“Mount Gerizim,
All the Days of Our Lives”
January/ February
2016
Vol. XV - No 3
In This Issue ·
Commentary ·
Samaritan Medal ·
Substance Flows ·
Auction ·
Drone over Gerizim ·
YouTube Aerial ·
Recent Research ·
New Publications ·
Lord Avebury ·
From the Editor ·
2016 Tours ·
Publishing ·
Lantern Slide ·
Call for Papers ·
Digitisation Project ·
Tahini ·
Biblioblog ·
Old News ·
Biblio
Future Events
It has been 3654 years since the entrance into
the Holy Land
(Samaritan’s typical calendar)
2016
The Eleventh Month 3654 - Monday Evening, 8 February 2016
The Twelfth Month 3654 - Tuesday Evening, 8 March 2016
The First Month 3654 - Wednesday Evening, 6 April 2016
Passover Sacrifice - Wednesday from sunset to sunset (7:13 PM) -
20 April 2016
[Calculated by: Priest
Yakkiir ['Aziz] b. High Priest Jacob b. 'Azzi – Kiriat Luza, Mount Gerizim]
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ṣadaqah al-Ḥakīm’s Commentary on Genesis, Last Part No. Five, Chapters XLI— L
https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/Sadaqa_5.pdf
The first part that includes the commentary of the first six chapters was published in August 2014 in https://shomron0.tripod.com/2014/julaug.pdf
Part 1 is here at https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/Sadaqap1.pdf
The second part that includes the commentary of chapters VII—XX was published at the beginning of January 2015 in https://shomron0.tripod.com/2014/novdec.pdf
Part 2 is here at https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/Sadaqa2.pdf
The third part that included the commentary of the chapters XXI— XXX: was published at the beginning of July 2015 in https://shomron0.tripod.com/2015/mayjune.pdf
Part 3 is here at https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/Sadaqa3.pdf
The fourth part that includes the commentary of the chapters XXXI— XL was published at the end of August 2015 in https://shomron0.tripod.com/2015/julyaugust.pdf
Part 4 is here at https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/Sadaqa4.pdf
This thirteenth-century Arabic commentary by the physician Ṣadaqah b. abū al-Farağ Munağğā b. Ṣadaqah b. Ġarūb al-Sāmiriyy al-Dimashqiyy (d. 1223) is the oldest commentary to have come down to us. It has survived in two manuscripts: R. Huntington 301 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (203 fols., Genesis 1: 2 — 50:5) and Cam III 14 (114 fols., Genesis 1: 4—49: 16) in the Russian National Library in Saint Petersburg. The portion of the commentary that appears below reflects Sadaqah’s broad knowledge of medicine, as well as of Rabbinic, Karaite and Arabic sources of philosophy, grammar and exegesis. This portion, including the first six chapters of Genesis, has been ready in my computer for almost two decades. Unfortunately, I did not find the time to continue with this project, and I therefore decided to make this portion available to Samaritans as well as to all who are interested and able to read and understand this kind of Arabic. This edition is based on R. Huntington 301 with some readings taken from Cam III 14. Based on my preliminary research into the latter manuscript (as well as Cam III 5 and 6), I can say that this source does not present substantially different readings from R. Huntington 301. The character أ or the word ال صأ ل stands for the Oxford manuscript and the character س stands for the manuscript in Saint Petersburg. The slash indicates the end of one page and the beginning of the next. It should be mentioned that almost 11% of the Oxford manuscript, 22 first folios, was rendered into Modern Hebrew by A. Loewenstamm in the early 1980s. A facsimile of the text and the translation were published in Jerusalem in 2008.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The First
Israelite Samaritan Medal
Granted to the President of Israel, Mr. Reuven Rivlin
A warm welcome
full of friendship
On Wednesday,
06/01/2016, at 12 noon, arrived the High Priest Abdel Ben-Asher and the seven
members of his entourage to the Israel's President Residence in Jerusalem, to
give the President of Israel, Mr. Reuven Rivlin, the first Israelite-Samaritan
Medal of peace and humanitarian achievement.
President
Rivlin warmly embraced Abdel High Priest and his entourage: His Eldest son
Asher; The Secretary of the community Committee in Kiryat Luza, Isaac Altif;
Committee members in Kiryat Luza, Hanan Altif and Ben-Yehuda Altif, Member of
the Holon's Community committee Oved Altif and the brothers Benyamim and Yefet
Tsedaka.
After their
mutual courtesy, expressed Priest Abdel his hope that the president will
continue his activities for the consolidation of peace, that the High Priest
said, without peace there is no better future for the peoples of the region.
The High Priest
Abed-El, who is also the owner of a factory for the production of "Har
Bracha Tahini” in Kiryat Luza, Mount Gerizim, gave President Rivlin a personal
gift from his business. The President made a point of saying in joy that it
tastes most delicious tahini he knows, and that the kitchen of the presidents
of Israel house using this product often. The High Priest’s entourage confirmed
the president's remarks with enthusiastic nods of agreement.
Line compare
the family of President and the Samaritans
President
Rivlin expressed his confidence that he would continue its activities for peace
and noted that for many decades he knows the Samaritans and felt a special
affection for them.
The President
mentioned that his family lived in Jerusalem for the last 210 years, where the
family lived together with all the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities in
peace and friendship.
The Samaritans
first recognized by him as a subject of his interest since he became aware to
the activity of the second president, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi for them, and learned to
love and respect the Samaritans. Even in his many years as a parliament
["Kneset"] member he solved problems that plagued them.
Then the noble
host and distinguished guests stood for the Medal ceremony specially dedicated
to the President Reuven Rivlin. Yefet Ben Ratson Tsedaka and the secretary
Yitzhak Altif read the Hebrew and English texts of the reasons to award the
Medal to President Rivlin.
The Samaritan
Medal Foundation in Washington, DC and its branch in Holon, Israel, decided at
the annual meeting of the board in Washington DC, on November 29, 2015, to
award the medal to the President of the State of Israel Mr. Reuven Rivlin,
according to a proposal by the chairman Benyamim Tsedaka. The proposal relied
unanimously by all seven members of the Foundation Board.
The awarding of
the medal to President Rivlin reasoned by his many activities in making peace
in the region, his efforts to bring the Israel's communities and strengthening
ties between the people of the State of Israel and the Jewish people
communities in the Diaspora and his longstanding friendship with the Israelite-Samaritan
People.
The history
book was awarded the President Rivlin -
A friend of the Israelite-Samaritan community
At the end of
the meeting Benyamim Tsedaka awarded the President with his 106Th book,
"The History of Israelite Samaritans based on their own sources" in
Hebrew. President Rivlin has expressed his thanks and appreciation to the end
of this life project, which was a hard work lasted ten years.
After the visit
there was a panel discussion with the President, where the main topic was the
expansion of the Samaritan neighborhood in Holon. President Rivlin asked that
the matter be submitted to him in a memorandum and He in turn will investigate
the critical issue promoting the growing community of Samaritans in Holon,
Israel with the appropriate parties, and will seek to advance the issue.
The host and
his guests expressed their full satisfaction with the visit. President Rivlin
expressed his delight to be the holder of the Samaritan medal in 2016 and
thanked the High Priest Abed-El and his entourage for the visit, the medal
awarded to him and the book of history
Benyamim
Tsedaka
Attached: photo of the meeting by the Government Press
Office [High Priest Abdel Ben-Asher and Mr. Reuven Rivlin]
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Magical Substance Flows into Me
Robert Lachmann was a German-Jewish
ethnomusicologist. In the 1930s, his radio show "Oriental Music"
explored the musical traditions of Palestine and included regular live
performances by musicians from different ethnic and religious groups.
Inspired by Lachmann’s musicological studies,
Palestinian artist Jumana Manna travels through Israel and the Palestinian
territories of today with recordings from the programme. What do these songs
sound like now when performed by Moroccan, Kurdish, or Yemenite Jews, by
Samaritans, members of the urban and rural Palestinian communities, Bedouins
and Coptic Christians?
When a true fascination for history meets the
sounds of the rababa, the saz, the oud and tin cans, a cultural diversity
emerges that subverts the distinction between "Arab" and
"Jewish". There are no national borders here, only different kitchens
where people make music together – with their guests, while cooking, while
someone makes the coffee. Until the music becomes so infectious you can’t help
but dance along.
Palestinian
Territories / Germany / Great Britain 2016, 68 min; Arabic, Hebrew,
English
See at their website: berlinale.de https://www.berlinale.de/en/programm/berlinale_programm/datenblatt.php?film_id=201606706#tab=video25
~~~~~~~~~
March 16, 2016, 5:00 PM EET Jerusalem, Israel Live
Auction
Lot 347: Collection of
Samaritan Manuscripts
Starting bid: $2,500
Description: Five Samaritan
manuscripts, [20th century]. 1. Manuscript volume, "Kittab Ildalil fi Yum
Almia'ad", Samaritan theological essay, in Samaritan handwriting. 2.
Manuscript volume (unidentified), in Arabic and Samaritan script. The last 40
leaves are detached and their margins are cut (with damage to text). 3. 45
leaves handwritten by Avraham Nur Tsedakah, "Tefillot Shabatot
HaShavuot" [Shavuot Sabbath Prayers] - in preparation for a printed
booklet. 4. Circa 150 leaves (large format), apparently handwritten by Avraham
Nur Tsedakah, preparation for a book. Samaritan and Arabic script. 5. Circa 70
leaves handwritten by Avraham Nur Tsedakah, parts of the Books of Exodus and
Leviticus, written on large paper sheets. Hebrew, Arabic and Samaritan script.
Lot 348: Collection of
Samaritan Printed Materials - Torah and Prayer Books Starting bid: $400
~~~~~~~~~~
Drone over Gerizim
Tomer Altef posted this image taken from a
Phantom 3 Advance drone over the Samaritan neighborhood of Kurit Luza on Mount
Gerizim Jan. 14, 2016
See a short flight over Mount
Gerizim:
~~~~~~~~~~
Oviadia Alteef
Facebook Posts (Feb. 5, 2016)
~~~~~~~~~~~
Aerial on YouTube by Amir Aloni
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GPwnNY0-oI Published on Jan 21, 2016
Aerial photography-4K- Mount Gerizim is a holy and
historic site, located on the south side of Shechem. On the top are ruins of a
Samaritan city dated to the Persian and Hellenistic periods, and a Byzantine
Church.
To use this video in a commercial player or in broadcasts, please email licensing@storyful.com
~~~~~~~~
The Samaritans in
Recent Research
By Reinhard Pummer
Department of
Classics and Religious Studies, University of Ottawa
December 2015
“High
Priest of Vanishing Samaritan Sect Dead at 82” was the headline in one of the
daily online Israeli newspapers in 2001. From today’s vantage point, this
statement was wrong on two accounts. One, the Samaritans are not a sect, and,
two, they did not vanish but grew substantially in the meantime. (Continue reading)
http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/2015/12/pum398030.shtml
~~~~~~~~~
Most people associate the term “Samaritan” exclusively with
the New Testament stories about the Good Samaritan and the Samaritan woman at
Jacob’s well. Very few are aware that a small community of about 750 Samaritans
still lives today in Palestine and Israel; they view themselves as the true
Israelites, having resided in their birthplace for thousands of years and
preserving unchanged the revelation given to Moses in the Torah.
Get your copy today for $30.00, Best money you
will spend all year:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Samaritans-Profile-Reinhard-Pummer/dp/0802867685
Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co. http://www.eerdmans.com/Products/6768/the-samaritans.aspx
~~~~~
The History of the Israelite Samaritan Keepers Based on Their Own
Sources is selling well and responses have
been positive, apart from a few readers from our own community who expected
that they, or their ancestors, would be given more comprehensive coverage.
But this is to be expected with any history book.
The great university libraries have eagerly
ordered it for the growing number of scholars in Samaritan
Studies worldwide. The book is written in Modern Hebrew.
The History Of The Israelite
Samaritan Keepers Based On Their Own Sources,
From the Time of Joshua bin Nun to 2015 CE
By Benyamim Tsedaka
The price of the 900-page volume is €180 (including
postage) or $200 (including
postage: US$150 + US$50 postage)
Orders for the book are most welcome, and can be made through our Website
Orders are placed through Greenwave Promotions Ltd for delivery directly from
the AB Institute of Samaritan Studies in Holon, Israel.
Benyamim (left) and Yefet (Right)Tsedaka
present Israel President Reuven Rivlin (center) with a copy of The History of the Israelite Samaritan Keepers Based on Their Own
Sources, From the Time of Joshua bin Nun until 2015 CE
~~~~~~~~~
History,
Archaeology and The Bible Forty Years After "Historicity": Changing
Perspectives 6
In History,
Archaeology and the Bible Forty Years after "Historicity", Hjelm
and Thompson argue that a ‘crisis’ broke in the 1970s, when several new studies
of biblical history and archaeology were published, questioning the
historical-critical method of biblical scholarship. The crisis formed the
discourse of the Copenhagen school’s challenge of standing positions,
which—together with new achievements in archaeological research—demand that the
regional history of ancient Israel, Judaea and Palestine be reconsidered in all
its detail. This volume examines the major changes that have taken
place within the field of Old Testament studies since the ground breaking works
of Thomas Thompson and John van Seters in 1974 and 1975 (both republished in
2014). The book is divided in three sections: changing perspectives in biblical
studies, history and cult, and ideology and history, presenting new articles
from some of the field’s best scholars with comprehensive discussion of
historical, archaeological, anthropological, cultural and literary approaches
to the Hebrew Bible and Palestine’s history. The essays question: "How
does biblical history relate to the archaeological history of Israel and
Palestine?" and "Can we view the history of the region independently
of a biblical perspective?" by looking at the problem from alternative
angles and questioning long-held interpretations.
Unafraid to break new ground, History, Archaeology
and the Bible Forty Years after "Historicity" is a vital
resource to students in the field of Biblical and East Mediterranean Studies,
and anyone with an interest in the archaeology, history and religious
development in Palestine and the ancient Near East.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lord Avebury has
Passed
Eric
Reginald Lubbock, Lord Avebury, politician.
Born 29 September 1928; died 14 February 2016
British Lord Avebury died at 87 years old on February 14, 2016
peacefully at his home in Camberwell, south London. He was a strong champion of
the Samaritan-Israelites.
Lord Avebury received the
Samaritan Medal in 2007.
His family posted this on Lord Avebury’s blog:
[I suggest you visit his blog!]
Eric Avebury: 29 September
1928-14 February 2016
Following the death of Eric
Avebury on Sunday 14th February, we, his family would like to express our
sincere thanks to all Eric's friends and colleagues for the lovely messages of
condolence, reminiscences and support which are hugely appreciated.
We are planning a Memorial
Celebration of his life and work (hopefully in June). If you might be
interested in attending such an event, please email victorialubbock@gmail.com .
No flowers please, but donations
may be made to Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Organisation of which
Eric was a long-standing Patron. Account Number: 00004592. Bank sort code:
40-52-40.
See more at http://www.israelite-samaritans.com/lord-avebury/
~~~~~~~~~~
From the Editor
Recently, I have been enjoying Reinhard Pummer’s
book, The Samaritans, A Profile. I was a little confused when I read on page
192, about interfaith marriages among the Samaritans;
‘As of late, not only Jewish women from Israel
are chosen as marriage partners for Samaritan men, but also Muslim and
Christian women from different countries, including Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and
Russia.’
I had thought that the Samaritan men only married
Jewish ladies.
Sean
Ireton in his University of Kent at Canterbury MA Dissertation, ‘The Samaritans. Strategies for Survival of an Ethno-religious Minority in the Twenty First
Century,’ says in Chapter 2; ‘In Samaritan halakha(38) there is a strict prohibition on
intermarriage with non-believers (whether Samaritans who do not uphold the
faith or anyone not born of the Samaritan religion). Historically this taboo
was strictly followed as non-Samaritans could not be converted (unlike
Rabbinite(39) Judaism which allowed converts to marry Jews - except to members
of the Cohen lineage). Consequently the numbers in the community dwindled
almost to extinction. Since 1924 this halakha has been waived as Samaritan
practice changed vis a vis marriage to Jewesses. (Korinaldi 2001: 2).
Monika
Schreiber discusses in her book The Comfort of Kin: Samaritan Community,
Kinship, and Marriage on page 324, the former Ukrainian
Christian Alexandra, who married the son of the High Priest. Kohen remarked ‘Joseph the son of Jacob our father, married an Egyptian, and even
Moses, the most important prophet, married a non-Israelite woman.. So why shouldn’t
we?’
In the Guardian article, ‘How Ukrainian women saved
the Samaritans of Mount Gerizim’ Feb. 11,
2013; ‘The women, located by specialist internet-based
agencies, have converted from Christianity in order to join the community, whose
members are forbidden from marrying non-Samaritans.
The brides now adhere to strict biblical traditions, including isolation during
menstruation and for long periods following childbirth.’
In the Article from the BBC News, Feb. 6, 2007, ‘Ancient community seeks brides abroad’; ‘Another woman
from outside the community is 29-year-old Elena Altif. She emigrated to Israel
from Siberia, Russia in 2000. She was Jewish and met her husband while working in a
toy factory in the large West Bank Jewish settlement of Ariel.’
Peterman (in Reisen I, page 279) said, ‘es ist den samaritanern nicht verboten, christliche
oder judische Madchen zu heirathen, nur mussen diese dann zu ihrem Glauben
ubergehen.’ Translated: ‘it is not forbidden to the Samaritans, to marry
Christian or Jewish girl, just must love these then go over to their faith.’
From ‘Samaritan Rituals and Customs,’ quoted from Reinhard Pummer in The
Samaritans, edited by Alan Crown, page 660. Pummer goes on writing that
between 1923 and 1969, six Samaritans married Jewish women.
Osher Sassoni writes on his website
(the-Samaritans.com); ‘Ten years ago, when one of the Samaritan
guys, from the priestly family, who lives in Nablus, couldn’t find his woman
among the community, The High Priest at that time, allowed him to marry a woman
from the beautiful ladies of Ukraine. Since then, there are some other
couples, of Samaritan men with Ukrainian girls, who have accepted the Samaritan
tradition, and have lived a time among the community.
Unlike Samaritan men, Samaritan women cannot marry men
(including Jewish men) who are outside the community. The reason is
that, the Samaritan religious identity, as well as family association, is
in accordance with the father religious identity, i.e. it is a patrilineal
system. Judaism also followed the same patrilineal practice until several
hundred years ago.’
In a more recent news article from al-Monito, ‘How one of the smallest religious communities
in the world is struggling to sustain its community,’ Sept, 20, 2015: ‘During
the 20th century, Wassef said, the Samaritans faced the prospect of
extinction, their population dwindling to 146 people in 1917. They
survived, but today the community is struggling demographically due to a
gender imbalance. “Samaritans are suffering from a lack of females, thus
young men are obliged to marry girls belonging to other religions, which is
theologically forbidden unless they convert to Samaritanism. During the past 40 years, young
Samaritans managed to marry 40 girls of
different religions who converted,” said Wassef.’
In the article ‘Visiting the Samaritans
on their holy West bank mountain,’ on Reuters website, June
3, 2009; ‘While most of Samaritanism’s
outside brides have been Jews from Israel, Kohen said three were Muslims and
five Christians like Shura. All of them came from far away — the Muslims from
Turkey and the Christians from Russia and Ukraine. Seeking converts among the
local Muslim majority or the tiny Christian minority in Nablus could strain the
good relations the Samaritans have with their neighbours.’
I asked Samaritan Elder Benyamim Tsedaka concerning
foreign marriages, he responded; ‘There
is no any process of conversion in such marriages, since it is done first as a
listing in the local mayor office before the girl flying to her beloved
Samaritan boy in Israel. First she meets the High Priest to assure him that she
will do anything needed to live as every Samaritan woman. Nothing left from her
formerly life style. It happened that the future bride regretted on her
decision in the last moment and left back with no harm to the groom. This is
the routine of life. There is always time to repair broken hearts and find the
true love.’
I would
like to thank Mathew Hamilton of Australia for bringing my attention to
an additional article by Hartwig Derenbourg. The
article is now below in the Biblio section of this Update.
~~~~~~~~~~
Benyamim Tsedaka
European Lecture Tour, Summer 2016
I welcome invitations to lecture during my three weeks' tour of Europe in 2016.Here is the provisional tour timetable: 31 July - 4 August 2016 Prague, The International Congress of Samaritan Studies5 August - 11 August 2016 Paris, the National Library
12 August - 18 August 2016 London
Lecture subjects are as listed on our website, with the addition of my new
book mentioned above, The History of
the Israelite Keepers Based on Their Own Sources
~~~~~
Preparations for Benyamim
Tsedaka next World Tour 2016 have begun.
Provisional details are:
13 November 2016 Rio de Janeiro
20 November 2016 Sao Paulo
27 November 2016 New York City
1 December 2016 Washington DC
6 December 2016 North Carolina
13 December 2016 North California and Seattle
18 December 2016 Toronto
22 December 2016 Vancouver
If you would like to arrange a lecture in any
of these places, please contact me by email: sedakab@yahoo.com , or info@israelite-samaritans.com .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Cost of
Publishing Monographs
Towards a
Transparent Methodology
Feb. 5, 2016
By Nancy L. Maron, Christine Mulhern, Daniel Rossman, Kimberly
Schmelzinger
http://www.sr.ithaka.org/publications/the-costs-of-publishing-monographs/
Full PDF http://www.sr.ithaka.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SR_Report_Costs_Publishing_Monographs020516.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Estate Rare Photo Glass Lantern Slide made by Bonfils Family of
Photographers between 1867 and 1912 in Middle East ( Holy Land Palestine, Syria
, Egypt and more).
Most of the pictures are marked A. Bonfils, Collection des vues d'Orient,
Syrie. It was Adrien Bonfils the son of Felix Bonfils who embarked on the
ambitious project of photographing all of that Levant he saw being transformed
by railways, roads and tourism in the Middle East.
The
photograph above has the name A. Bonfils, this is Adrien (1861-1929), Félix’s son. The collection des vues d’orient were sold in 1877-78 in five volumes.
I have yet to see if any of the volumes has the Samaritans in it. It is
believed that the Samaritan camp was photographed around 1881, since that is
when Felix photographed also the images of
Samaria, View of Shechem or Nablulus and Jacob’s Well.
1881 is the year that the American Colony arrived in Jerusalem.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Updated Call for Papers: ‘The Other Within’: The Hebrew and Jewish Collections of The John Rylands Library
Conference, Monday 27-Wednesday 29 June 2016 at The John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3EH.
The John Rylands Research Institute invites paper proposals for its upcoming 2016 conference on the Hebrew and Jewish collections of The John Rylands Library.
The John Rylands Library preserves one of the world’s valuable collections of Hebrew and Jewish manuscripts, archives and printed books. The holdings span Septuagint fragments to the papers of Moses Gaster and Samuel Alexander. The Rylands Genizah and rich collections of medieval manuscript codices and early printed books are among the strengths of the collection, making The John Rylands Library an important centre for the study of Judaism from the ancient world to the twentieth century.
The aim of this conference is to convene scholars, curators and students researching areas represented in the Library’s Hebrew and Jewish collections, including (but not limited to): the Cairo Genizah; medieval Hebrew manuscript codices; early printed Hebrew books; Samaritan manuscripts; and, the collections of Moses Gaster. It will take place as part of a programme of activities at the John Rylands Research Institute that aim to facilitate the study of the Library’s Hebrew and Jewish holdings. This includes the 2015-2018 externally-funded project to catalogue the Hebrew manuscripts and two ongoing projects on the Gaster collections.
For more information: http://www.jrri.manchester.ac.uk/connect/events/conferences/institute-conference-2016/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hebrew Manuscripts Digitisation Project
The Hebrew Manuscripts Digitisation Project has
been digitising items from the British Library's significant collection of
Hebrew hand-written books, charters and scrolls, in order to make them
available online. -
Arising out of the success of the project so far, a second digitisation phase is scheduled to start in April 2016. This new project, aiming to digitise at least 1,200 Hebrew manuscripts, is an international collaboration with the National Library of Israel (NLI). This new phase of digitisation will focus mainly on our significant Gaster and Samaritan collections. These will be included in a new ‘hub’ of Hebrew manuscripts currently located in worldwide libraries, planned by the NLI in order to consolidate and facilitate their viewing.
Through both The Polonsky Foundation sponsored HMDP (phase 1) and the new NLI collaborative project (phase 2), most of the Library’s 3,000 Hebrew manuscripts will be fully digitised and available online by 2019, and all of them will be fully catalogued.
See more at: http://www.bl.uk/projects/hebrew-manuscripts-digitisation-project
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Understanding
skin – Examining the parchment of a 14th century Samaritan manuscript
By Julia
Poirier
The Samaritan people are a religious and ethnic group preserving the tradition of copying the Pentateuch in the Samaritan alphabet. The Pentateuch comprises of the first five books of the Hebrew bible/Old Testament, also known as the Five Books of Moses because they are believed to have been dictated by God directly to Moses. The Chester Beatty manuscript codex was written in 1339 AD in Samaritan majuscule Hebrew characters. The primary scribe of this manuscript is believed to have been Abisha ibn Pinhas ibn Joseph.
This manuscript is composed of 28 parchment quires, each made of five bifolios (H: 32cm x W: 51cm). Given its overall size, a very large number of animals have been used to produce the textblock. Earlier this year we provided samples from some of our parchment manuscripts to be tested by the BioArch project at the University of York.
Further interesting reading: https://chesterbeattyconservation.wordpress.com/2015/11/25/understanding-skin-examining-the-parchment-of-a-14th-century-samaritan-manuscript/
~~~~~~~~~~
Har
Bracha Tahini
Sesame Tahini is an essential ingredient
in many Middle Eastern healthy dishes.
Should you visit Kiryat Luza, on Mount
Gerizim, visit the Sesame factory, or stop in one of the groceries. The Sesame
factory was the first industry of the Samaritans. It produces one of the best
Tahini (Tehina) pastes in Israel, and also makes sesame-flavored Halva.
The Tahini bottle is named "Har Bracha", meaning the
"mount of blessing" (Gerizim). The tahini is sesame seeds produced
with Millstones.
The Samaritans Tahini Factory located on
the Holy Mountain Gerizim in one of 2 places in the world where you can find
& meet with Samaritans.
https://www.harbracha-tahini.com/
It can be purchased online http://www.koshercentral.com/grocery/dressing-spices/tahini/har-bracha-tahini-450-gr
~~~~~~~~~~
The
Biblioblog Reference Library
http://bibliobloglibrary.com/?blog=21
January 3, 2 AM
Οι Σαμαρίτες: η σύγχρονη έρευνα / The Samaritans: the current state of research byTsalampouni Ekaterini via Ιστολόγιο βιβλικών σπουδών / Biblical Studies Blog (#67655)
Reinhard Pummer, "The Samaritans in Recent Research" [Σαμαρίτες] [ιστορία της έρευνας]
September 26, 12 AM
Το
τρέχον τεύχος
του PEQ / The current issue of PEQ by Tsalampouni
Ekaterini viaΙστολόγιο
βιβλικών
σπουδών / Biblical Studies Blog (#62582)
Palestine Exploration Quarterly 147:2
(2015)David M. Jacobson, "Editorial: The Gezer boundary
inscriptions," 83-85Shay Bar, "The settlement patterns in the
Northern Samaria highlands during the Late Chalcolithic period,"
87-103Melissa A. Kennedy, "EB IV s...[PEQ] [Ισραήλ] [αρχαιολογία]
September 22, 11PM
Το
τρέχον τεύχος
του JSJ / The current issue of JSJ by Tsalampouni
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σπουδών / Biblical Studies Blog (#62396)
Journal for the Study of Judaism 46:3
(2015)Molly M. Zahn, "The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Scribal Culture of
Second Temple Judaism," 285-313 (abstract)Angela Standhartinger,
"Philo im ethnografischen Diskurs: Beobachtungen zum literarischen
Kontex... [JSJ] [Ιουδαϊσμός] [Ιώσηπος] [Σαμαρίτες] [Φίλων] [αρχαιολογία] [ελληνορωμαϊκός
κόσμος]
January 13, 10AM
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Ekaterini viaΙστολόγιο
βιβλικών
σπουδών / Biblical Studies Blog (#47443)
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft 126:4 (2014)Benedikt Hensel, "Von »Israeliten« zu
»Ausländern«: Zur Entwicklung anti-samaritanischer Polemik ab der hasmonäischen
Zeit," 475-493Klaus Koenen, "1200 Jahre von Abrahams Geburt bis
zum...[ZAW] [Παλαιά
Διαθήκη] [προφήτες] [σοφιολογία]
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Old News
‘A
Samaritan Passover. Curious Observances of the Oldest Sect in Existences.’ In The
Indianapolis News, Wednesday, July 17, 1895, Page 6
The
Samaritans are the oldest sect in existence, and probably the smallest. They
number about 130, and live at Nablus, the ancient Shechem at the foot of Mt.
Gerizim, the city of the Samaritans from time immemorial, and preserves to the
present day the beliefs, ceremonies, and habits of their forefathers. An
interesting account of their Passover is sent to the Guardian by a
correspondent who was present at the feast, which this year happened to fall on
the same day as the Jewish Passover, April 8. The people were collected in
thirty tents on the top of Mt. Gerizim, according to the Samaritans the place
where Abraham was directed to sacrifice Isaac. Half an hour before sunset the
services began. A little inclosure on the open him, unturfed, with a rough
inclosure of stones, was the place where the sacrifice was to be eaten. Near it
a long, low trench had been made in which a fire was burning, and over it two
caldrons were boiling. Here the lambs were to be slain. Further up the hill was
a circular pit some ten feet deep filled with a wood fire, where they were to
be roasted. The men were clad in robes that recalled the Levite priesthood, all
white, the loose linen breeches, the tunic, girdle and headdress. The high
priest was distinguished by a green mantle and wore a Turkish order. He faced
the west, watching the setting sun, and led the chanting, the men about him
singing and prostrating themselves on the ground. After a while all but the
high priest moved to the shallow trench, where were waiting seven lambs of
alpure Syrian breed, one for each family, Each was held by a robed butcher,
while an elder kept going from the trench to the high priest, awaiting the
signal.
Preparing the
Sacrifice.
The sky had
been overcast, but as the sun sank it burst through the clouds, making a broad
crimson band on the horizon, the signal was given the white forms bent over the
victims, and all was over in a moment, for the Jewish rule ordains that the
knife shall be so sharp that the animal has no sensation of being killed. All
now turned to each other, falling on one another’s neck and exchanging the kiss
of peace, and then kissed the high priest’s hands. The lambs were then hastily
dressed, the water from the caldrons poured over them, the wool taken off, the
entrails removed, and the right shoulders cut off as the high priest’s portion.
They were then placed on wooden spits, eight or ten feet long, with a
transverse piece below the head, looking like a cross. Every part of the
sacrifice, even the wool, was carefully salted. Then lamps were brought to see
if the victims had been killed according to law, and as in one case the
incision had not been correctly made, another lamb was brought and killed as
the others had been.
Between 8 and
9 all was ready for the roasting. In the still moonlight the white-robed men
stood chanting around the open pit, that sent out lurid flames, seven of them
holding each a cross-like spit. There was a pause in the chant, and at the same
instant the spits were thrown into the fire. A hurdle was drawn over the pit
and sods and earth heaped upon it, leaving only the ends of the spits
protruding. Then there was a wait for two hours, during which the tents were
marked with the blood, and the chanting went on by the side of the first pit,
in which gradually the wool and entrails and the priest’s portion were carefully
burnt.
At 11 they
assembled around the oven, the hurdle was removed and the carcasses taken out.
One spit was burnt through, and a man was let down into the pit to gather the
fragments that had fallen. The meat was then put in covered baskets and carried
to the place of feasting. After a long, loud grace there was a sudden silence,
each family bent over its lamb, eating it with bitter herbs and unleavened
bread, while the boys, with girded loins and staffs in their hands, carried
portions with great care to the women in the tents. When all was finished the
ground was carefully examined to see that no fragment was left and every scrap
was burned in the fire. At midnight the ceremony was over. The visitors among
the many Moslems from Nablus looked on from a little distance, for it is an
unpardonable sin for a stranger to touch any part of the sacrifice.
פארווערטם Sunday, April 24, 1932;
page 26
Guardians
of the Israelitish Practice, The Samaritans and Their Sacrificial Offering.” By Yaa’cov, Son of Uzzi, The Cohen, Special to
the Palestine Post. In The Palestine Post, Friday, April 27, 1934; page 3.
Recent
interest in the Samaritans among those who wish to know the truth of their
customs and beliefs, and particularly of the ceremony of offering the paschal
sacrifice on their holy mountain has led me to write this chapter of their
history. The present study, however, will be limited to the description by a
Samaritan of the Pascal feast alone. I hope my readers will forgive this
limitation. With the aid of the Lord Almighty (praise be he!), I shall write a
more comprehensive study of Samaritan history and customs in the near future.
Who Are The
Samaritans?
The
Samaritans are the remnants of the three great tribes of Israel, the children
of Jacob, peace be unto him. At present they number no more than 206 souls
(men, women and children).
They are
divided into two classes; the “Cohanim (priest), who are related by direct
descent to the tribe of Levi. They number forty-five in all. The eldest is
regarded as the head of the Cohanim, and is called the Cohen Hagodal (High
Priest), and is leader of the people of the Samaritan lay community, who are
descendants of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. They are called Samaritans,
or “Shomrim” in Hebrew (literally, those who guard) because, their small number
and their poverty notwithstanding, they continue to observe their ancient
religious creed, the religion of Israel. That is the true explanation of the
name “Shomrim”, and the historians err if they give any other explanation.
Offering Of
The Sacrifice
On the 10th
of “the First Month”, all Samaritans go to the summit of Mount Gerizim, where
they put up wooden huts and tents to store all their provisions, for they
remain on the mountain-height for over ten days. After having made these
arrangements, the preparations for the “offering of the sacrifice” commence. A
few experienced Samaritans are delegated to buy and prepare everything
necessary for the ceremony. They purchase seven sheep, one for each clan; for
the Samaritan community is composed of seven principal families. They buy also
fuel and wooden poles, which are roade ready for the ceremony by Samaritan
carpenters.
These
preparations are started on the tenth of the month in compliance with the word
of God.
“…in the
tenth of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the
house of their fathers, a lamb for an house” (Exodus, 12:3).
The sheep
must be healthy, not lean or lank, of a year in age and of the best, as God
said.
“Your lamb
shall be withpout blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from
the sheep, or from the goats” (Exodus, 12:5).
These animals
are given the utmost care. They are led daily to a spring where they are
thoroughly cleansed.
Water-Carriers
On the last day prior to the ceremony, the 14th
of Nissan, the Samaritans rise early in order to obtain and store enough water
for the coming sacrifice. Samaritan youths wear special attire for this task.
Their clothing is entirely of white; a white gown, white trousers, and a white
girdle. They wear sandals tied with string to their feet. Thus clad, they
proceed to the well from which they draw water and carry it to the spot fixed
for the offering of the Pascal sacrifice. There they pour the water into large
pots, which are placed upon the altar.
The altar is
in a long ditch, not too deep, built of plain, unmasoned stone. Two hours
before the sacrifice a fire is kindled beneath the pots. This done, the youths
go to another ditch near by, which is round and three metres in depth, and
which they call “Tannur” they place wood and straw, and light it. The altar is
made long enough to furnish sufficient space for the slaughtering of the
offerings and to boil water.
The tannur,
however, is made deep, as it is used for the roasting of the offerings. For God
forbade them to be cooked or eaten raw “Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all
with water, but roast it with fire”, (Exodus, 12:9).
When the
feast happens to fall on a Sabbath eve, (as it does this year), Samaritans
commence these preparations at 3 o’clock (Arab time), i.e. 10 am, so that the
sacrifice may take place exactly at noon, two hours later. In all other cases,
the preparations begin two hours before sunset, i.e. 10 o’clock (Arab time), or
3 p.m., so the setting of the sun.
Half an hour
before the ceremony takes place, the whole Samaritan community gathers at the
designated site, where they stand solemnly in two groups; one group consisting
of the religious heads, the “Cohanim”, elders and notables, clad in white
gowns, white headgear, white girdles, and carrying sticks. The second group is
those youths who, attired in white (as described above), have borne the water
to the altar. They stand over the altar with up-turned sleeves.
“And The
Assembly Shall Kill”
The Imam (the
priest conducting the prayers) opens the ceremony with a chant to which each of
the groups in turn reply with a special refrain which has been handed down from
ancient times. The chant completed, the High Priest mounts a large stone and
recites, in a loud voice, the verse, “…and the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening” (Exodus, 12: 6).
And then the
sheep are rapidly stretched out upon the altar and slaughtered. At this moment
the entire gathering proclaims the praises and the exaltation of the Lord. They
clap their hands and chant, recalling how God smote the first-born of the
Egyptians. They then take some blood of the sacrifices and smear it on the
lintels of their dwellings and the brows of their children, in compliance with
the word of God, “And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood
that is in the basin and strike the lintel and two side posts” (Exodus, 12;22).
After this
they draw hot water from the pots upon the altar and pour it on the skins of
the slaughtered animals. They then start plucking the wool from the animal’s
hides until they are convinced of the cleanliness of the skin. Two of the
Samaritans take a long pole, in the centre of which is a large hook, on which
they hang the offering. Thus loaded, they place the pole on their shoulders,
with the sheep hanging between them.
Unbroken
Bones
The butcher
then cuts open the carcasses and removes the intestines and internal organs.
These organs are cleaned in fresh water, salted, and then thrown into the fire.
The inspection of the carcasses and their dissection begins, and care is taken
that none of the bones are broken, as God decreed that none of the bones should
be broken.
The sheep are
then placed on sharp-edged wooden poles which pierce them lengthwise. They are
salted and then carried by the youths to the “Tannur”, which is by now red-hot,
and are thrown in.
The “Tannur”
is covered with a wooden lattice-work, over which green grass is strewn. The
oven is entirely plastered and covered with red earth, so that it becomes air
and smoke-proof, to prevent the meat from being burned.
The animals
remain in the oven for about three hours, until close upon midnight. At that
time the Samaritans proceed to the oven, planning the consumption of the
broiled meat at exactly the same time when the first-born of the Egyptians were
destroyed, as it has been said,
“And it came
to pass that at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt”
(Exodus, 12; 29).
The heads of
all the families come to the oven, each carrying a tray made of straw, with the
High Priest at their head. The plaster is broken, the wooden cover carefully
removed, and the animals taken out and carried to the designated place of
prayer where all the community- men, women, and children- are gathered.
Now they
chant hymns loudly and joyously. “Maror” (bitter herbs) and Matzoth (unleavened
bread) are spread over the meat, as the Lord commanded, “…And unleavened bread,
and with bitter herbs they shall eat it”.
They then
attack the meat, tearing it apart with their hands and starting to eat hastily,
just as the children of Israel ate their food on leaving Egypt; “…And ye shall
eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover” (Exodus, 12:11).
Having
finished eating, the remains of the meat, the bones, together with the wooden
poles and the platters of straw, are thrown on the altar to comply with the
command of God, “And ye shall let nothing remain until morning” (Exodus,
12;10).
In case,
however, the feast falls upon a Sabbath eventide (as it does this year), the
remains are gathered and put away in a safe place until the Sabbath is over,
and then burned, as it is said in the same verse, “…and that which remaineth of
it until the morning ye shall burn with fire” (Exodus, 12;10).
On the
morning of Passover, prayers are held and last about four hours. The Samaritans
then greet each other, praising the Lord who enabled them to fulfil their holy
rites.
They spend
the following seven days on the mount, eating only Matzoth (unleavened bread).
No sign of leaven is to be found. At the end of the feast, the Samaritans, full
of joy and happiness, make pilgrimage to that spot on the peak of Mount Gerizim
where the “Shekhina” (Divine Spirit) resides.
“Samaritan
New Year” in The
Palestine Post, Sunday, April 7, 1935;
page 10
Nablus, April
4.- The Samaritan community yesterday greeted their New year.
Every door
post in the tiny quarter where the smallest community in the world dwells was
decorated with green sherbs and fruits, symbolic of the fruitfulness of the
approaching year.
Before the
sun had set every member of the sect, old and youths alike, each bearing gifts
which included incence, olives, candles and carpets, repaired to the synagogue.
Here they turned over what they carried to the High Priest who in turn placed
them where the Almighty might see them and be pleased.
The
pilgrimage of worshippers was followed by the priests which made an impressive
sight in their long robes and uncut hair.
Chants which
lasted over three hours opened the ceremonies. The Samaritans will repeat the
prayers each morning and evening until April 17, when they gather on Mt.
Gerizim for the Passover sacrifices- the latter carried on in accordance with
the strictest letter of Mosaic law.
“Admission
Fee Charged at Samaritan Ritual, High Commissioner Views the Paschal Sacrifice. (From Our own Correspondents) in The
Palestine Post, Friday, April 19, 1935;
page 7.
Nablus,
Thursday.- The 212 souls who form the Samaritan remnant congregated on top of
Mount Gerizim last night for the annual ritual of the paschal sacrifice.
Of about 500
persons who had come to witness the ceremonies, many stayed on after the sun
had disappeared and a strong wind had sprung up, forcing down the temperature
and enhancing the weird effect of the rather grim spectacle.
The area in
which the sacrificial stone had been placed was marked off and – perhaps for
the first time in their history- there was an admission charge for the high
ceremony itself.
Tickets sold
at five shillings per person and the fund it was said will be used towards the
construction of a new Samaritan Synagogue.
The priests
were during three or four hours preceding the sacrifice much in evidence. They
greeted visitors, collected money for souvenirs Bibles, replenished the fires
in preparation for the sacrifice and even brought in the lambs, eight of them
and allowed the beasts to graze.
Opening Act
The setting
had all of the dramatic impressiveness of the opening act of an opera. Perched
on the stone which surrounded the arena were a large number of Moslems,
Europeans and others who did not choose to pay an admission fee.
The high
priests, in long white gowns and gaily coloured girdles, settled down around
the rock of sacrifice. They were surrounded by their children and squatted on
simple mats which were spread out for the purposed. From their throats issued a
monotonous song.
The High
Commissioner arrived at sundown. At once the High Priest Tawfik, escorted him
and his party to their seats and a fur-lined blanket was offered to His
Excellency who placed it over his great-coat appreciatively. The priests sank
to their knees, the crowd was still and the chanting began.
Lambs’ Last
Supper
For more than
thirty minutes the chant continued, uninterrupted except one when one of the
younger men made his rounds to light the oil lambs and one of them failed to
catch. The eight lambs proceeded conspicuously with their last supper, once
coming perilously close to one of the spectators who looked down at the animal
somewhat pityingly.
A full moon
suddenly appeared in the east and the swaying figures gathered around the
cauldrons. There, by the light of the fire, the animals were securely held fast
to the earth and one of the high priests went around cutting their throats. The
slaughter was accompanied with spirited singing and shouting. The children and
elders, all of the males of the community, displayed an enthusiasm which might
do justice to a crowd at a football match. Only numbers were lacking to make
the noise louder, and the joy fiercer.
The animals
were skinned and quartered, placed in a great fire burning in a pit covered
with mud and clay, and left to roast until the midnight feast.
The visitors,
after making their rounds in the tents in which the Samaritans will remain for
another week until the close of the holiday, returned to their cars and
dispersed.
The Anglican
Bishop and Mrs. Brown, Mr. Furness, the Press Officer; Judge P.E.F. Cressall,
President, District Court, Nablus; Capt. H.P. Rice, Deputy Inspector General of
the Police were among those present. There was a detail of police on duty all
night.
“Palestine
Celebrates Passover Joyously” in The
Sentinel, Thursday, April 25,
1935; page 3
The High
Commissioner visited the Samaritans and witnessed their Passover ceremony of
sacrificing a lamb on Mount Gerisim, in accordance with the Bible. The
Samaritan High Priest offered a special prayer. The High Commissioner was asked
by the Samaritans for government assistance in building a Samaritan Synagogue.
“Samaritans
Prepare for Passover Rites, Pascal Sacrifice” (From Our Own Correspondent) in The
Palestine Post, Wednesday, April 14,
1937; page 7
Nablus,
Tuesday.- The High Priest and other members of the Samaritan Community went up
to Mount Gerizim today to prepare for the Passover and the Sacrifice of the
Paschal Lamb which will take place on Saturday night, April 24.
The whole
community spends the Passover week on Mount Gerizim; work is stopped on the
first and last day of the feast.
‘Samaritans
Sacrifice Lamb in Ancient Mount Ceremony.’ By Roman
Slobodin, in The
Jewish Post, Vol. 26- No.
30, Friday, April 15, 1938, page 7.
Jerusalem-
When the hour draws near of the setting of the sun on the eve of Passover they
go up into the mountain Gerizim, near to Nablus, that in the days of their
fathers was called Shechem. They take with them of milk white lambs a
sufficient number, and while all things are being set in order for the
sacrifice, the High Priest reads from the book of Exodus the story of the
sorrows of the Children if Israel in Egypt, of the birth and life of Moses, of
the wrath of the Lord and the escape of His people into the desert. And the
people listen and the old men answer with hymns and with praises.
At the moment
of darkness the young men take knives and let firth the life-blood of the
sacrifice, not, as in former times, upon the high altar before the Holy of
Holies, but in a trench in the ground. The High Priest examines the sacrifices
as it is ordained in the law, to ascertain that none are blemished. The leg
sinews are cut, the entails and fleece removed and the offering placed on the
fire and covered with turfs. When some hours have passed they take and eat of
the meat, the men in the open place and the women and children apart in tents.
They eat in
haste with loins girded and their staves in their hands as if about to set
forth hurriedly on a journey. Then the people wash and chant praises to the
Lord who lead his children out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage.
Samaritans
Hate Jews.
Thus is the
Passover being observed in Palestine this year as it has been observed for
thousands of years not by the Jews, but by the people who regard the Jews with
enmity, who hold they are the true Children of Israel, and who are the only
community in the world still observing the law as written in the Five Books of
Moses literally in all its precepts, including worship by animal sacrifice.
This people is the dwindling tribe of Samaritans, who today number only a few
more than a hundred, and who until a few weeks ago were vanishing rapidly from
the face of the earth by a strange process of race suicide.
History
traces the hatred of the Samaritans for the Jews to the time when the Jews
returned from their captivity in Babylon. The Samaritans had been colonized by
the Assyrian emperors in the conquered land of the Ten Tribes. They adopted the
religion of the country, instructed by Jewish teachers whom they asked to be
sent to them. But when the Jews returned from the captivity, they rejected the
Samaritans. The converted tribe then built their own temple atop Mount Gerizim.
In the time they became convinced this was the true holy mountain where the
Lord spoke to Abraham from a burning bush, and not Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
Where the
Samaritan temple had stood, the Romans later built a shrine, which was
succeeded by a Christian church. Today a Mohammedan mosque occupies the site.
The Samaritans built an altar nearby, whose ruins they still point out as a
scared spot and finally moved to their present place of worship, some distance
down the mountain, an open area bounded by rough stone walls.
New Life
Seen.
Small as is
the number of Samaritans who will partake of the Pascal sacrifice this year,
they will be joyful. The tribe is celebrating an event unprecedented for
centuries, five marriages among their people in one day.
For years, no
Samaritan wedding had taken place. Samaritan fathers demanded too high a dowry
for their daughters. They are not permitted to marry outside their tribe. Then,
a few months ago, the High Priest, Tewfik Khader Masliyah ben Pinhas, arranged
a marriage for his own son. With this good example to bolster his arguments,
the High Priest succeeded in persuading fathers of marriageable daughters to
drop their demands for big settlements. The resulting mass marriage was the
occasion for rejoicing not only by the Samaritans themselves; hundreds of their
Arab neighbors joined in a celebration lasting for days.
On this
Passover night the Samaritans will be looking forward to the next when they
hope that for the first time in generations, their people will number more
instead of fewer.
“Rites
from the Days of Hosea, Samaritan Passover.” By W.H.G. Popplestone, in The
Palestine Post, Thursday, April 25,
1940. Page 6
It is an
interesting anomaly that the Jewish Feast of the Passover is among Jews today
almost purely symbolic while the feast in its original form in now celebrated
only by the Samaritans. In the Seder feast at the Jewish Passover the paschal
lamb is represented by a shank bone only, while the Samaritans sacrifice living
sheep, thus carrying on the rites taught to their ancestors in the days of
Hosea, King of Israel, when the King of Assyria brought foreigners and placed
them in the cities of Samaria instead of the Children of Israel.
As these
first Samaritans feared not the Lord, lions came among them and slew some. When
this was made known to their overlord the King of Assyria, he sent back one of
the Hebrew priests he carried into exile and instructed him to teach the Hebrew
religion to these newcomers he had placed in the cities of Samaria. And now,
centuries later, their descendants, dwindled to a tiny group of but seven
families, still perform each year on Mount Gerizim the ancient rites at the
full of the Easter moon.
Last Sunday
afternoon the Nablus Arab taxi drivers were kept busy taking visitors to the
summit of the mountain by the new military road. Last year there were almost no
outsiders, owing to the disturbed state of the country, but this year there
were some hundreds. Arabs, Jews and a small number of English Tommies from
Nablus, other English people and Americans from Jerusalem.
Starting the
Ceremony
Between five
and six o’clock in the afternoon activity within the walled area gradually
increased. Opposite the entrance was a long shallow trench with a fire at one
end heating two oil drums full of water. Round the trench stood young
Samaritans, from small boys to grown men, all in white. Near the opposite
corner of the quadrangle were the priests in long white robes. All the
Samaritans wore red tarbushes, and no women or girls were visible. They
remained in the tents. While at the top of the hillock behind the crowd was a
stone-lined oven eight to ten feet deep with a fire at the bottom fed from time
to time with brushwood so that great tongues of flame were kept continually
licking the sides.
Towards six
o’clock the chief priest in a distinctive green robe arrived, attended by
elders. A vigorous chant in ancient Hebrew was taken up by the priests and
laymen.
Just on the
hour of six the chanters reached the words that tell of the taking of the
sheep, one to each family. Here there was a pause in the service, while several
young men went round to the unsuspecting sacrificial animals and staggered back
with their kicking burdens, laying them on the ground round the edge of the
trench. Three men produced long knives, previously tested on the ball of the
hand, and held them poised. The chanting continued to the words in Exodus, ‘And
the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening,”
then stopped again.
Down lashed
the knives on the throats stretched ready. A Roman arena yell went up from the
population on the wall, and young men and boys knelt on the struggling sheep
while a priest now inspected each gash and pronounced it satisfactory. Some men
marked their sons’ foreheads with blood, as lintels in symbols. While the
priests went on chanting, the laymen took sauce pans and ladled hot water from
the oil drums on to the seven fleeces and tore off the wool in rapid handfuls.
At this point flat rush trays of thin unleavened bread and bitter herbs were
brought and shared out.
The Meal
It was
growing dusk. Suddenly over the brow of the mountain rose the face of the full
moon looking down once more on a familiar scene. In the distance two ravens
hunted together. Nearby a donkey began to take noisy interest in the ceremony.
A glow began to appear here and there in the tents as the Samaritan women lit
their lamps.
As soon as
the fleeces were removed the carcases were hung up and the entrails were
carefully removed, and all but the heart and lungs taken to the trench to be
burned. The carcases after being carefully examined for blemishes were slashed
and rough salt was tubbed in. The heart and lungs were also salted and stuffed
into the abdominal cavity. The right forelegs were then cut off as a special
delicacy for the priests. Long wooden spits were brought and thrust through the
animals lengthwise. The seven forelegs were spitted separately on one pole.
All was
ready. The priests gathered round the oven chanting, while laymen stood the
spits vertically at the edge. The high priest gave the word and the seven
carcases were quickly lowed and held upright on the ashes. A wooden grill was
now lowed over the spits, the tops of which stuck up through the openings, and
laid flat on the ground. On this framework newly cut grass was spread thickly.
In the cloud of steam that followed, boys and men could be seen pouring clay
from baskets and plastering it with their hands over the grass. Soon the last
wisp of vapour had been stopped.
At this stage
most visitors who had not already gone back to Nablus after the sacrifice, now
left, for it was past eight o’clock and the feast would not begin, we were
told, till towards midnight.
For the next
hour and a quarter the priests continued chanting with undiminished energy in
the quadrangle, sometimes kneeling, hands held palms upwards, on little prayer
mats, from time to time, touching them with their foreheads, like Arabs, and
sometimes standing, facing the summit and the east, or forming a horseshoe with
one of the elders standing in the middle holding a copy of the Torah in modern
book form. Removing it from its green covering cloth, he waved it open above
his head, or held it open close to his face.
At the end of
the chant all sat down round the walls of the quadrangle and engaged in
ordinary talk. The fire in the trench was still burning and the entrails being
now reduced to strenchless ash a group had gathers for warmth- British
policemen, a few belated Tommies, and a small number of Nablus fellahin who
having fields to attend to, did not return to town each night but lived in
black tents a short distance away.
After some
time the oven was unsealed and the meat shared out. Squatting in small groups they
ate rapidly from small enameled bowls, using fingers and teeth to pull the meat
from the bones. The same paper-thin unleavened bread as before, mixed with
bitter herbs, was the only other food. By himself sat the high priest with his
sleeves rolled up and a bowl to himself. He apologized to the spectators in
Arabic, the language of ordinary conversation, for not being able to invite
them to partake of the feast.
As soon as
the feast was over, the men retired to join their womenfolk who had had meat
and bread sent to them in the tents.
Next morning
the Samaritans gathered in the quadrangle chanting almost as earnestly and
loudly as the night before, but their faces were drawn and heavy still with
sleep. In front of them on a deckchair was the roll of the Pentateuch, which
they believe to be 3,600 years old and written by Aaron. It was then turned five
o’clock and it would be seven before they finished. We therefore left our hosts
and walked down to Nablus. They would not return for another week yet, seven days
of feasting and joy, in memory of deliverance of the ancient Hebrews from the
oppression of Pharaoh in the land of Egypt.
‘Exotic
Passovers in Other Lands,’ by David
Mordecai, in The Jewish Post, Passover Edition, Indianapolis, April 11, 1941,
Indiana, pp. 24-25, 34- 36.
In Palestine
today there are 200 Samaritans: Jews. Many Jews do not even consider the
Samaritans as Jewish. Be that is it may, this most ancient Jewish sect inhabits
a poor quarter of Nablus, speaks Arabic and is a degraded descendant of what
was once a proud Jewish group (during the Second Temple period) consisting of
multitudes.
The Samaritans’
Bible comprises the Pentateuch and Joshua only. These people have never had
anything to do with those Jews who bore the banner of Jewish culture and Jewish
history for so many centuries. Thus, their Passover is an exact replica of
Passover 3,000 years ago, and no more.
As a matter
of fact, were it not for the Samaritans, we would not know how the Pesach was
celebrated in Palestine before the Second Temple; they are a living monument to
Jewish life (as reflected in their Passover observance) 3,000 years ago, and
indirectly, point out how very much Judaism has advanced since then.
Sacrificial
offerings among the Samaritans have died out- with the ceremonial Passover
sacrifice an exception to the rule. The night before Passover eve is utilized
as a ‘chemets’- cleaning occasion. On the following day, the entire tribe of
Samaritans makes a picturesque pilgrimage to Mt Gerizim which they sanctify. On
the slope of the mountain, tents are set up for each family. They are fully
equipped with furniture and utensils, for the Samaritans dwell on the side of
the holy mountain throughout the Passover.
Having broken
away from Jewry as they did in the latter days of the Second temple, the
Samaritans know nothing of the newer innovations for Passover. They do not know
of the colorful Seder service, of the wine, of the practice of reclining at the
Seder table. Their Passover is made up of the ceremonial sacrifice of sheep, of
eating them in great haste with matzos and bitter herbs and of reciting
prayers.
Preparations
for the feast start a few hours before Passover eve. Mount Gerizim becomes a
hub of activity. All adult males, attired in holiday white, stoke the fires in
two big pits, one for the roasting of the sheep, the other for the burning of
the offal and other remains after the feast. Huge cauldrons of hot water are
also prepared.
A half hour
before sunset the long-awaited holiday begins. Facing the peak of Mt. Gerizim
and worshipping on their knees, the Samaritans raise their voices in a series
of chanted prayers. At sunset, the congregation listens to the high priest read
a portion of the Pentateuch wherein the slaughtering of the Pascal lamb is
ordered. A dozen young Samaritan boys busy themselves with the preparations for
the sacrifice. When the high priest comes to the words, ‘And the whole
congregation of Israel shall kill at dusk,’ the sheep are thrown toward the
pits. Two ritual slaughters pronounce a benediction and kill six or seven
sheep. One extra animal is always available should a physical flaw be found in
one of the slaughtered sheep.
The actual
slaughtering is a signal for great rejoicing. Greetings fill the air;
participants kiss one another, first on the right shoulder, then the left.
Thus, the first part of the Samaritan Passover ends.
Until about 10
o’clock, the sheep are cleaned and spitted and readied for roasting. The fires
in the offal pit burn brightly as the insides of the sheep are thrown in.
Finally, the sheep are thrown into the roasting pit together while the
congregation stands around chanting.
About three
hours are devoted to the roasting. During this interval, most Samaritans seek
out their cots or beds, for a good rest is needed in order to partake of the
third part of the ceremony- the eating of the sheep.
At about 1
o’clock in the morning the Samaritans are wide-awake. They wash their hands and
feet, brush their cloths, gird their loins, take hold of their staves and
gather around the roasting pit. Women and children remain in the tents.
The
sacrificial animals, bedecked with matzos and bitter herbs, are placed in
special Passover baskets. A circle is formed around the sheep. Led by the high
priest, the prescribed blessing is uttered and the Samaritans fall to, pulling
the meat hastily to pieces. Portions are set aside for the women and children.
In less than a half hour the bones and other remainders are cast into the
burning pit. Baskets and other utensils that were used in the ceremony are
burned too, for the Samaritans follow the letter of the Law: “That which
remainth of it until the morning, ye shall burn with fire.”
After the
meal, the Samaritans stay awake all night chanting and reciting prayers. Their
matzos, which differ from ours, are freshly baked each day.
“The
Samaritan Passover, A Sect Dating back to 883 B.C. Celebrates Passover in an
Ancient Ritual Manner.” By Ernest Aschner in The
Sentinel, Thursday, April 14,
1949; Page 85 and 87.
While millions of Jews throughout the world
commemorate the exodus from Egypt and their liberation from Pharaoh’s bondage
by celebrating the beginning of the traditional Passover festival with
elaborate ceremonies on Seder night, a unique commemoration of this event is
enacted every year in the hills north of Jerusalem by a small sect, tracing its
history back some 2,600 years.
This sect of some four
hundred men, women and children living in in the Arab town of Nablus (the
ancient city of Shechem) is known as Samaritans. By their looks and way of life
they can hardly be distinguished by the casual observer from their Arab
neighbors, yet their religion is Jewish. They speak Arabic, dress like Arabs,
plow the fields in the archaic way the Arabs do, but their prayers are said in
Hebrew.
Their history dates back
to the times when the Assyrians took Samaria. After the separation of Israel
and Judah, the city of Shechem became the religious center of the Northern
Kingdom, while the political capital was transferred to the newly built city of
Samaria. This was in 883 B.C.E. Some 160 years later (in 772 B.C.E.) Samaria
fell to the Assyrians and those of its original inhabitants who were not
deported or killed were regarded later as the remnants of Israel and importance
and their external history became that of Syria.
Reflecting the rivalry
between Israel and Judah, the relations between the Jews and Samaritans from
the 5th century B.C.E. onward were hostile. The religious development of the
Samaritans were arrested about 430 B.C.E. and while adhering strictly up to
today to the Torah, they never admitted any of the prophetical teachings and
never codified their law in the Mishna. They venerate Gerizim and not Jerusalem
and it is on the hill of Gerizim that the annual celebration of the Passover
festival takes place.
Leave Home
On the eve of Passover
the Samaritans leave their homed in Nablus in a long procession leading over
the stony hillside to the holy site of Gerizim only a few miles away. A big
square on the hilltop, marked in parts by a low wall of piled-up stones is
roped off and around this square the Samaritans pitch their tents in which they
live during the eight-day festival. Their flocks of sheep are kept in a separate
enclosure and another area is set aside as a communal cooking and baking
center.
True to tradition, the
women put in practically no appearance in all the proceedings and spend most of
their time inside the tents unless busy preparing food. The children play
around between the tents or help their mothers with “household” chores. The
men, mostly bearded and dignified looking in their ankle-long white holiday
grab and white turban-like headgear, busy themselves fixing the tents (page 89)
or chatting in groups and saying their prayers at the prescribed times.
Beautiful Oriental carpets adorn the interiors of the tents and some pillows,
boxes and household utensils make up the sparse furnishings of these temporary
quarters.
Throughout the day before
the Seder all adults observe a strict fast and at sunset the male members of
the community assemble for prayers which continue until midnight. Led by their
high priest, the men sing prayers in Hebrew and the more solemn passages are
marked by the members of the congregation by kneeling and bowing their heads to
the ground. Crowds of interested onlookers from all parts of the country flock
to Mount Gerizim to watch the proceedings and to spend the night with the
celebrants in the open.
The highlight of the
ceremonies is the traditional offering of a lamb which is slaughtered ritually
and then put into the flames of a bonfire to the accompaniment of loud
sing-song prayers. Meanwhile the women have prepared boiling water in huge
kettles over open fires and this is later used to clean a good number of sheep
slaughtered for the midnight meal. The sheep are then roasted on skewers over
the same fires and when the fast is broken at midnight the men sit around in
circles and are waited on by the women.
Unlike the crisp square
or round Matzoth eaten in most parts of the world where Jews celebrate
Passover, the Samaritans have large, thin, oblong soft pieces of doughy
unleavened bread. The traditional Passover herbs and spices are rolled into
these Matzoth, lending some flavor to the otherwise tasteless baked dough.
Easting and singing
continue until dawn of the first day of Passover and the visitors are invited
to partake of the food. At the end of the eight-day festival the camp is broken
up and the Samaritans return to their Arab neighbors and occupations in Nablus,
leaving the bare square on the hilltop where one their temple stood vacant for
another year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Links
Qui sont les Samaritains ?
J’ai été profondément choquée cette semaine par l’apparition sur Facebook de vidéos en arabe, en anglais et même en français sur toutes sortes de sujets concernant le judaïsme et sur lesquels sont divulgués des messages mensongers. Même sur l’histoire de leur prophète et du fondement de leur religion…. Un autre sujet a été abordé dans ces vidéos : les Samaritains visant à faire d’eux des musulmans alors que la réalité est toute autre. Voyez plutôt.
http://ourielpost.com/qui-sont-les-samaritains/
~~~~~~~~~~
New article
Pummer, Reinhard
Was There
an Altar or a Temple in the Sacred Precinct on Mt. Gerizim?
Journal for the Study of
Judaism, Volume 47, Issue 1, 2016, pages 1 – 21
Abstract: After the recent excavations by Itzhak Magen
on the main summit of Mount Gerizim it has become clear that the Samari(t)an
sanctuary stood within a sacred precinct in the Persian and Hellenistic times.
So far, no direct evidence of the nature of the sanctuary has been unearthed.
The excavator and many contemporary scholars assume it was a temple building.
However, some scholars question the accuracy of this assumption and believe
that the sanctuary more likely was an altar. This paper reviews both the
arguments that speak for an altar and those that speak for a walled and roofed
temple.
Biblio
Derenbourg, Hartwig
“Les Manuscrits judaiques entres au British Museum de 1887 a 1890 [nos.
11 – Or. 4117], Revue des etudes juives, xxiii
(1891), p.99-116.
Heger, Paul-Pessach
A New Comparative Research of the Customes Of the Israelite Samaritans
and the Sects of Judea Desert of the Second Temple Period.
Niesiołowski-Spanò, Łukasz
Tal, Abraham
0 כחלילי Ou les Yeux de Juda la Tradition Samaritaine in L'Oeuvre d'un Orientaliste, André Caquot 1923-2004, 2010
‘Euphemisms in the Samaritan Targum of the Pentateuch.’ Aramaic Studies (2003)
‘“Hebrew language” and “Holy Language” between Judea and Samaria.’ In József Zsengellér (ed), Samaria, Samarians, Samaritans 2011
‘In
Search of Late Samaritan Aramaic’ in Aramaic
Studies 7 (2009)
The Dialects of Jewish
Palestiniam Aramaic and the Palestiniam Targum of the Pentateuch. Autores:
Abraham Tal; Localización: Sefarad: Revista de Estudios Hebraicos y Sefardíes,
ISSN 0037-0894, Año 46, Nº. 1-2, 1986 , págs. 441-448. Fundación Dialnet. ...
‘The First Samaritanologist: Wilhelm Gesenius’
‘The Samaritan Targum to
the Pentateuch, Its Distinctive Characteristics and Its Metamorphosis.’ 2014
‘The So-called Cuthean
Words in the Samaritan Aramaic Vocabulary’ in Aramaic
Studies 2.1 (2001)
~~~~~~~~~
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