church of England Magazine vol. 16,
January to June 1844 London: Edwards and Hughes, 12, Ave-Marie Lane; James
Burns, 17, Portman Street, 1844. London; Printed by Joseph Rogerson, 24,
Norfolk Street, Strand. (p. 264)
A Samaritan temple to the Lord on Mt. Gerizim
By
Yitzhak Magen
According to the first-century Jewish historian
Josephus, the Samaritan leader Sanballat promised to build a temple on
Gerizim, the Samaritan’s holy mountain, in imitation of the Jerusalem
temple. This, Josephus tells us, occurred at the time of Alexander the
Great’s conquest of the Land of Israel (332 B.C.E.).
Working in tense political conditions and less-than-pleasant
physical ones, archaeologists are excavation through layer
of trash and debris in the Palestinian city of Nablus to
uncover the ruins of the Biblical city of Shekem. Recent
excavations are the latest in a series that have spanned a
century, as political and military turmoil as well as two
world wars have interrupted archaeological work in the
region. Under the auspices of the Palestinian Antiquities
Authority, Dutch and Palestinian authorities are working to
learn more about the ancient city of Shekem and open the
site to the public next year.
Mas1o is the only scroll fragment in the Masada exhibit that is written
on papyrus. It is distinctive also because it is written in the paleo-Hebrew
script by two scribes. One scribe wrote on the "front" side of the
fragment, the other on the "back" side. In his preliminary report of the
excavation, Professor Yigael Yadin noted that the script of this fragment
is similar to that of the coins found in the same location as the
fragment.1
Of the fragment's few discernible words, the phrase joyful singing
occurs in three consecutive lines. These lines are followed by a line
containing the place-name Mount Gerizim. This fragment has been
identified as a Samaritan document because of the unique way Mount
Gerizim is written. Cont'd
Mas1o Papyrus Paleo Fragment ("Mount Gerizim") - Maxwell
Institute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yearly Tour of Benyamim Tsedaka
Lectures
and conferences on Samaritan studies are going on:
June 20-28 - London,
August 8-14 -
Thessaloniki, Greece,
October 23 -
November 12 - Berlin, Poznan, Helsinki, Zurich and London, November 13 -
December 24, 2011 - USA:
Cincinnati, New York City, Boston, Washington D.C.,
St. Louis,
Las Vegas,
Dallas and San
Francisco
If any of you would like to be in touched with for lecturing of
October - December 2011, please let Benyamim Tsedaka
know.
sedakab@yahoo.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Editor
I searched the
Bibliography of the Samaritans for what many authors have written,
"Baron de Sacy," or plainly "De Sacy" as referred
in # 969 - 976 of a Bibliography of the Samaritans, Second Edition,
by Alan David Crown, ATLA Bibliography Series., No. 32, The American
Theological Library Association and Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, N.J. &
London, 1993, but you will not find these references under D. in the more
recent edition. De Sacy's name is really Antoine Isaac, Baron
Silvestre de Sacy.
Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy, Silvestre de Sacy was born in
Paris to a
notary named Abraham Silvestre, of
Jewish origin.[1]
The additional name of de Sacy was taken by the younger son after a
fashion then common with the Parisian
bourgeoisie. So in the recent edition, A Bibliography of the Samaritans,
Third Edition, Revised, Expanded, and Annotated,
by Alan David Crown
and Reinhard
Pummer, ATLA Bibliography, No. 51,
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Lanham, Maryland, Toronto, Oxford. 2005, you will
find his references under # 4450-58. under his last name Silvestre de Sacy.
Being his first and middle name is Antoine-Isaac.
Thank You Reinhard
Pummer for setting this straight!
Also I would like people to notice that on the
main page of the Samaritan Update, a map has been added of the world,
showing the locations of web viewers to our sight. What is interesting is
the Spanish speaking countries, which is interesting. I wonder how many
scholars have written or exposed the Spanish populous of the remaining
Samaritan-Israelites today!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
European Association of
Biblical Studies
Thessaloniki Meeting, 8-11.8.2011
Abstracts
of Subject Read at the Meeting
MosheFlorentin
(Wed-VI-mor)Tel Aviv
University(With Abraham Tal
(Wed-VI-mor)
Tel
Aviv University)
The Samaritan
Pentateuch in English Garment – Problems and Solutions
Following the
great success of the well known Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University
Press and the Tel Aviv University Press have initiated a new series, the
Classical Hebrew Library. We are delighted with their decision to
inaugurate the new series with the Samaritan Pentateuch, and glad to
accept their request that we lead this demanding task.
Although we have
long been immersed in the project itself, we continue, even up to the
present, discussing innumerable questions, hesitations and difficulties
relating to it.
We aim to present
in our lecture some of these questions along with several decisions that
might be subject to discussion. What should the nature of the translation
of the Samaritan text offered to the contemporary educated English
speaking scholar be? Should it be literary, offering a kind of friendly
commentary on the source, or rather should we offer a literal translation
that tries faithfully to preserve the flavor of the Hebrew text while
respecting English grammatical and phraseological English rules?
Another matter of
concern is the great variation the extant manuscripts display, and the
frequent discrepancies between the written text and its present liturgical
reading. They apparently testify about a certain textual development,
which often left traces in the Samaritan Aramaic and Arabic Targum.
Moreover, these Targumim, which differ from one to another, sometimes
represent the changing perception of the Samaritan Vorlage.
Should these
alternative understandings be represented in the English translation or in
the apparatus of annotations?
We would like to
submit to the audience our hesitations as well as our decisions for
discussion.
Ingrid Hjelm
(Wed-VI-mor)
University of Copenhagen
“The
Pentateuch that the Samaritans Chose” and theories of the so-called
“Pre-Samaritan” texts from DSS as stepping stones to a fully developed
Samaritan Pentateuch
“The Pentateuch
that the Samaritans Chose”, is the heading of Magnar Kartveit’s chapter
seven in his recent book, The Origin of the Samaritans, from 2009. The
heading is highly problematic regarding the origin of the Samaritans and
the production of biblical texts and books in ancient Palestine. If as
Kartveit assumes the Samaritans “chose one text-type in particular among
the different texts available”, it definitely raises questions of who
wrote these available texts? When where they written? At what time in
their long history did the Samarian/Samaritan community around Mount
Gerizim enter the library and pick up a fully developed Pentateuch, which
“they supplemented with the tenth commandment and made other changes that
were related to the altar on Mount Gerizim”? Kartveit’s assumption rests
on several old paradigms about Samaritan origins and religion, which fit
badly recent evidence from archeology and epigraphy. A continuous
independent Yahvist cult in Israel, from at least the Iron Age, a temple
on Mt Gerizim, from early in the Persian period, and a highly developed
temple city on Mt Gerizim in the Hellenistic period, do not sustain
paradigms of Samaritans as an ‘aberrant’ branch of Judaism. The
Pentateuch’s Samaritan perspective has found support in a recent find of a
fragment of Deut. 27.4-6, which reads Hargerzim against MT’s Mount Ebal.
The fragment has been published by James A. Charlesworth, who declares it
to be authentic and the reading original, with the implication that the MT
reading has been altered by Jewish scribes after the destruction of the
Samaritan temple in 110 BCE. However, Samaritan-Jewish controversies over
the proper cult place long postdate the construction of their principal
places. From this follows that our scenarios and terminology, are in grave
need of rethinking and reformulation. Do words like “chose”, “adoption”,
“alteration”, “expansion”, “original reading” and the like really fit the
case?
BenyamimTsedaka(Wed-VI-mor)
The
A.- B. Institute of Samaritan Studies, Holon, Israel
Evidence of the
Samaritan Diaspora and its Relations to Mount Gerizim and the Israelite
Samaritans in the Land of Israel during the Hellenistic, Byzantine and
Islamic periods
The speaker
will dedicate his lecture to the Samaritan Diaspora and its link to Mount
Gerizim and the Israelite Samaritans in the Holy land during the
Hellenistic, Byzantine and Islamic Periods. The speaker will discuss
points as, what was the size of the Samaritan diaspora, how it was
established, what are the evidences to its existence, and what happened to
all those Israelite Samaritan communities in many places outside the land
of Israel?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Society of Biblical Literature
2011
Annual Meeting- San Francisco
Meeting Begins:
11/19/2011
Meeting Ends:
11/22/2011
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. Papers: The 2011 Aramaic Studies section will have an open
call for papers in any area relating to the various aspects of Aramaic
language, literature, and context. Previous paper topics have included
aspects of the Targumim, Qumran Aramaic, Peshitta, Samaritan papyri, and
Elephantine Aramaic.
Social History of Formative Christianity and Judaism
Description: This section is dedicated to a study of formative
Christianity and formative Judaism utilizing a broad methodological
perspective that places an emphasis on interpreting the data within
specific social, cultural, and linguistic contexts. We function as a
clearinghouse for developments in social historical methodology and
perspectives for our period. (previously Social History of Early
Christianity)
Papers: This section welcomes all proposals engaging
topics and methodologies in the social/cultural history of formative
Christianity and Judaism. This year we seek proposals that focus on texts
as material objects: At some point in the development of sacred texts,
readers became aware of them as material entities. How did this awareness
affect their adornment (calligraphy, illumination, ornamented covers)? How
did this development influence ritual practices, and how did the ritual
production of texts affect the reading habits of ancient scriptural
traditions? How does thinking about the materiality of ancient texts (and
attendant technologies) provide insight into the development of ritual
practices and other embodied ideas of the sacred? This is a three way
co-sponsored session with RWLA and Art and Religion in Antiquity; please
submit paper proposals only once to any of the sponsoring units. Our
section is also planning invited sessions on (1) Samaritans (2) sight and
sound in early Jewish and Christian practice; and (3) a panel related to
Seth Schwartz's Were the Jews a Mediterranean Society?
On Sherd and Papyrus: Aramaic and Hebrew Inscriptions from the
Second Temple, Mishnaic, and Talmudic Periods by Michael Sokoloff
The introductory chapter (pp. 11-36) deals with the use of the
paleo-Hebrew script, the adoption of the Aramaic script by the
Jews, and the Samaritan alphabet. The author deduces from the
Aramaic dedicatory inscriptions, written in the Hebrew square
script found in the Samaritan Temple on Mt. Gerizim and dating
from the second century C.E., that the Samaritans also employed
the Aramaic script alongside the paleo-Hebrew script just as the
Jews did (e.g., on coins). The Samaritans, however, continued to
use the paleo-Hebrew script in later periods for religious
purposes just as Jewish sectarians did earlier in the Second
Temple period.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go2081/is_n1_v118/ai_n28706806/
Studies in
Samaritan Scribal Practices and Manuscript History: IV. An Index of
Scribes, Witnesses, Owners and Others Mentioned in Samaritan Manuscripts,
With a key to the Principal Families Therein. By A.D. Crown
"The Confort of
Kin: Samaritan community, kinship, and marriage" Verfasserin Mag.
Monika Schreiber-Humer; Angestrebter akademischer Grad, Doktorin de
Philosphie (Dr. phil) 2009
Members of the Ancient Samaritan community pray during a pilgrimage
marking the end of the holy day of Shavuot. The pilgrimage took place at
the religion's holiest site on Mount Gerizim, near the West Bank town of
Nablus
Byeways in Palestine by James Finn,
London: & CO., 21 BERNERS MDCCCLXVIII. JAMES NISBET STREET.
Appletons’
Journal of Literature, Science and Art. Volume Third, From Number
Forty to Number Sixty-Five Inclusive, January 1, To June 25, 1870 New
York: Appleton and Company 90, 92 & 94 Grand Street, 1870 (p. 181 ) Discovery of
a New Manuscript of the Pentateuch.
The Romance of Precious
BiblesBy Rev. Sidney N. Sedgwick, M. A. S. Bagster & Sons,
Ltd., 15 Paternoster Row, London (published on or before 1908, found in
the end of the book Judith by Herbert Pentin, 1908, same publisher)
The Romance of Precious
Bibles
Author of " Petronilla," " Story of
the Apocrypha," "A Daughter of
the Druids," "Tales of British Christianity," &c. &c. Contents.—I. For Love of
a Samaritan, the Story of the
Samaritan Pentateuch. II. The Devotion
of Thecla, the Story of the Codex Alexandrinus. III. Out of the
Pirates' Power, the Story of the Lindisfarne Manuscript. IV. The
Battler, the Story of the Cathach of St. Columba. V. The Baby of the
Nuns, the Tale of Caedmon the Cowherd. VI. The Black Prince's Booty,
the Story of the Codex Ezrae. VII. The Lollard's Humour, a Tale of
WickhnVs Bible. VIII. One Day in May, the Story of Anne Boleyn's
Testament. Illustrations.—The
Ruthwell Cross.—The Samaritan Roll.—The
Codex Alexandrinus.—The Lindisfarne Gospels. —The Cathach of the Irish
Psalter.
"Mr. Sedgwick
takes us from the Samaritan Pentateuch
to Tyndale's translation. There is a refreshing breadth about his
views of things. . . . The idea is a good one, and has been carried
out with no little literary skill and in a spirit of comprehensive
sympathy."— The Spectator.
"Bibles are
interesting because the Bible is. The Rev.
Sidney N. Sedgwick, M.A., has
told 'The Romance of Precious Bibles.' He has
told it in a very romantic fashion, bringing the precious
Bibles into touch with the private life of men and women and little
children, and giving us an interest in them as well as in the Bibles.
It it a good book for Sunday School or
family reading. Mr.
Sedgwick begins with the Story of the
Samaritan Pentateuch, and ends with the
Story of Anne Boleyn's Testament."—Expository Times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Advertisment
The following
books were offered for sale in London (TSU Editor)
The Bookseller,
Nov. 4, 1893, p. 1140 and also in issue Dec. 15, 1893, p. 1221
T. Carver, 6, High
St., Hereford: Samaritan Pentateuch
The Bookseller,
May 1, 1871, p. 438, Charles Edmonds,
Bull St., Birmingham
Samaritan
Pentateuch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As recommended
by one of our Subscribers, I shall attempt to add a full Bibliograqphy of
Articles placed in our Archives section of the Samaritan Update
(Photos:
wants
to understand why we do things a certain way and believe what we
believe. In my desire to search for God and for what He wanted
from me, I knew the closest thing to the pure truth would be
looking back at the origins of the Bible. I began to study the
Jewish origins of the Christian faith. While studying the
Pentateuch ( Torah ) I began to wonder what it meant to truly
fear God. I began to pray for God to teach my heart what it
meant to fear Him. I began to question the religion I so
passionately participated in. I began to ask why Christians
don't keep the feasts, why Christians don't keep the Sabbath on
the seventh day of the week, and where in Torah did it prescribe
that a righteous man had to die for the wickedness of others.
Obviously, it didn't. I came to the conclusion that what God
wanted was for His people to obey Him, to obey His Torah. So I
and my wife and kids removed the New Testament from our
collection of "sacred" books and began to keep Shabbats and the
cleanness laws to the best of our understanding.
At that point
I was only following the Tanak (Old Testament). I was never
interested in the Talmud or Rabbinical writings. So for a few
years we were pursuing Karaite Judaism. They believe that only
the Old Testament is "sacred". As I studied the Old Testament I
began to have questions about the Prophets and specifically
about King David and Solomon and Jerusalem. I began to have
questions about the Priest Eli and his two sons and the prophet
Samuel. What kept playing over and over in my mind was "do not
add to or take away from Torah." Well, the Jewish Tanak has
added the Prophets and the Writings to the Torah. It adds
Jerusalem, and a messiah of the lineage of David. Well, that
does not fit with Torah. I was wondering if there were any
people on the planet that just kept Torah. Then some friends of
mine heard about the Samaritans from the Internet and asked if I
had ever heard about them. I said, "Do you mean like the Good
Samaritan from the New Testament?" They said, "Yes. And they
still exist and they say only Torah is sacred." My friends were
not interested in pursing any more information but I was and I
began to do as much research as I could about you Israelites.
Unfortunately, most of what you'll find on the Internet is
either written by Christians or Jews or academics, and they
usually focus on negatives or don't have accurate facts. But I
did find some information written by Samaritans themselves
including information from Benny Tsedaka and his e-mail address.
I decided I needed to hear what the Samaritans say about
themselves so I contacted him and asked many questions. I was
delighted to hear his sincere love for Torah and willingness to
answer our questions. Then a year and a half ago Benny was so
kind to meet us in Texas and spent five wonderful days answering
questions and sharing with my wife and kids and I about the
Samaritans. So for two years now we have been learning about the
traditions kept by the Samaritans and have been trying to keep
Torah as best we can in Texas. Then I decided I needed to come
and see you all and the Mountain for myself. I came to Israel as
an observer and visitor and student. You had questions about me
and I had many questions about you. I wondered if the Samaritans
were sincerely keeping Torah or just following rituals passed on
from generation to generation. As you can see most people in
this world just do what they have been given to do without
asking if they are on the right path. I wondered if you had
added to Torah or taken away from Torah. I just did not know
what to expect. So I came to see for myself. I am thrilled to
say that I found a sincere people that obviously love Torah and
keep Torah to the best of their ability. I found a people that
love God and fear God, love their families, and love their
community. One Samaritan was explaining to me that the Israelite
Samaritans are a people of peace. They do not want to destroy
other people and they respect others because they fear God. They
are not like animals. They are men created in the image of God.
That statement was very important for me to hear because I
wanted to know specifically if the Samaritans are a people that
fear God. I want to be around people who have the fear of God. I
want my children to grow up to love God and fear God. All of my
experiences were so wonderful and so new that it is hard to say
one was more incredible than the other but a few do stick out. I
had the great honor of meeting both the Samaritan High Priest
and the Vice High Priest on different days. This world does not
understand, like you do, that the High Priest is the highest
authority of mankind granted by God. I would rather meet him
than the President of the United States, or the Pope in Rome, or
any movie star. They were both so kind to me and welcomed me
into their homes. I pray that the whole country of Israel would
acknowledge their authority some day. Wouldn't that be
incredible? Visiting many of your homes was wonderful. I was
overwhelmed with how many of you said to me, "welcome, welcome."
I enjoyed sitting in your homes, sharing tea and bread and
listening to your stories. Much of the time I could understand
only a word here and there but I could see your passion and
kindness. I felt welcome. Sitting in many of your homes reminded
me of when I would sit in my relatives' homes as a small child
listening to the adults. It felt very comfortable. I also loved
to observe when two of you would debate. The boldness that you
would speak to each other with and yet remain friends was
refreshing to see. Voices could be raised, people could express
their opinions and even get mad, but it was very healthy and
honest and good. In the U.S. people are often too polite. They
smile and listen but don't express their true feelings. They are
too careful to not hurt feelings and it just is not honest. I
would much rather have an honest relationship where people can
express differences and not worry about it. One of my very
favorite things was to hear the Torah read out loud in the
Ancient Hebrew. I especially enjoyed the Memorial Day of "the
Assembly on Mount Sinai" on Wednesday when the whole Torah was
read out loud. I happily sat for many hours listening. One
embarrassing event that you may have heard about happened on
that evening. I was given a most delicious meal of potatoes,
onions, and lamb that had been roasted by the family of Yoseph
Alteph. When asked what I had eaten I explained that I had had
the most wonderful potatoes, onion, and CHICKEN I had ever
tasted. Well, it was lamb. They must of thought I was crazy. You
see, I have only had lamb maybe three times in my entire life. I
have chicken many times a week so without thinking I just
assumed it was chicken. So, it was the best lamb I had ever
tasted and all I can do is laugh about it. Finally, I was there
as an observer but I was also there as a worshiper. How could I
not be? I believe Torah with all my heart. I was at the Mountain
of Blessing with God's people. I was a visitor but my desire was
also to worship and obey the Almighty with all of my heart for I
do fear God. So as the week went on I did try to worship more. I
could not understand the ancient Hebrew but I loved hearing it.
It was beautiful music to my heart. I could only pray in English
but I was praying to the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the
Samaritan Israelites. When you would bow down I bowed down also.
When you would stand I would stand also. If any of my actions
were offensive to any of the Samaritan Israelites I am deeply
sorry. You must realize that I and my family are like children
just learning about you now. We have not had parents and
grandparents to pass on the traditions, songs, prayers, or
language. Benny is like a father to us now teaching us and I ask
that you will all be patient with us and kindly point out to us
anything we may need to know. The next step for us: We know that
we are commanded to make the pilgrimage to the Mountain three
times a year but we do not have the money or time off from work
that would allow that. So our goal is to someday live in Israel
where we can keep Torah as completely as possible. We need the
Israeli citizenship to be allowed to work. But, as it stands
right now, the Jewish Government says we must become Jews to
become Israeli Citizens and they will not allow a convert to the
Samaritan Israelites to be acceptable for citizenship. Well,
obviously, that is unacceptable. Your people have never left the
land. You are Israelites in every way. The Jews are your
brothers. You should have every right that they do and more when
you consider that you have the system of Levitical Priesthood
still functioning. This may be a battle that will have to go to
your Supreme Court but it is important for the Israeli
government to acknowledge the Samaritans' rights. So our prayer
is for God to make the way and we will be patient and do this in
the right way. I hope that the next time I can come and visit
you I will be able to bring my whole family. That of course is
very expensive so maybe we will be coming to stay. I pray that
God would bless your people and keep you safe in the middle of
this world of turmoil. We will be praying for prosperity and
health and joy for you and your families. And we will be praying
for the ability to join you someday.
And
we will finish this report with the sports activity in Holon and
on Mount Gerizim that doubles when summer comes. In Holon a new
summer league began successfully with six teams from all of the
Samaritan young people in Holon. Each of the teams is called by
one of the stones that was on the breastplate of Aaron the High
Priest as mentioned in Torah. At the same time Mount Gerizim's
youth organized a league of basketball with six teams as well
that hold names of the most prominent teams of the NBA, National
Basketball Association. The enthusiasm is very high. In Holon
it is escorted by a special leaflet that reports the results,
scores, the games. On Mount Gerizim they do so by a special
website as a part of Facebook, in which they express their
enthusiasm in Arabic and Hebrew. It is very helpful to unite
the Samaritan young people around one subject and prevent them
from being involved in other unhealthy subjects which are
against the general Samaritan spirit. The Samaritan girls are
very involved with the teams and they are coming in great
numbers to the games to watch and admire the most successful
players. A.B. the Samaritan News is not responsible for other
results of this activity, other than reporting the scores of
this game and giving the report.
