Samaritans

SAMARITANS

People claiming descent from the ancient Kingdom of Israel.

In the fourth and fifth centuries c.e., the Samaritans numbered about 1,200,000 persons dwelling in many cities and villages in the biblical Land of Israel (from southern Syria to northern Egypt). By 1917, centuries of harsh religious decrees, forced conversions to Islam and Christianity, slaughter, and persecution had thinned the Samaritan community to a bare 146 persons. During the 1930s, however, the community began to increase, and it has been gradually developing in all areas of life. By January 2003 its numbers increased to 654: 349 in Holon, near Tel Aviv, and 305 in the Kiryat Luza neighborhood, on the peak of Mount Gerizim overlooking Nablus.

Throughout their history, the Samaritans never lost their uniqueness as a people. They have their own writing, the ancient Hebrew script; they speak their own language, the ancient Hebrew dialect spoken by Jews until the beginning of the first millennium c.e.; and they are brought up in accordance with a unique, millennia-old tradition, dating back to the return of the people of Israel under Joshua, son of Nun, to its homeland.

The Samaritans are guided by four principles of faith: (1) one God, who is the God of Israel; (2) one prophet, Moses, son of Amram; (3) one holy book, the Pentateuch (the Torah handed down by Moses); and (4) one holy place, Mount Gerizim.

The Samaritans celebrate only those holidays mentioned in the Torah: Passover, the Feast of Un-leavened Bread; the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot); the First Day of the Seventh Month; the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur); the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot); and the Eighth Day of Assembly and Rejoicing of the Torah (Shemini Atzeret, Simhat Torah). Unlike that of mainstream Judaism, the Samaritan New Year is celebrated fourteen days before Passover, and the eve of their Passover is marked by a sacrifice of lambs and male goats on Mount Gerizim.

Samaritans adhere to four symbols of identification: (1) living in the Land of Israel, (2) compulsory participation in the animal sacrifice on Mount Gerizim at Passover, (3) keeping the Sabbath as written in the Pentateuch, and (4) adhering to the laws of purity and impurity as written in the Pentateuch.

The Samaritans perform circumcision on the eighth day following a male birth. A boy or a girl who completes the reading of the Pentateuch is considered "Concluder of the Law." The attachment between a couple proceeds in three stages: consent, engagement, and marriage. Marriage with Jews outside the community is acceptable. Divorces are rare. Funerals take place on Mount Gerizim, or in the Samaritan section of the Kiryat Shaʾul cemetery in Tel Aviv.

The peace process between the government of Israel and the Palestinians, bringing Nablus under Palestinian administration, has led to a separation between the Samaritan communities in Holon and on Mount Gerizim.

Bibliography

The Israelite Samaritans. Available from <http://www.mystae.com/samaritans.html>.

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