“Mount
Gerizim,
All
the Days of Our Lives”
January / February 2018
Vol. XVII - No 3
In This Issue ·
Sarawi Photo ·
General Auction ·
5 Shehadeh articles ·
Samaritan Life ·
Benny’s Lessons ·
Past Auctions ·
Oak Tree Products ·
From the Editor ·
New Publications ·
New Articles ·
Biblio
On January 1, 2017, the Samaritan Community
numbered 796.
Future Events
It has been 3655 years
since the entrance into the Holy Land
(Samaritan’s typical calendar)
2018
The Eleventh Month 3656 - Tuesday Evening, 16
January 2018
The Twelfth Month 3656 - Thursday Evening, 15
February 2018
The Thirteenth Month 3656 - Saturday Evening, 17
March 2018
The First Month 3657 - Sunday Evening, 15 April 2018
Passover Sacrifice: Sunday evening (7:24 pm) 29
April 2018
[Calculated by: Priest
Yakkiir ['Aziz] b. High Priest Jacob b. 'Azzi – Kiriat Luza, Mount Gerizim]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yossi
Sarawi posted this photo on Facebook Feb 10, 2017, taken from inside the
Samaritan synagogue in Holon.
~~~~~~~~~
General
Auction
Lot 782: Zvi
Oron-Orushkes - collection of 6 photos of the Samaritans and two additional
photos, including photos taken during Yitzchak Ben Zvi's visit
March 5, 2018, 5:00 PM EET Mazkeret Batia, Israel
Description: Zvi Oron-Orushkes -
collection of 6 photos of the Samaritans, including photos taken during
Yitzchak Ben Zvi's visit, circa 1930s, ink-stamps of the photographer on the
reverse. Two additional photos taken during the Passover sacrafice. Minor
flaws: upper part of 2 photos is peeling off, one has a cut top right corner
and wrinkles on the bottom margins. Dimensions: 8.5x13.5 cm.
~~~~~~
Five New Articles
Read the full article here: https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/Sheema.pdf
Read the full article here: https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/elections_to_be_followed.pdf
Read the full article here: https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/the_price_of_the_calling_king_hussein.pdf
Read the full article here: https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/subhi_the_goodhearthed.pdf
Read the full article here: https://shomron0.tripod.com/articles/the_disaster_of_the_children.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Concluder of the
Torah in Holon
The 7-Year-old son of Ofir b. Ravit
and Eyyal b. Yafa and Priest Elazar b, Tabia completed his Torah reading Thursday
Evening, 22.2.2018 (image right).
b. Gilla and Manashee b. Yitzhaq Tsedaka
Hassafaaree
(image left) Holon, Thursday, 22.2.2018
Images were posted by Binyamin Tsedaka on Facebook, on Feb. 22, 2018
Mount Gerizim - Beautiful Twins were born today
to Ofira and Abraham b. Shlomit and Yoetz b. Asher Tsedaka on Wednesday night,
Feb. 28.2018 (image right).
~~~~~~~~~~
Next Generation of the Samaritan Legend Association
With you we continue our march and your efforts
will achieve our goals!
Facebook Post by Jac Samri, Feb. 22, 2018
Learn
more about The Samaritan Legend is a Samaritan Association on
https://www.facebook.com/SAMARITANS-LEGEND-ASSOCIATION-
DNA and the Origin
of the Jews
Is
there a genetic marker for cohanim (priests)? Are Ashkenazi Jews descended
from Khazars? Why is there such a close genetic connection between Samaritans
and Jews, especially cohanim? A look at what genetic testing
can tell us about Jews.
Prof. Steven
J. Weitzman http://thetorah.com/dna-and-the-origin-of-the-jews/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photo of
Mount Gerizim, posted by Raneen Cohen of Facebook on Sept. 18, 2017
~~~~~~~~~~
Keep updated
with Benny’s Facebook Page
The Israelite Samaritans Lesson no. 25
The Israelite Samaritans in the years 1970-2018
The Israelite Samaritans woke up to in the first years after the
six days war. Yet, there were other wars afterwards in 1969 with Egypt, in 1973
with Egypt and Syria, in 1982 and 1996 with Lebanon, but the region of Samaria
never been involved in these wars although there were two Palestinian uprisings
against Israel in 1987-1993 and the years 2000-2002, despite the Oslo agreement
in 1994 between the two sides in conflict.
Samaria region where the Samaritans live was out of these
struggles that Israel got control on both of them. During those years 1995-2000
the community established its attitude towards ensuring the political future of
the entire community between the two sides.
In 1995 a delegation of the community went to Washington DC
White House and State Departments and to the British Foreign Office in London
to clarify the sensitive status of the community between the two forces. It was
a clear statement that the Samaritans do not want to be involve in the conflict
but to be like a bridge of peace between Israel and the Palestinians by being a
model of living together in peace with both sides. This new policy paid itself
by the two forces in being drafted to help together the Israelite Samaritans
with their projects of development in the new neighborhood Kiriat Luza since
1998 when the last Samaritans of Nablus moved to the top of mount Gerizim. Also
the Samaritans of Holon built summer houses in the new village to dwell in them
during festivals on the Mountain.
During all this period of 50 years 1967-2017 the Israelite
Samaritans led by the High Priests of the family of Aaron, Moses brother: Amram
b. Yitzhaq[1961-1980 his high priesthood]; Asher b. Matzliach [1980-1982];
Phinhas b. Matzliach [1982-1984]; Jacob b, 'Azzu [1984-1987]; Yusef b. Ab-Hisda
[1987-1998]; Levi b. Abishah [1988-2001]; Shalom b. 'Amram [2001-2004 that was
also member of the Palestinian Authority Parliament]; Elazar b. Tsedaka
[2004-2010]; Aaron b. Ab-Hisda [2010-2013]; The current High Priest 'Abedel b.
Asher[Since 2013]. Each High Priest has a chancellor and the support of the
community dignitaries and cooperated with the elected committees of Holon and
Mount Gerizim.
In 2005 was established the Samaritan Medal Foundation with its
annual meeting in Washington DC that decided every meeting to which prominent
activists of peace, humanitarian and Academic Achievements to award the First
Samaritan Medal. Usually the High Priests awarded the medal to the recipients
[2-3 medals a year].
During the last 50 years the community made a great progress in
better education and culture. In Holon and Mount Gerizim established in 1969
the First Samaritan Newspaper A.B. - The Samaritan News Magazine, twice a month
in four languages: Ancient Hebrew, Modern Hebrew, Arabic and English. In 1980
established in Holon the "A.B. - Institute of Samaritan Studies". In
1985 was established in Paris the Society of Samaritan Studies that organized
congresses on Samaritan Studies every four years in a different cities in
Europe and in Israel. All these bodies are active till the present.
The community has many university graduates and many working in
High Tech, Banks and Insurance companies that pushed the community many steps
forwards to live in comfortable houses in two new beautiful neighborhoods in
Holon and on Mount Gerizim. Now the community has five synagogues, one an
Nablus, two in Holon and two on Mount Gerizim.
Thanks to the Internet many new communities of Israelite
Samaritans are active around the world, in Asia, Europe, and the two Americas.
This activity started in the last decade and the number of their member is
growing all the time.
Benyamim
Tsedaka
Pictures: Kiriat Luza and Holon Neighborhoods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kedem
Auction House LTD
Jewish
& Israeli History and Culture
Online
Auction no. 9 Jun 6, 2017
Carpet with a
Samaritan Inscription
A carpet with an inscription in Samaritan: "Aba
VeEmuna" (father and our mother) and below it an inscription
"Beruchim HaBa'im" (welcome), Hebrew in Samaritan script. A crosswise
pattern of roses appears on the carpet.
The carpet was presented to the Sassoon family as a gift from the sage Binyamin
Yehudah, and was used in synagogues of the Sassoon family in London and in
Israel.
Approx. 70X135 cm. Good condition.
Provenance: Sassoon Family collection. Lot no. 534 Sold $64.00
Collection
of Documents and Letters concerning the Samaritan Community
A collection of documents and letters from the estate of Avraham
Nur Tsedakah of the Board of the Samaritans in Israel, who, among his other
activities, edited and printed annotated editions of Samaritan manuscripts with
commentary of Samaritan laws and customs.
Documents include:
* Booklet written by Ben-Zvi on the Samaritan Abisha Scroll, with dedication.
* Correspondence on various matters: allocation of lamb meat to the Samaritan
people, recruitment to the IDF, Samaritan writings and the edition of the
Hebrew-Samaritan Torah edited by Avraham Tsedakah, request of permit for flour
to bake matzot for Passover, letter from the mayor of Holon Pinchas Ayalon
regarding a housing project to be built for Samaritans and a letter from Yeffet
Tsedakah regarding the agreement of 15 families to move to Holon, letter of
confirmation of receipt of medical aid from the Red Cross, signed by the Head
of the Board of Samaritans in Nablus High Priest Amram ben Yitzhaq Cohen and
Tsedakah Yitzhaq Cohen.
* Copy of “Lineage of Our Lord Moshe ben Amram, May He Rest in Peace”, written
by Elazar ben Tsedakah, High Priest in Nablus.
* Collection of publications and essays about the Samaritans.
* Several leaves in Samaritan handwriting, and more.
Total of about 50 documents, part of them consist of several leaves. Size and
condition vary.
Lot no. 57
sold for $75.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oak Tree
Products
See
their website at https://www.accordancebible.com/
Samaritan
Pentateuch (Hebrew, tagged)
See
packages below which include this module.
This
module is an upgrade from untagged SAMAR.
The
Hebrew text of the first five books of Moses, as preserved by the Samaritan
community. This Accordance edition is morphologically tagged by Martin Abegg
and Casey Toews, and conforms to the Ben Hayyim concordance.
Samaritan
Pentateuch (Hebrew, tagged)
This module is an upgrade from untagged SAMAR.
The Hebrew text of the first five books of Moses, as preserved
by the Samaritan community. This Accordance edition is morphologically tagged
by Martin Abegg and Casey Toews, and conforms to the Ben Hayyim concordance.
SAMAR-T
upgrade from untagged SAMAR
Details
This upgrade is offered to users who
previously purchased the untagged Hebrew Samaritan Pentateuch (SAMAR). Purchase
of this upgrade will supply the user with the tagged Hebrew Samaritan
Pentateuch (SAMAR-T). Add this upgrade product to your shopping cart
like any other product.
The Hebrew text of the first five books of Moses, as preserved
by the Samaritan community. This Accordance edition is morphologically tagged
by Martin Abegg and Casey Toews, and conforms to the Ben Hayyim concordance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the
Editor
Recently
I ran across something of interest in the book The Life of J. D. Åkerblad:
Egyptian Decipherment and Orientalism in Revolutionary Times by Fredrik
Thomasson, Brill 2013, on page 191-192
‘Most of the manuscripts were bought during his travels in the
East; the Samaritan fragment he acquired in Jaffa…….Åkerblad later sold off
parts when he tried to finance his return to Sweden in 1805….A very off
Deuteronomy fragment in Samaritan”
It
appears this in in in Russian hands today.
Aso see the
article Fredrik
Thomasson Johan David Åkerblad: Orientalist, Traveller, and Manuscript Collector in Travelling
through Time; Essays in Honour of Kaj Öhrnberg, Studia Orientalia
114, p. 463-477
~~~~~~~~
Some Jewish Personal Names: An Annotated Bibliography by Edwin D.
Lawson (State University of New York) pp287-8
74. Samaritan
*[74.1] Wust, Efraim. (1995).
AThe deletion of names in Samaritan manuscripts@. Books & People@, 9, pp.
9-12. Refs. Analysis of two Arabic documents from the 17th and 18th centuries
in the collection of the Jewish National and University Library leads to the
conclusion that the two copyists of the documents belonged to Samaritan
communities. The mss. are unusual in that A Second Jewish Names
Bibliography/Lawson 288 original Samaritan names were effaced. The reason
suggested is that the two copyists converted to Islam at a later stage of their
lives at a time (late 18th century) when their Samaritan communities vanished.
An
interesting web page: http://adzticle.us/mount-gerizim-israel/
New
Publications
Selected Modern Hebrew Texts
with Exercises
By
(author) : Haseeb Shehadeh
Scholars'
Press (2018-02-20 )
This
textbook is an attempt to offer a comprehensive representation of Modern Hebrew
to the student of Hebrew language and culture. It consists of three major
parts. The first part offers a large sample of 588 headlines, collected from daily
newspapers, especially Ha-aretz, as well as titles of articles and books on
Hebrew and Judaism. Part two consists of 74 sections that deal with such topics
as politics, sociology, language, culture, sport, economy, health and
literature, beginning with the simple and ending with the more complex texts.
Part three consists of an alphabetical Glossary of approximately 350 linguistic
terms in English and Hebrew. An effort was made to include interesting as well
as modern material. We hope that this textbook will help the student of
advanced Hebrew level in Western and Eastern universities to gain a better
understanding of Modern Hebrew as reflected in the media, both written and
oral.
A new
publication: The Name of
God and the Angel of the Lord Samaritan and Jewish Concepts of Intermediation
and the Origin of Gnosticism Jarl E.
Fossum
ISBN 978-1-4813-0793-2 391 pages | 6 x 9 | Paper | $39.95 https://www.baylorpress.com/documents/386/BPCatalog-2017-Cover1-lowres-spreads.pdf
New articles
DNA
and the Origin of the Jews, by Prof. Steven
J. Weitzman at The Torah.com
http://thetorah.com/dna-and-the-origin-of-the-jews/
‘Ethnography
of death in Palestine’ by Hamdan Taha in Journal of Historical Archaeology &
Anthropological Sciences, Vol. 3, Issue 4 - 2018
The
Archivist’s Nook: Numismatic Teaching Tool – Catholic University’s Coin
Collection
Posted on February
15, 2018 by William
J. Shepherd
‘The
Nablus Collection, numbering 178 coins, came to the university in 1927 from the
Samaritan Community of Nablus, Palestine, then under British administration.’
Das
-Heiligtum am Garizim: ein archäologischer Befund und seine literar- und
theologiegeschichtliche Einordnung
Hensel,
Benedikt,
Vetus Testamentum, 68, 73-93 (2018), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-12341302
Abstract: No later than the midst of the 5th century the recently
discovered sanctuary on Mt.Gerizim was the cultic center of the
Samarian YHWH-worshippers, later known as the Samaritans. The sanctuary
was in every way comparable to its counterpart in Jerusalem. The author
investigates the question why there is so little mentioning of the sanctuary in
the Bible at all; only the location “Mount Gerizim” is mentioned a few times in
the Tora. Albeit its obvious absence in the texts, there seem to be several,
enciphered mentions of the Samaria sanctuary in the later part of the (Judean)
canon (Ketubim and Nebi’im). Altogether they criticize the cult on Mt.Gerizim
in this very indirect way. The author explores the texts 2 Kön 17,24-41 and 2
Chr 13 as examples for this enciphering and outlines the character of these
polemics and the ideological-theological interest of the Judean authors.
Religious Identity of Diaspora Samaritan in Thessaloniki
Ayano
Fujisawa, Keio
University, Japan
XV
Congressus Internationalis Epigraphie Graecae et Latinae, Wien 2017
Book Review
Florentin, Moshe (Reviewer)
~~~~~~~~
Biblio
Dalgaard,
Kasper (University of Copenhagen)
A Priest for All Generations: An
Investigation into the Use of the Melchizedek Figure from Genesis to the Cave
of Treasures Publikationer fra Det Teologiske Fakultet 48 2013
Hensel,
Benedikt
Abstract: No later than the midst of the 5th century the recently
discovered sanctuary on Mt.Gerizim was the cultic center of the Samarian
YHWH-worshippers, later known as the Samaritans. The sanctuary was in every way
comparable to its counterpart in Jerusalem. The author investigates the
question why there is so little mentioning of the sanctuary in the Bible at
all; only the location “Mount Gerizim” is mentioned a few times in the Tora.
Albeit its obvious absence in the texts, there seem to be several, enciphered
mentions of the Samaria sanctuary in the later part of the (Judean) canon
(Ketubim and Nebi’im). Altogether they criticize the cult on Mt.Gerizim in this
very indirect way. The author explores the texts 2 Kings 17,24-41 and 2 Chr 13
as examples for this enciphering and outlines the character of these polemics
and the ideological- theological interest of the Judean authors.
On
the Relationship of Judah and Samaria in Post-Exilic Times: A Farewell to the
Conflict Paradigm
Abstract: The relationship of Judah and Samaria in the period from the 6th
to the 2nd century B.C.E is currently still being described as an uninterrupted
period of ongoing conflicts between the Samarian and Judean YHWH-worshippers.
This article examines evidence which offers an entirely different picture of
Samarian-Judean relations in the post-exilic period: In the Levant in
post-exilic times, there were two homologous Yahwisms in Judah and Samaria
which existed side by side. It is for this reason that, when studying this
formative period, scholars should give due consideration not only to Judah, but
also to the North as well.
Publication Name: in: Journal for the Study of the Old Testament (forthcoming)
Na’aman,
Nadav
‘Locating the
Sites of Assyrian Deportees in ancient Israel and Southern Palestine in Light
of the Textual and Archaeological Evidence’- in J. MacGinnis, D. Wicke and T
Greenfield (eds.), The Provincial
Archaeology of the Assyrian Empire, 2016, 275-282.
Abstract: In sum, archaeology has great potential to aid the investigation
of migrations and deportations. However, further basic research must take place
before establishing whether the potential cases would produce positive results
for the study of the Assyrian deportations to Palestine. What can be
established with certainty is that the deportees brought with them certain
knowledge and cultural traditions, rather than physical artefacts. Upon
settling in the land, they began applying this knowledge and cultural traditions
to their new environment. Thus, the artefacts they produced in their new
homeland might indicate such migrants’ presence and sometimes even their
origin. In this respect, the Assyrian deportees do not differ from other groups
of migrants in the history of Palestine whose behavior in the new land was
dictated by their ancestral tradition and the way they adapted it to their new
homeland.
Paulo, Bonifácio (Stellenbosch
University)
THE CENTRALIZATION
OF THE WORSHIP OF YAHWEH ACCORDING TO THE JEWISH AND SAMARITAN PENTATEUCHS: A
TEXTUAL AND THEOLOGICAL STUDY. Dissertation,
December 2017
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study
is, firstly, to understand the theological implications of the phenomenon of
centralization of worship in Deuteronomy 12 according to the Jewish and
Samaritan Pentateuchs; secondly, to investigate the different wording between
the two readings and the possible factors that contributed to their
development; and thirdly, given these different sectarian readings, to
understand what might be the place of the Samaritan Pentateuch in the
enterprise of Bible translation. To address these objectives, the researcher
chose to use an integrated method, which gives him the freedom to bring
different approaches, such as historical-scientific, textual/literary, and
theological, into conversation. It is through this method that the outcome of
this study is outlined as follows: From a historical-scientific viewpoint, it
is most likely that the origin of ancient Israel is to be placed in the context
of the Mediterranean region in the Iron Age I period. Furthermore, despite their
belligerent relations, both Judean and Samaritan populaces are likely to be
genetically related and, therefore, from the same ancestral origins.
Theologically, the centralization of worship had, to some extent, contributed
significantly to the shaping of the ideologies of the Jerusalem temple and
Davidic/Israel’s election. In response to these ideologies, the Samaritans
rejected any tradition related to Jerusalem temple and to Davidic kingship and
put an exclusive claim on the Mosaic tradition as the only authoritative
script. Addressed from a textual/literary approach, the two Pentateuchs share
the same roots – the Mosaic tradition – and the differences between them are
mainly due to editorial activities, where editors acted in favour of their
respective site of worship. Lastly, with regard to the place of the Samaritan
Pentateuch in the work of Bible translation, it is noted that, despite the
different emphases on the place of worship, it has much in common not only with
the Jewish Pentateuch but also with other textual witnesses such as the
Septuagint and the Dead Seas Scrolls. Moreover, like other textual witnesses,
the Samaritan Pentateuch held a significant level of authority over ancient
Israeli communities, including Qumran and the early church. If this is the
case, then the place of the Samaritan Pentateuch in the enterprise of Bible
Translation needs to be reconsidered. https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/102871
Pickett,
Bobby
(
The Samaritan Kaleidoscope: A Look Back at Centuries of Tensions with
Judaism
Pummer,
Reinhard
‘The
Samaritans in Damascus,’ in Samaritan, Hebrew and Aramaic Studies
Presented to Professor Abraham Tal, ed. Moshe Bar-Asher and Moshe Florentin (Jerusalem: The
Bialik Institute, 2005) 53-76
‘The
Samaritans in Egypt in Études sémitiques et samaritaines offertes à Jean
Margin (ed. Christian-Bernard Amphoux,
Albert Frey, and Ursula Schattner-Rieser; Histoire du Texte Biblique 4;
Lausanne: Éditions du Zèbre, 1998), 213–32
“The
Samaritan Manuscripts of the Chester Beatty Library,” in Proceedings of the Irish
Biblical Association 6 (1982) 103-115; reprinted from Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review 68
(1979) 66-75
Abstract: Descriptions
of MSS 751, 752, 753 and unnumbered fragments in the Chester Beatty
Library.
Tov, Emanuel
“The Samaritan
Pentateuch and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Proximity of the Pre-Samaritan Qumran
Scrolls to the SP,” in Keter Shem Tov: Essays on the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Shani
Tzoref and Ian Young, PHSC 20 (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2013), 59–88
(submitted ms, now published)
Yaniv, Bracha
The Samaritan
Torah Case,
in Samaritan Researches (eds. V.
Morabito, Alen D. Crown & L. Davey), 5, Sydney 2000, pp. 4.04-4.13
Vasilyeva, Olga (National Library of Russia)
Documents in the Firkovich
Collection: Valuable
Sources on the History of the Jewish Communities in Europe and the Middle East from
the 12th to the 19th century
Abstract: The paper presents a
survey of the manuscript collections of Abraham Firkovich, and, in particular,
of the handwritten documents it contains in Hebrew, Arabic, West-Russian and
other languages. These historical documents belonged to the Karaite (mostly of
Lithuania), Rabbanite and Samaritan communities, and reflect their life in Europe
and the Middle East from the 12th to the 19th century. These historical sources
were included in different library funds and described in several inventory
handlists; some archival materials have been presented in printed catalogues,
and many items have been published and translated into European languages. In
the paper, a brief survey of the documents is given, as well as the history of
their acquisition by Firkovich and the history of their cataloguing and
research over the past 150 years.
~~~~~~~~~
The
Samaritan Update is open to any articles that are relative to Samaritan
Studies. Submit your work to The Editor
TheSamaritanUpdate.com, is a Bi-Monthly Internet Newsletter
Editor: Larry
Rynearson. Contact: The Editor
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