“Mount Gerizim,
All the Days of Our Lives”
March/ April
2014
Vol. XIII - No 4
In This Issue ·
Passover 2014 ·
Samaritan Medal ·
The Keepers ·
2014 Passover Links ·
Article Comments ·
You Tube Videos ·
In the News ·
From the Editor ·
Samaritan Museum ·
Upcoming Lectures ·
Recent Lectures ·
New Publications ·
Archives News Source ·
Gerizim Forest ·
Biblio ·
Stereoview
Future Events
First day of the First Month 3652 - Sunday Evening., March 30, 2014
Passover Sacrifice - Sunday, April 13, 2014
Festival of Passover. First Day of Matzos - Monday, April 14, 2014
Festival of Unleavened Bread - first Pilgrimage. – Sun. April 20,
2014
The Seven days of
Shavuoth (Feast of Weeks) June 2-8, 2014
Tuesday, June 3,
2012, Evening, Memorial day of Sinai Assembly
Festival of Weeks: Second Pilgrimage - Sunday, June 8, 2014
~~~~~~~~~~~
Passover 2014
On
Sunday, April 13, 2014, the Samaritans performed their duty to keep the
memorial Passover sacrifice as instructed, as their forefathers have done
before them.
Besides
the Samaritans, there were at least 1,000 visitors to Mount Gerizim for the
Event. Below you will find the News of the Event.
~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. James D. Purvis, retired Boston University Professor of Religion and
long-time volunteer with the Friends of the Bedford Library, recently received
a medal and citation from the Samaritan
Medal Foundation for his scholarly research on this sect. Although he
wasn’t able to go to Washington in person to receive the medal, Dr. Purvis’
grandson Christopher Purvis accepted it for him in November 2013. Continue reading
James Purvis is the author of The Samaritan Pentateuch and the
Origin of the Samaritan Sect, Series: Harvard
Semitic Monographs 2, Harvard University, 1968, and many other works.
~~~~~~~~
When the Keepers – the Israelite Samaritans –
think about their special identity among all societies of the world, and how
this identity comes to full expression in their unique customs, especially when
they offer once a year, the Passover Sacrifice on Mount Gerizim; they ask
themselves, who are we? What are we?
Let us first try to confirm what we are not.
We are not Jews, called by this Assyrian nickname
due to the origin in Judea. We are not Samaritans, called by this Assyrian nickname,
due to the fact that our residence has been in Samaria. Judea and Samaria are
two different regions of the Land of Israel and also were the two Israelite
Kingdoms of the ancient world [Sources: Assyrian Annals - "Yaudi" -
"Samarini"]. The Jews have adopted their foreign nickname for
themselves.
We the Keepers – "the Sons of Israel, Keepers of the Truth of the
Torah", never adopted the nickname – Samaritans – as our fathers were called
in ancient times, despite the fact that we use it only for reference for the
outside world of our people to let them distinguish between us from others.
We are not Palestinians, whereas the origin of
most of them are from Jews and Samaritans who converted by force to other
monotheistic religions throughout generations. It is not enough that the fact
was proven by genetic research, DNA and by blood that are common to
Palestinians, Jews and Samaritans, but also by the fact that there are large
Arab families today in the Middle East whose names still keep within the
Samaritan and Jewish Hebrew forms. Even the Danfi family who are the keepers of
the Muslim holy sites at Jerusalem Temple mount is of Samaritan origin.
We are not Christians and we are not Muslims, we
are not Druze and we are not Adighe, nor Bahaians, nor Shia Islam, nor Suna
Islam and not Alawites.
So, who are we?
We are sons of the ancient Israelite people. We
and our fathers have never left this land and nor wandered off this land, by
our own will, but only by force were we taken to other lands. In the last 127
generations, since Joshua Bin Nun entered the Holy Land, we, the descendants of
the tribes of Levi and Joseph [till 1967 we had also descendants of the tribe
of Benyamim] have adhered to the Almighty of Israel, His Prophet Moses, our
Moses Torah and the Chosen Place of the Almighty – Mount Gerizim, as it clearly
written in our Book of Deuteronomy at the end of chapter 11 and the start of
chapter 12, as in the same of some of the Jewish versions of the Torah in those
chapters [Sources: Some manuscripts of LXX and Dead Sea Scrolls].
By this heritage we have come to our full individual
identity – "The Sons of Israel, Keepers of the Truth of the Torah", of
the true tradition of the People of Israel, being that we are the accurate
followers of the Ancient Israelite People. This long name was shortened by us
to "The Keepers" [Shamerem]. In singular "Keeper" =
Shameri. In this way our identities were written in the sources of our fathers
[Sources: Israelite Samaritan Chronicles].
What are we?
So far who are we? Now, what are we?
We are a tiny community, descendants of the
People of Israel, having endured all the confrontations and frictions that are characteristic
in the Middle East. We have our own script – Ancient Hebrew, our own language –
an ancient pronunciation of the Hebrew and our special historical tradition of thousands
of years of our existence in the Land of Israel. These three signs make us
special among other nations of the world.
The Keepers are small in numbers, yet are an
advocate for peace. We are a people that stand in the middle of the bridge. We
are the bridge. The bridge of peace, a lifestyle for peacefully living together
with all the political entities of the Middle East.
Therefore, since we are a model of living
together with any entity and welcome visitors who come to visit our
neighborhoods. We are favorably welcomed in the offices of Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, President of the Palestinian Authority in
Ramalla, King Abdulla El Hussein the 2nd in Amman, the British Parliament and
the Foreign Office in London, the White House and the State Department in
Washington D.C. and in the European Commission offices in Brussels.
Rise your heads when you visit during the
Samaritan Passover Sacrifice Ceremony and see the crowd that came from all over
the world to watch the sacrifice, and by this fulfilling the prophecies concerning
peace in the top of the mountain of all nations, not as the prophecies of
Isaiah and Micha said, will be in Jerusalem [Sources: Isaiah,2:1-2, Micha,
4:1-2], but at the present it materializes on the top of the Chosen Place of
the Almighty – Mount Gerizim.
During the Samaritan Passover Sacrifice Ceremony
you can see the Mayor of Nablus, the Palestinian Military Officers and
Palestinian top Officers sitting together with Israeli top officers of the
Israel Army in an environment of peace – This is the humble contribution of the
ancient Israelite Keepers to bring peace that is desired for the region, the
first time since our forefather Abraham.
With our holy Torah, we have a unique history
with both ancient and modern literature, special customs, ancient poetry and
music, a rich social and sports life, a huge archaeological site on the top of
Mount Gerizim that testifies to our special culture, in the land of Israel, one
of the most ancient. All of these proofs testifies to our interesting story
that has attracted hundreds of thousands of peoples to our special place
throughout the year, every year.
Benyamim
Tsedaka
~~~~~~
2014 Passover News/Photo Links
Ori Orhof
Wonderful Photos of the 2014 Passover and Pilgrimage, plus more
https://www.flickr.com/photos/oriorhof/sets/
Samaritans Hold Mountain Top Prayer. NTD.TV
http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/world/asia-pacific/20140421/130758-samaritans-hold-mountain-top-prayer.html Video included
Foreign Dispatch: Samaritans Celebrate
Passover [VIDEO]
http://radio.foxnews.com/2014/04/17/foreign-dispatch-samaritans-celebrate-passover-video/
A Passover ceremony at Mount Gerizim
By Haaretz 10:28 22.04.14
http://www.haaretz.com/1.586626
Haaretz: Picture of the Day
http://www.haaretz.co.il/news/picoftheday/1.2301667
http://megafon-news.co.il/asys/archives/210688
בקרוב
אצלנו: השומרונים
הקריבו אתמול קרבן (I know it is all spelled backwards)
http://www.kipa.co.il/tarbut/166/56442.html
Postcard from... Mount Gerizim
By Inna Lazareva 23 April
2014
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/postcard-from-mount-gerizim-9275632.html
Israeli
families gather for ritual Passover meal
By Ian Deitch, Associated Press | April 14, 2014 |
Israel
readies for Passover, marking Egypt exodus
By Ian Deitch AP
Taking Passover back to its roots
By Judy Lash
San Diego Jewish World
http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2014/03/30/taking-passover-back-roots/
Das Lamm als Opfer
By Von Ulrike Schleicher
http://www.katholisch.de/de/katholisch/themen/glaube_2/140416_laemmer_opfer_samaritaner.php
Lammopfer auf dem Berg
By Ulrike Schleicher
http://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/article/view/id/18844
Korban Pesach of the Shomronim (Samaritans)
http://lifeinisrael.blogspot.com/2014/04/korban-pesach-of-shomronim-samaritans.html
In
West Bank, good Samaritans seek foreign brides
By , Contributor /
April 30, 2014
Samaritan
ritual slaughter keeps tradition alive
Deutsche
Welle
http://www.dw.de/samaritan-ritual-slaughter-keeps-tradition-alive/a-17565087
Binyamin Tsedaka makes comment of article:
Samaritan ritual slaughter keeps tradition alive
by Kate
Shuttleworth, Deutche World - April 14, 2014
Passover on Mount Geizim - 2014
Every year, the Samaritans in the West Bank
celebrate Passover by slaughtering sheep. It's another way to keep traditions
alive for a people that's facing genetic problems in an ever-dwindling
population.
A brilliant golden sunset cast a spotlight on
Mount Gerizim in the southern valley of Nablus in the West Bank on Sunday
night. The most sacred site to the world's remaining 800 Samaritans, it's a
beautiful, yet unlikely place for a ritual slaughter.
As the sun slipped behind the mountain, 50 men
in white boiler-style suits stood over a man-made ditch framed by rocks. They
each had a sheep between their legs.
These designated butchers had blades at the
ready. The sheep were chased, herded and taunted all afternoon by young boys
from the Samaritan community; kicked into a small holding space inside a large
stadium until they were bought into the center of the stadium.
Alongside the 800 Samaritans from the village of
Kiryat Luza near Tel Aviv were 1,200 curious tourists, Palestinian and Jewish
spectators and media. The heavily guarded stadium on top of the mountain was
packed. Another 1,000 onlookers watched from the outside.
Sacrifice and vegetarianism
Yafit, 23, was dressed in a red dressing
gown. "I have been taking part in the sacrifice since I was born. Everyone
takes part unless they are too sick, like in hospital," Yafit said.
When asked what the meat cooked from sacrificed
sheep tastes like, Yafit said it was unlike any other meat. "The meat is
holy meat. I eat meat everyday, but this tastes different - it's how it
feels," she said.
Samaritan priest Yousef Kohen, 69, told DW
he was a vegetarian and didn't like seeing the blood or eating the meat. He
gestured to his mouth and said he just touched the meat to his mouth, as it's
mandatory to take part in the sacrifice.
"It's a big day for us, because we're
coming to sacrifice 50 sheep," he said. "I don't like that people
take pictures of killed sheep, but God gave them to us to kill."
Wood smoke and ash filled the air. The chanting
and sung prayer in the ancient Aramaic language stopped abruptly as cheers and
clapping started.
Not long for this world: a sheep shortly before
the slaughter
The butchers simultaneously cut the throats of
the sheep. Blood spilt into a ditch and over the stonework of the arena. The
blood was then dabbed on each of the men's foreheads as they stopped to hug one
another and their families.
The blood dots looked similar to a bindi - the
small circle placed by Hindus or other south Asian religions to symbolize the
third eye. But for the Samaritans, it represents God's "chosen
people."
Strict religious traditions
Lutfi Altif, 42, a Samaritan architect who works
in both Israel and the Palestinian territories, said he helped build houses for
Samaritans that adhered to their strict rules. He described the community as
tight-knit and restricted in where they could live.
"We don't eat anything outside of the home
and we have to manage the Shabbat in a special way," Altef said. "I
can't live in a building that has a radio on during Shabbat. Because of that we
have to live inside an enclosed community."
Sacred mountain
The Samaritans believe Mount Gerizim, and not
Jerusalem, was the holy place chosen by God. They have their own version of the
Torah and holy days similar to Jewish ones.
"We are not Jewish, we never want to be
Jewish, we are Israel-people and there is a difference between Jewish and
Israel," Yousef Kohen, the Samaritan priest, said.
Members of the community observe laws according
to the Torah regarding diet, Shabbat and circumcision. Women must also live
separately from their husbands and children during menstruation and isolate
themselves for 40 days after giving birth to a boy and 80 days after a girl.
Yousef Kohen doesn't eat the meat, but still
participates in the ritual.
Around the mid-20th century, about 7 percent of
Samaritans suffered some genetic defect. Genetic testing before marriage has
cut that rate in half. Because of a surplus of men in the community, Samaritans
have had to "outsource," Yousef Kohen told DW.
"My son took a wife from Ukraine,"
Kohen said. "We have to do that, because 30 people in our community have
disabilities. We found a way to stop it. Since we have one girl to every three
boys, we import women from Ukraine. They are lovely and they are not religious,
so it's easy to make them Samaritans."
[Binyamin
Tsedaka: A.B.
Response: This is an example of disinformation that a person uses lame excuses
to justify the fact that the gates of the community are open to marriages from
outside the community. In fact the number of disability cases in the community
presently is less than 15, which is normal for any society, despite the fact
that 75% of the marriages are within the community that is a genetic miracle.
In fact, in the last two decades the number of births in the Samaritan
Community of females and males is equal. Most of marriages between Samaritan
boys and Non-Samaritan girls are successful. The Samaritan Community is blessed
with such marriages. Fact].
When asked if they become good Samaritans, he
replied: "Very good. They keep the religion of Samaritans more than
Samaritans themselves."
Blood on the landscape
In the stadium, the blood of the sacrificed
sheep was on the foreheads, hands and clothes of the Samaritans. The audience
looked on as the dead sheep were gutted and skewered on long spits. Then they
were placed into fire pits. The herb covered meat was served at midnight.
Kate Shuttleworth
Passover Celebration: West Bank Samaritans mark Jewish holiday Jewish News One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTSiPX66e-s Ori
Orhof
In the News
Author - hand "Kitab Alh'olf" - differences between Samaritans
and Jews
Haseeb Shehadeh April 21, 2014. The
article is in Hebrew
May 14, 2014, 5:00 PM
EET Jerusalem, Israel, Live Auction
Lot 411: Ephraim Moshe
Lilien (1874-1925)
From the Editor
Here is a wonderful article that you should read if you have not as of
yet “Israelites,
Samaritans, Temples, Jews.” by Publication Name: in: József
Zsengellér (ed.), Samaria,
Samarians, Samaritans. Studies on Bible, History and Linguistics, Berlin, W. de Gruyter, 2013, p. 121-172. If you
like this, you should purchase the book, there are more good articles there!!!!
In
Nodet’s article he focuses on 4 points: ‘1. The Gerizim temple and its
significance in the Persian period. 2. Jews and Samaritans in Hellenistic
times. 3. The Jerusalem temple and the meaning of King Solomon’s works. 4. The
Pentateuch was common to all; what does it say about Shechem?’
Nodet,
also talks about the Samaritans that went to ask permission to help rebuild the
Jerusalem temple. These were Jews that lived in Samaria, or to be accurate,
Samarian Jews. (See page 166.) The Jerusalem temple did not accept some ‘local
Israelites (from Judea or Samaria.’ These people were not Samaritans!
Recently,
I obtained the booklet, The Genealogies of the Samaritan Priests by Priest Taka Tawfiek Samri (C.E. 1965) (in the
color photo to the left, this was not shown in the booklet in color, but comes
from my photo collection). Now we have 2 English translated lists of the
Samaritan Priests which would include Moses Gaster’s “The Chain of Samaritan High Priests,”
from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society, April, 1909.
One of Hasseb Shehadeh’s articles was just recently was published in the
Israeli paper Hagada on April 21, 2014.
The article is in Hebrew, but is basically called Author - hand "Kitaab
Al-khulf" - differences between Samaritans and Jews. It is on the Manuscript of 'Kitaab Al-khulf'
by Hadr (Finhas) b. Ishaq al-Hiftawi. Exposer of Samaritan information and
knowledge to the Jewish people is always an ethnocentric challenge.
Samaritan
Manuscript Culture and the Oral Transmission of the Samaritan Torah
Prof. Stefan Schorch
(Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg)
Where: University of
Cambridge
When: May 8, 2014 5-6
pm
The speaker will examine the relationship
between the written transmission of the Samaritan Pentateuch in its
manuscripts, dating from the 11th century onwards, and its oral transmission in
liturgical reading. The lecture will include a description of the phonology of
the Samaritan Hebrew pronunciation and a discussion of its historical
background. All are welcome. The event will be followed by a reception.
Vienna, Austria Meeting Begins: 7/6/2014 - Meeting
Ends: 7/10/2014 BIBLICAL CHARACTERS IN THE THREE
TRADITIONS (JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM)
John Tracy Greene Description: This
seminar approaches biblical literature through its most famous and pivotal
characters, for it is around them that the subsequent biblical story is
organized and arranged. Moreover, these characters have come to enjoy a life
and fame that extends well beyond the basic Old Testament, Miqra, and New
Testament, and even into the Qur’an and Islamic oral and written texts. As was
demonstrated at the recent Tartu seminar, Samaritan texts and traditions
(unfamiliar to many) have a contribution to make to the seminar as well. Our
work seeks, among other goals, to facilitate a meaningful and informed dialogue
between Jews, Christians, Muslims and Samaritans by providing both an open
forum at annual conferences, and by providing through our publications a
written reference library to consult. A further goal is to encourage and
provide a forum in which new scholarly talent in biblical and related studies
may be presented.
San Diego, CA Meeting Begins: 11/22/2014- Meeting
Ends: 11/25/2014
University of
Bergen: Institute for Foreign Languages- Arabic Language and Literature
Workshop: Rational Theology and Greek
Philosophy in Samaritan Bible Exegesis March 25-28, 2014
Also
see http://www.uib.no/sites/w3.uib.no/files/attachments/samaritan_bible_exegesis.pdf
US Embassy Presents American Classics to BIU Library System
The Wurzweiler Central Library has also recently displayed a photo exhibit on the Samaritans and
illustrations from Solomon's Song of Songs. See page 4 of the BIU News Bytes
from Bar-Ilan University http://afbiu.org/document.doc?id=77
The Editor is Still Looking
for the following Copies:
A
critical edition of the text of the Samaritan Yom Ha-kippur liturgy, with
translation thereof and comparison with the corresponding Jewish liturgies by John Macdonald his Thesis (doctoral) University of Leeds 1958
A Critical Investigation
and Translation of the Special Liturgies of the Samaritans for Their Passover
and Their Feast of Unleavened Bread by Isaac
Lerner, University
of Leeds 1956
New Publications
~~~~~~~~~~
August
2, 1926 Jerusalem
(Jul. 31) (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
A denial that a split exists in the Samaritan sect there was made
by the High Priest of the Samaritans in a letter published in the “Ha’aretz,”
Hebrew daily.
The “Al Jedid,” Palestine Arab newspaper published in Caire, had
printed a report that there was a dispute between the sect and its priests. The
Arab paper stated that a family had complained to the District Officer of an
alleged sale of the Scrolls of the Law.
It was proved that the Scrolls, handed down to the Samaritans for
innumerable generations, are intact in the old synagogue the High Priest
declared.
http://www.jta.org/1926/08/02/archive/samaritans-preserve-old-holy-scrolls
Palestine
Population 1,035,154: Figures of Census Taken This Week: Increase of 277,972
Since 1922: November 21, 1931 Jerusalem
(Nov. 19)
An increase of 35 per cent. in the population of Palestine as
compared with the figures of the census taken in October 1922 is revealed in
the figures of the new Palestine census taken this week, it is announced here
to-day. According to the new census, there are now 1,035,154 souls in the
country, as compared with 757,182 at the time of the 1922 census. The
population of the Jewish town of Tel Aviv is 46,062. The figures giving the
proportion of Jews, Moslems, Christians, etc. are not yet available.
The census taken by the Palestine Government in October 1922
showed that the total population of 757,182 in the country at that time
included 590,890 Mohammedans, 83,794 Jews, and 73,024 Christians. There were
also 7,028 Druses and 163 Samaritans, as well as several other small groups.
In Jerusalem, with a total population of 62,578, there were 33,971
Jews, 14,699 Christians, and 13,413 Mohammedans. No separate figures were given
in the 1922 census report for Tel Aviv, which was lumped together with Jaffa,
whose total population of 47,709 was made up of 20,699 Mohammedans, 20,152
Jews, and 6,850 Christians. The most notable growth in the Jewish population,
it was pointed out, however, at that time, was in Jaffa, where the number of
Jews had more than doubled in recent years, owing to the phenomenal growth of
Tel Aviv.
December
5, 1932 Jerusalem
(Dec. 3)
Itzchak Ben Amram, High Priest of the Samaritans, known as the
Kohen Gadol, died in Nablus at the age of seventy yesterday.
Funeral services were held this afternoon and were attended by Ben
Zvi and Joseph Lurie, representing the Palestine Jewish National Council and
the Jewish Agency Executive.
Ben Amram was a picturesque Palestine figure and leader of the
historic sect, known as Bene Yisrael, living in the city of Nablus which they
still call Schechem.
April
30, 1933 Jerusalem (Apr. 28)
Twenty-one Arabs have given Hebrew as their native language,
according to the official Palestine census, covering the year 1931, just
published here in two volumes comprising 950 pages of statistical data.
However, against these 21 Hebrew-speaking Arabs, 2,216 Jews in
Palestine gave Arabic as their mother tongue; while 4,694 Jews gave Yiddish,
5,305 English and 2,492 German as their native languages.
The population of Palestine in 1931 was 1,035,821 compared with
the 757,182 of the year 1922. Of the present population, there are 759,712
Moslems, 174,610 Jews, 91,398 Christians, 182 Samaritans and the rest are
Druses.
These figures reveal that the Jewish population of Palestine has
increased 108 percent since the last census. In the same period the all-Jewish
city of Tel-Aviv has increased 203 percent in population, the population of
Haifa 104 percent and that of Jerusalem 45 percent.
The average annual increase per 10,000 of population is given as
850 for Jews, 354 for Moslems and 251 for Christians. http://www.jta.org/1933/04/30/archive/21-arabs-speak-hebrew-2216-jews-arabic
Only 92 Men Left in Samaritan Community
October
22, 1934 Nablus (Oct. 10)
The death of a Samaritan Jew, killed by a truck while walking on a
highway, leaves the ancient Samaritan Jewish community with only ninety-two
adult males.
Samaritan Jews, who live on Mount Gerizim, claim that none of
their members left Palestine when the Jews were exiled by the Romans. The
Samaritan Jewish community is rapidly dying out.
April
11, 1935
An investigation of the ancient staircase, believed to date from
Roman times, which was uncovered at the foot of Mount Gerizim during the recent
Nablus floods, has been made by I. Ben-Zvi and Dr. Meisler, of the Jewish
Palestine Exploration Society. They visited Wadi Tufach, where two stone
tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments had been found.
The place where these tablets were discovered is now known as
Beit-Al-Ma, and it is presumed that there was a Samaritan community and a
synagogue at this site during the Roman and Byzantine periods.
Remains of buildings and columns as well as scattered stones,
which were found, date back to King Herod’s time. The synagogue is known in
Samaritan history. It was built by a leading Samaritan of the time, Ibn Fusha.
March
30, 1936
The marriage problem is causing great concern to the ancient and
fast-dwindling Samaritan community in Nablus, whose members do not marry
outside their own community. They now number 200 souls in all.
There are twenty-five men seeking wives now and their choice is
restricted to the fifteen unwed women. Some of the women are more than thirty
years old, which is an advanced age for marriage in the East.
The brides shortage has prompted parents to set high requirements
for suitors, including a dowry of $48. Parents whose daughters work and
contribute to the family’s support are demanding much higher prices.
In protest against the high cost of marrying, some of the eligible
men who are brothers or cousins of marriageable women are exercising their
ancient prerogative of insisting that the younger girl not marry until they
have been wed. This has brought the marriage market to a stalemate.
Several conferences have been held by the elders of the community,
but no solution has been reached.
http://www.jta.org/1936/03/30/archive/samaritan-brides-at-premium
December
11, 1936
The fast-dwindling Samaritan community here had a rare occasion to
celebrate recently — a wedding.
The group of 200 persons has quite a marriage problem. The
shortage of women leaves a score of men unmarried since no marriage is
permitted outside the group.
The wedding was the first in years and followed intense
competition for the dusky lady’s hand.
http://www.jta.org/1936/12/11/archive/samaritans-celebrate-first-wedding-in-years
July
5, 1939 JERUSALEM
(Jul. 4)
January
22, 1943 Jerusalem (Jan. 21)
The High Priest of the Samaritan order, Jacob Matzliach, died in
Nablus today at the age of 70. He had been the spiritual ruler of the Samaritan
community for the past ten years.
There are about 240 Samaritans in Palestine, 180 of whom reside in
Nablus and another forty in Tel Aviv. They consider themselves the direct
descendants of the tribes of Ephraim. Manasach and Levi, and as such entitled
to the highest posts in the Jewish clergy.
Matzliach will be buried on Mount Gerizim which is considered by
the Samaritans to be the holiest place in Palestine. The Jewish National
Council telegraphed its condolences to the Samaritan community.
http://www.jta.org/1943/01/22/archive/high-priest-of-samaritan-order-dies-in-palestine
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forest on Mount Gerizim
is preserved
Below
you will find an ordinance from 1941, whereas the forest on Mount Gerizim has
been preserved.
http://www.nevo.co.il/law_html/law21/PG-e-1084-2.pdf
The
firewood used for the Passover does not come from this forest but from local olive
trees. Olive
wood is very dense which makes it burn very well for a very long time and will produce
the highest heat. It burns for much
longer than most woods. It does not have a high sap content like conifers, it
is a hardwood and therefore this unique fruit tree does not cause sap. The best
thing about olive wood is the smell and it gives the food the flavoring it
deserves. It makes
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Biblio
Beugnot, Arthur
Assises
de Jérusalem; ou, Recueil des ouvrages de jurisprudence composés
pendant le XIIIe siècle dans les royaumes de Jérusalem et de
Chypre.
Tome II, Paris, Imprimerie royale, 1843
Boddy, Alexander Alfred
Days in Galilee and Scenes in Judaea: together with some
account of a Solitary Cycling Journey in Southern Palestine, London: Gay &
Bird, 1900, Printed by Messrs,
Mawson, Swan, & Morgan, Newcastle-on-Tyne.124-127
Borstel, Leman
Schets van de
algemeene geschiedenis der Israëlieten en van die der Nederlandsche
Israëlieten : (van den vroegsten tot den tegenwoordigen tijd) : ten
dienste vooral der Israëlietische scholen en huisgezinnen ‘s
Gravenhage:
Gebroeders Belinfante, 1853.
Burns,
Jabez
Help-Book for Travellers to the East, Including
Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece and Italy. 1870 London: Cook's Tourist Office, 1870. 95-7
Burt,
Nathaniel Clark
The Land and Is Story, Or, The Sacred Historical
Geography of Palestine New York, D. Appleton and Co.,
1869
Byrum, Enoch Edwin
Travels and
Experiences in Other Lands, Illustrated. Anderson,
Indiana: Gospel Trumpet Co. 1905
Chapman, Arthur Thomas
An introduction to the Pentateuch “Appendix VIII, The
Samaritan Pentateuch,” 277- 295, Cambridge: at the University Press, 1911
Carpenter, Frank George
The Holy Land and Syria. New York: Doubleday, Page & Com. 1922
“Something for Everybody. The
Samaritans in 1910” Moderator- Topics. Vol. 32. no. 9. Whole no. 900, November 2, 1911,
Lansing Mich. 171-173
Chaplin, Thomas M.D.
"Greek Inscription on
a Stone Found at Samaria, Now in Possession of Yakoob Esh Shellaby.
Forwarded by Dr. Chaplin," Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly
Statement 4.3 (August
1872): 134
Orientalische Tageblätter: nach der Natur und
Wirklichkeit skizzirt Mainz: F. Kirchheim, 1888
~~~~~~~~~~
Samaritan Stereoview
In the March, 2006
issue (Vol. V – No. 4) of the Samaritan Update, we posted a stereoview
published by M.W. Chase, ca 1860. There was never much information on the card
but just recently on Ebay.com a
stereoview card has appeared with the same image. The back of the card has a
sticker with the following statement:
‘Eleazer, the Samaritan High Priest. The Priesthood is hereditary, and
traced back to the Babylonian Captivity. The image was photographed and
published by P. Bergheim, Jerusalem. Card No. 78 is from the P. Bergheim’s Holy
Land Series and sold in the US by Wm. B. Holmes & Co. New York.’
P. Bergheim appears to be appears to be Peter E. Bergheim, (1815-1890) a known photographer between 1863-1873.
In the same series, image #75, is a Jewish Rabbi (not shown). My guess is
that the Samaritan image is of a Jews. He also possibly be a Karaite Jew. In
1912 there were only eighteen persons (five males, thirteen females from five
families). The head wear in the stereo card appears different than the turban a
Samaritan High Priest would wear. We also know that during the 1860’s the
Samaritan High priest was Amram ben Shalmah. But we may never know who the
image really is!
It appears that Bergheim had a studio in the Christian Quarter of the Old
City and also subcontracted, reproduced 3 of his photos in 1865 by the Survey
team of the British Ordnance Survey of
Jerusalem lead by Captain Charles W. Wilson and Captain Charles Warren.
Both of these men are had connections with the Samaritans known. The other
photographer, well known for taking a few Samaritan photos was Sgt. James McDonald,
worked with Wilson. Most of the photos in the survey were his. So one would
think that he would have been informed if the man was Samaritan or not.
The
Samaritan Update is open to any articles that are relative to Samaritan
Studies. Submit your work to the Editor. The
Editor
~~~~~~~
TheSamaritanUpdate.com, is a Bi-Monthly Internet Newsletter
Editor: Larry Rynearson.
Contact: The
Editor
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