The Samaritan Update

April 11th, 2002



The Samaritan Community Numbered

645 Persons On January 1, 2002.


The Passover Sacrifice

Will take place on

Friday evening, April 26th this year. The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the evening of the 27th

 

You may want to read;

‘The Celebration of Passover by the Samaritans’

By Ya’aqov Ben Uzzi Ha-Cohen

 

Or our other Passover related articles:

 

The Book of Enlightenment For the Instruction of the Inquirer

PART 1 /Jacob, Son of Aaron, (Concerning the origin and significance of the ceremonial year, the time of the institution of the Passover and the Passover when the date falls on the Sabbath.)

Passover with the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim /Larry Rynearson

The Prophecy of The End Of the Of Days By The Prophets Of Judah Is Realized Every Passover At Kiryat Luza/Benjamim Tsedaka


 

Recently a new book appeared in French written by Alan Crown and Jean Francois Fau, called

 ‘Les Samaritains’ (Maisoneuve and Larose, Paris. 2001/2)


Visit our New Samaritan Store!

 

From our Store at The-Samaritans.Com:

http://www.the-samaritans.com/Store.htm


Samaritan Interactive CD-ROM from Nes Multimedia Production Ltd. The CD works on Windows and Macintosh computers. Exhibits many photos and mini movies. Addresses the Samaritan religion, chronicles, community, language and literature. There is even an interactive quiz that can test your knowledge. The Samaritan Singers reform (Osher sings with them on this cd-rom) their music on the CD-ROM. It is full of information.
Other items:

The Samaritan Talit;

Amulets;

Samaritan Cookbook in Hebrew,

The CD of the Samaritan Singers,

A copy of the Samaritan Torah, Post cards of the Samaritans

Or if you are looking for something different. Interested parties can contact us at webmaster@the-samaritans.com


Photos of The

Samaritans Maintaining The Ritual of Sacrificing the Passover in 1934


Recent Additions To Our Web Site:

The Problem of the Patrilineal or Matrilineal Decent and Inter-Marriage

According to the Samaritan and Rabbinic Halakah

By Michael Corinaldi


Get a free E-mail Address from www.The-Samaritans.com/ . Just go to our web site and find “get a free e-mail address” or go to http://samaritan.i-p.com/ and register. Let people know you are involved with the Samaritans.


Coming soon!

Literary Remains of the Late Emanuel Deutsch

With a Brief Memoir

Henry Holt and Company, NY, 1874

On the Samaritan Pentateuch.

 

AND

The Return of the Diaspora Samaritans to Nablus at the End of the Middle Ages

By Nathan Schur


Samaritans, Smallest Minority in Holy Land, Straddle Religious Divide

 

By Daniel Williams

Washington Post Foreign Service

Monday, April 9, 2001; Page A13

Read the article.


Subscribe to the

A.B.- The Samaritan News-

Since December 1969.         

A Bi-Weekly Newspaper, written in four languages.

POB 1029, Holon 58 110, Israel or e-mail Benyamim and Yefet Tsedaka at: tsedakab@netvision.net.il

Back issues are available.


Go To The Samaritan Update Index on the Web

Samaritans Remain Safe From Harm

   Israel has been fighting against the clock to finish the work before the US forces her to withdraw from the Palestinian areas. Tanks and troops were moved onto Mount Gerizim during the movement of the Israeli forces in the West Bank to take control of Nablus and its surrounding area. With little battles in the area, the Samaritans have remained safe from harm. With respect for both the Palestinians and Israelis, the Samaritans have survived the scene with no casualties. The Samaritans’ policy is not to take sides. This is the situation that the Samaritans face in order to continue to exist between the fractions in the troubled area.


A Good Samaritan Passed Away Recently

   Abraham ben Tsedaka ben High Priest Yitzhaq b. Amram passed away recently. He was 80 years old. Recently Abraham injured himself from a fall on the road near his home in Kiryat Luza, Mount Gerizim. He died in surgery from complications in Yitzhaq Rabin Hospital in Petach Tikva, Israel. Abraham was the cousin of the current High Priest, Shalom Ben Amram. He was loved my all and will be missed. May God deliver his soul to paradise for good!


The British Support the Idea of Turning Mount Gerizim into the Island of Peace.

A Samaritan Delegation Will Enlist the EU To Implement the Idea

   The British support the idea of turning Mount Gerizim into the Island of Peace. A Samaritan delegation will enlist the EU to implement the idea.

   Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and commonwealth Affairs Mr. Ben Bradshaw supports the idea that Benyamim Tsedaka, do-editor of the A.B.-The Samaritan News, proposed during his meetings in December 2001 in the British Foreign Office in London. The letter that Under-Secretary Bradshaw wrote on 29.1 to Lord Eric A. Avebury, Deputy Chairman of the Human Rights Committee in the British Parliament is brought down below as follows:

Foreign & Commonwealth Office SWIA 2AH       29 January, 2002

Lord Avebury, House of Lords, London SW1A OPA

 

   Dear Eric,

 Thank you for your letter of 20th December 2001 about your meeting with Mr. Benny Tsedaka. Mr. Tsedaka expressed concern about the Samaritans ‘freedom of access between Mount Gerizim near Nablus and Holon, and the effect of closures and the upsurge in violence has had on the Samaritans there. Mr. Tsedaka also raised these concerns when he met with my officials on 17, December 2001. I am sorry for the delay replying.

   It is extremely unfortunate that the Samaritans have had difficulties when trying to travel to religious festivals on Mount Gerizim. I fully understand Mr. Tsedaka’s concerns and support the idea of establishing a Zone of Peace around Mount Gerizim. I would encourage all parties concerned to enter into a dialogue about the merits of this.

   Closures and restrictions on movement affect everyone in the Occupied Territories. I am deeply concerned about their humanitarian and economic impact. Sustained closures continue to restrict the free movement of people and essential supplies between the Occupied Territories and Israel and other countries, as well as within the Occupied Territories. Economic hardship and unemployment can only fuel hatred and violence, and make a comprehensive settlement more difficult to achieve. The lifting of closures and the transfer of tax revenues owed to the Palestinian Authority form part of the recommendations of the Mitchell Committee report. We have expressed our serious concerns to the Israeli Government on political, legal and humanitarian grounds, and will continue to do so. I made strong representations to this point when I met Israeli leaders on 15 January.

   The rights of all those in Israel and the Occupied Territories can be best protected by achieving peace and a settlement that is just for both Palestinians and Israelis. All our efforts are devoted to promoting a return by the parties.

   We have brought Mr. Tsedaka’s concerns to the attention of our embassy in Tel Aviv and our Consulate General in Jerusalem and asked for their views.   Yours Sincerely, Ben Bradshaw

 

Britain Supports the Plan for Mount Gerizim

   The implication of Secretary of State Bradshaw’s letter is far fetching as regards the shaping of the Samaritans’ political future. It leaves no doubt of Britain’s intentions concerning the Samaritans and the status of Mount Gerizim as a center of peace in the area, accessible to anyone who wishes to go there. Britain supports the idea and will take steps to implement it. It is clear to all concerned that this is not a polite declaration meant only to carry out an obligation; rather the contrary, this is about supporting the idea and taking practical steps to implement it. The British Under- Secretary writes explicitly that he will encourage all the parties concerned, Israel, the Palestinians, the European Union and Britain to discuss the advantages of the idea, which means the transformation of Mount Gerizim into a Geneva of the Middle East and he recommends taking further action in order to achieve this aim.

A Samaritan Delegation to the European Union

   A Samaritan delegation will set out on March 31, 2001 to the seat of the European Union to conduct meetings with representatives of five leading countries in Europe to promote the idea of developing Mount Gerizim as a Peace Center. The delegation, which will probably be headed by High Priest Shalom Ben Amram will include representatives of Samaritan committees from Holon and Kiryat Luza.

   The delegation is intended to meet with representatives of Spain, which is currently the President of the EU, Britain, France, Germany and Norway, who have positive relations with both Israel and the Palestinian authority. The delegation will present a series of ideas for the development of Mount Gerizim as The Island of Peace in the sea of violence and hatred around it and for the future of both sectors of the Samaritan community, in Holon and in Kiryat Luza.

The Americans are showing interest

   At the same time Lord Avebury broached the subject with General Anthony Zinni, the special American Mid east ambassador for the implementation of the Mitchell Committee report. General Zinni showed great interest in the subject of the Samaritans and expressed his great surprise at having heard about this for the first time. He requested additional information about the Samaritans and about the concept of Mount Gerizim as a Peace Center. Suitable information has been forwarded to him.    


The Samaritan Delegation met with the European Union

  The Samaritan Delegation returned from Brussels on April 5th with optimism after a week of meetings. Benyamim Tsedaka headed the Delegation in place of the High Priest. Unfortunately the High Priest Shalom Ben Amram was unable to leave for the reason that his cousin, Abraham ben Tsedaka had passed away the night before the trip. The delegation in Brussels has met with three different American unions as well as delivering updates to General Zini. Meetings with at least 20 MEP's and heads of international organizations and the highlight was the meeting with the President Cox of the European Parliament. It was an exception from his side because he used to meeting with Presidents and Prime Ministers such as Bush or Blare. Benyamim Tsedaka utilized the chance to inform him about the state of the Samaritans, “between Israel and the Palestinians as I have said to the rest personalities about our sick the peace in our area and because the Samaritans are the only issue that both sides is agreed and declared about their concerns to their future as well as the fact that the only place Palestinians and Israelis can meet in peace today is Mount Gerizim. Of course I have attached to the idea of Mount Gerizim as a center of peace number of detailed development projects that we need the European Union to assist us to implement them. In the proposal we brought with us to the European Parliament we have included the letter of warm support of the British Foreign Minister to Asia, Africa and the Middle East Mr. Ben Bradshaw. All the diplomats we have met have expressed their willingness to help the positive idea as they said and to help the Samaritans to be a bridge of peace in the area. In brief it was a successful trip and now we will be busied in filling the letters of applications to the relevant commissions to get the financial assistance to the projects in hands.” Plans for a trip to the United States are being prepared. It is hoped that the possibility of making Mount Gerizim as an Island of Peace in the sea of hatred and violence and developing it appropriately to be a center of peace where the Samaritan people will flourish and everybody who wants peace will be welcomed to stay and feel safe and peaceful. [A.B. News Services]


Photo of Samaritan Codex Fragment

   The Schoyen Collection located largely in Oslo and London comprises different types of manuscripts from throughout whole world straddling over five thousand years. This, the largest private manuscript collection formed in the 20th century, welcomes scholars encouraging research.

Only ten percent of the collection has been published at present-day. A complete catalogue will soon be published upon completion.

   In the Collection, is a Samaritan Torah portion of Leviticus 13:56 to 15:15 in Samaritan square book script. The scroll was written by Ab Hasta, son of Abnef Uscha in Ascolon, Israel in 1189. The Codex fragment was featured in the Maggs European Bulletin 13(1986):18 and the Maggs Cat. 1073 (1987). The vellum was recently displayed at the Library of Law Faculty, University of Oslo, 29 July - 7 August 1998 for the XVI Congress of the International Organization for the study of the Old Testament. A photo of the fragment can be seen at the Schoyen Collection website under: 4.1.1. The Hebrew and Aramaic Bible http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/index.html

http://www.nb.no/baser/schoyen/4/4.1/411.html MS 201.

 


66th International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Council and General –

Annual Conference

  

Jerusalem, Israel, 13-18 August

   The micrographic manuscript, now at the Scriporium, disappears from view for over four centuries until it is found recorded in David Solomon Sassoon's Descriptive Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts In the Sassoon Library, London. With Sassoon's Library number 487 on the spine and his armorial book-plate, it was sold at the sale of his Library which took place at Sotheby's Zurich, 5 November 1975 lot 7. It was subsequently deposited at the British Library. The codex then turns up as lot 71 at Sotheby's, London, 5 December 1989 sale of Hebrew Manuscripts from the Tenth to the Fifteenth Century; The Property of the British Rail Pension Fund.  http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla66/papers/082-141e.htm


Samaritan Manuscripts and an Inscription For Sale

   In June 2002, Fishburn Books of London will participate in an auction by Kestenbaum & Co. in New York. They will offer a Samaritan Collection that includes a Samaritan Torah scroll written by Yacob b. ‘Azzi b. Yacob b. Areron, written in 1920-30. Thirty-seven- books, pamphlets and off-prints will also enter the sale. Interested parties can contact Fishburn Books at: fishburnbooks@berkofish.homechoice.co.uk

   Clive Farahar and Sophie Dupre, the owners of the Samaritan Marble Inscription (the dedication stone formerly placed over the doorway of an ancient Samaritan synagogue at Shechem), featured in past Samaritan Updates may be contacted at: Clive Farahar and Sophie Dupre at their web site at http://www.farahardupre.co.uk/ or Farahar_Dupre@compuserve.com

   The Het Oosters Antiquarium, of Leiden, Neitherland, recently had for sale five Samaritan manuscripts. Upon contacting the Antiquarium, they informed us that 3 books remained for sale as of 4.8.2002. The books for sale were: Differentiations between Samaritan and Jews, by Pinhas b. Yessaq b. Shalma (1907),

Book of Guiding of the Principles of Reading by Abu Sa’id b. Abu-Elchasan b. Abu Sa’id (13th century), andTargum of the Holy Torah by Abu ElBarakatt b. Sa’id ElBasri ElSiriani (13th century). The two other books have been sold; an excerpt from Kitab ElTibach by AbuElchasan b. Tabis (12th century), and Book of Differentiations, part 2, by Munajja b. Sadaqa (12th century). Email: smitskamp@oriental.demon.nl website: www.oriental.demon.nl

Thank you!
   We would like to thank you for visiting our website, http://www.the-samaritans.com/ in the past and hope you visit us again real soon. We ask you to forward this Update to your friends. The purpose at our web site is the education of the existence and history of the Samaritan-Israelites, descendants of the ancient Kingdom of Israel.  Recently we have been working on expanding our web site. We do hope you enjoy visiting our site and recommend it to your friends. Again we thank you for visiting us at http://www.the-samaritans.com/. Take care and may you be blessed from the Holy One from above.