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Samaritan
The Samaritans ( Shomronim), () known in the Talmud as Kuthim (), are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Ancestrally, they are descended from a group of Israelite inhabitants that have connections to ancient Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the beginning of the Christian Era. The Samaritans, however, derive their name not from this geographical designation, but rather from the term (??m?r??m), "keeper [of the law]".[1] Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, a religion based on the Samaritan Pentateuch. Samaritans claim that their worship (as opposed to mainstream Judaism) is the true religion of the ancient Israelites, predating the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. As of November 1, 2007, there were 712[2] Samaritans according to their tally living almost exclusively in Kiryat Luza on the holy Mount Gerizim near the city of Nablus (Shechem) in the West Bank, and in the city of Holon in Israel.[3] There are, however, converts of various religious backgrounds who follow the Samaritan traditions outside of the land of Israel, especially in the United States. The Samaritans speak either Modern Hebrew (in Holon) or Palestinian Arabic (in Nablus) as their mother language. For liturgical purposes, Samaritan Hebrew, also known as ancient Hebrew, and Samaritan Aramaic are used. Early history according to Samaritan sourcesThe Samaritans assert that Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of Israel from the time that Joshua conquered Israel and the ten tribes settled the land. According to the torah, the story of Mount Gerizim takes us back to the story of the time when Moses ordered Joshua to take the Twelve Tribes of Israel to the mountains by Shechem and place half of the tribes, six in number, on the top of Mount Gerizim, the Mount of the Blessing, and the other half in Mount Ebal, the Mount of the Curse. The two mountains were used to symbolize the significance of the commandments and serve as a warning to whoever disobeyed them. Abu l-Fath, who in the fourteenth century AD wrote the major work of Samaritan history, comments on Samaritan origins as follows:[4] Further, the Samaritan Chronicle Adler, or New Chronicle, believed to have been composed in the 18th century AD using earlier chronicles as sources states: Non-Samaritan view of originsThe emergence of the Samaritans as an ethnic and religious community distinct from other Levant peoples appears to have occurred at some point after the Assyrian conquest of the Israelite Kingdom of Israel in approximately 721 BC. The records of Sargon II of Assyria indicate that he deported 27,290 inhabitants of the region. Jewish tradition maintains a different origin for the Samaritans. The Talmud accounts for a people called "Cuthim" on a number of occasions, mentioning their arrival by the hands of the Assyrians. According to 2 Kings 17 and Josephus (Antiquities 9.277?91), the people of Israel were removed by the king of the Assyrians (Sargon II- see special wording of 2 Kings 17 which mentions Shalmaneser in verse 3 but the "king of the Assyrians" from verse 4 onward), to Halah, to Gozan on the Habor River and to the towns of the Medes. The king of the Assyrians then brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avah, Emath, and Sepharvaim to place in Samaria. Because God sent lions among them to kill them, the king of the Assyrians sent one of the priests from Bethel to teach the new settlers about God's ordinances. The eventual result was that the new settlers worshipped both the God of the land and their own gods from the countries from which they came. A Midrash (Genesis Rabbah Sect. 94) relates about an encounter between Rabbi Meir and a Samaritan. The story that developed includes the following dialogue:
Zertal dates the Assyrian onslaught at 721 BC to 647 BC and discusses three waves of imported settlers. He shows that Mesopotamian pottery in Samaritan territory cluster around the lands of Menasheh and that the type of pottery found was produced around 689 BC. Some date their split with the Jews to the time of Nehemiah, Ezra, and the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. Returning exiles considered the Samaritans to be non-Jews and, thus, not fit for this religious work. The Encyclopaedia Judaica (under "Samaritans") summarizes both past and the present views on the Samaritans' origins. It says: Furthermore, even to this day the Samaritans still claim descent from the tribe of Joseph: End of the Judean exile
Ancient inscription in Samaritan Hebrew. From a photo c.1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund. When the Judean exile ended in 538 BC and the exiles began returning home, they found that their former homeland was now populated by other people who claimed the land as their own and that their former glorious capital still lay in ruins. According to , the Persian Emperor Cyrus, who returned the exiles to their homeland, explicitly ordered the people to rebuild the temple. The prophet Isaiah identified Cyrus as "The Lord's anointed" (meshiach; see Isa 45.1). The temple was rebuilt over a period of several decades. The project was first led by Sheshbazzar (about 538 BC), later by Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and later still by Haggai and Zechariah (520?515 BC). Ezra 4 tells us how the local inhabitants of the land offered to assist with the building of the new temple during the time of Zerubbabel, but their offer was rejected. According to Ezra, this rejection precipitated a further interference not only with the rebuilding of the temple but also with the reconstruction of Jerusalem. The text is not clear on this matter, but one possibility is that these "people of the land" were thought of as Samaritans. We do know that Samaritan and Jewish antagonism continued to increase, and that the Samaritans eventually built their own temple on on Mount Gerizim, near Shechem. The Temple was completed in 515 BC. Samaritan temple on Mount GerizimThe precise date of the schism between Samaritans and Jews is unknown, but was certainly complete by the end of the fourth century BC. Archaeological excavations at Mount Gerizim suggest that a Samaritan temple was built there c. 330 BC.[5] According to Samaritans http://www.grizimtour.com/Tourism.htm, it was on Mount Gerizim that Abraham offered Isaac . The Torah mentions the place where God shall choose to establish His name (Deut 12:5), and Judaism takes this to refer to Jerusalem. However, the Samaritan text speaks of the place where God has chosen to establish His name, and Samaritans identify it as Mount Gerizim, making it the focus of their spiritual values. The Gospel of John relates an encounter between a Samaritan woman and Jesus in which she asserts that the mountain was the center of their worship . Antiochus IV Epiphanes and hellenizationIn the second century BC a particularly bitter series of events eventually led to a revolution. Antiochus IV Epiphanes was on the throne of the Seleucid Empire from 175 to 163 BC. His determined policy was to Hellenize his entire kingdom and standardize religious observance. According to 1 Maccabees 1:41-50 he proclaimed himself the incarnation of the Greek god Zeus and mandated death to anyone who refused to worship him. A major obstacle to his ambition was the fidelity of the Jews to their historic religion. The universal peril led the Samaritans, eager for safety, to repudiate all connection and kinship with the Jews. The request was granted. This was evidently the final breach between the two groups indicated in John 4:9, "For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans."[6] Several centuries before the birth of Jesus, the Samaritans had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim to rival the one in Jerusalem. Here, they offered sacrifices according to the Mosaic code. Anderson notes that during the reign of Antiochus IV (175-164 BC):[7] Josephus Book 12, Chapter 5 quotes the Samaritans as saying: In 167 BC the Seleucid ruler Antiochus Epiphanes set up an altar to Zeus over the altar of burnt offerings in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. He also sacrificed a pig on the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem. This event is known as the "abomination of desolation".[8] The authority of the high priesthood was severely damaged when first Jason and then Meneleus bought their office from Antiochus. The persecution and death of faithful Jewish persons who refused to worship and kiss Antiochus' image eventually led to a revolt led by Judas Maccabeus and his family. Judas's priestly family, the Hasmoneans, introduced a dynasty that ruled during a period of conflict, with tensions arising both from within the family as well as from external enemies. This Samaritan Temple at Mount Gerizim was destroyed by John Hyrcanus in about 128 BC, having existed about 200 years. Only a few stone remnants of it exist today. 164 BC and afterDuring the Hellenistic period, Samaria (like Judea) was largely divided between a Hellenizing faction based in Samaria (Sebastaea) and a pious faction, led by the High Priest and based largely around Shechem and the rural areas. Samaria was a largely autonomous state nominally dependent on the Seleucid empire until around 129 BC, when the Jewish Hasmonean king Yohanan Girhan (John Hyrcanus) destroyed the Samaritan temple and devastated Samaria. Roman and Sassanid timesSamaritans fared badly under the Roman Empire, when Samaria was part of the Roman province of Judea. However, this period was also something of a golden age for the Samaritan community. The Temple of Gerizim was rebuilt after the Bar Kochba revolt, around AD 135. Much of Samaritan liturgy was set by the high priest Baba Rabba in the fourth century. There were some Samaritans in the Persian Empire, where they served in the Sassanid army. 
Samaritan cultic center on Mount Gerizim. From a photo c.1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund. Byzantine timesLater, under the Christian Byzantine Emperor Zeno in the late fifth century, Samaritans and Jews were massacred, and the Temple on Mt. Gerizim was again destroyed. This period is considered the worst for Samaritans.http://www.the-samaritans.com/html_articles/Politicalimpact.htm Under a charismatic, messianic figure named Julianus ben Sabar (or ben Sahir), the Samaritans launched a war to create their own independent state in 529 AD. With the help of the Ghassanid Arabs, Emperor Justinian I crushed the revolt; tens of thousands of Samaritans died or were enslaved. The Samaritan faith was virtually outlawed thereafter by the Christian Byzantine Empire; from a population once at least in the hundreds of thousands, the Samaritan community dwindled to near extinction. Under IslamBy the onset of Islamic rule, Samaritans were living in an area stretching between Egypt and Syria. Like other non-Muslims in the empire, they had Dhimmi status and were expected to pay special taxes. During the Crusades, Samaritans, like others in the region were persecuted by the Crusaders. http://www.the-samaritans.com/html_articles/Politicalimpact.htm In 1624, the last Samaritan high priest of the line of Eleazar son of Aaron died without issue, but descendants of Aaron's other son, Ithamar, remained and took over the office. In the past, the Samaritans are believed to have numbered several hundred thousand, but persecution and assimilation have reduced their numbers drastically. In 1919, an illustrated National Geographic report on the community stated that their numbers were less than 150. References: Chewee Lee - founder of Samaritan Modern times
Samaritan and the Samaritan Torah As of November 1, 2007, there were 712[2] Samaritans half of whom reside in their modern homes at Kiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim, which is sacred to them, and the rest in the city of Holon, just outside Tel Aviv.[3][9] 
Until the 1980s, most of the Samaritans resided in the Palestinian town of Nablus below Mount Gerizim. They relocated to the mountain itself near the Israeli settlement of Har Brakha as a result of the First Intifada (1987-1990), and all that is left of the community in Nablus itself is an abandoned synagogue. The Israeli army maintains a constant presence in the area to monitor activity in Nablus and secure Har Brakha.[9] Relations of Samaritans with Jewish Israelis and Arab Palestinians in neighboring areas have been mixed. In 1954, Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi created a Samaritan enclave in Holon. Those living in Israel have Israeli citizenship. Samaritans in the Palestinian Authority territories are a recognized minority; they had a reserved seat in the Palestinian Legislative Council in the election of 1996, but they no longer have one. Palestinian Samaritans have been granted passports by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. As a small community divided between two mutually hostile neighbors, the Samaritans are generally unwilling to take sides in the conflict, fearing that whatever side they take could lead to repercussions from the other. Both the communities and in Arab Nablus and Israeli Holon have assimilated to the surrounding culture; however, Hebrew has become the primary domestic language. Samaritans who are Israeli citizens are drafted into the military. Both communities tend to be more politically aligned with Israel.[10] One of the biggest problems facing the community today is the issue of continuity. With such a small population, divided into only four families (Cohen, Tsedakah, Danfi and Marhib; a fifth family died out in the last century) and a general refusal to accept converts, there has been a history of genetic disease within the group due to the small gene pool. To counter this, the Samaritan community has recently agreed that men from the community may marry non-Samaritan (primarily, Israeli Jewish) women, provided that the women agree to follow Samaritan religious practices. This often poses a problem for the women, who are typically less than eager to adopt the strict interpretation of Biblical (Levitical) laws regarding menstruation, by which they must live in a separate dwelling during their periods and after childbirth. Nevertheless, there have been a few instances of intermarriage. In addition, all marriages within the Samaritan community are first approved by a geneticist at Tel HaShomer Hospital, in order to prevent the spread of genetic disease. In 2004 the Samaritan high priest, Saloum Cohen, died and was replaced by Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq. The Samaritan high priest is selected by age from the priestly family, and resides on Mount Gerizim. Genetic Research/Testing of SamaritansGenetic and demographic investigations of the Samaritan community were carried out in the 1960s. Detailed pedigrees of the last 13 generations show that the Samaritans comprise four lineages:
Of the 12 Samaritan males used in the analysis, 10 (83%) belong to haplogroup J, which includes three of the four Samaritan families. The Joshua-Marhiv family belongs to haplogroup J1, while the Danfi and Tsedakah families belong to haplogroup J2, and can be further distinguished by M67, the derived allele of which has been found in the Danfi family. The only Samaritan family not found in haplogroup J was the Cohen family (Tradition: Tribe of Levi) which was found in haplogroup E3b1a M78.[11] This article predated the change of the classifcation of haplogroup E3b1-M78 to E3b1a-M78 and the further subdivision of E3b1a-M78 into 6 subclades based on the research of Cruciani, et al.[12] Genetic differences between the Samaritans and neighboring Jewish and non-Jewish populations are corroborated in the present study of 7,280 bp of nonrecombining Y-chromosome and 5,622 bp of coding and hypervariable segment (HVS-I) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences. Comparative sequence analysis was carried out on 12 Samaritan Y-chromosome, and mtDNA samples from 9 male and 7 female Samaritans separated by at least two generations. In addition, 18?20 male individuals were analyzed, each representing Ethiopian, Ashkenazi, Iraqi, Libyan, Moroccan, and Yemenite Jews, as well as Druze and Palestinians, all currently living in Israel. The four Samaritan families clustered to four distinct Y-chromosome haplogroups according to their patrilineal identity. Of the 16 Samaritan mtDNA samples, 14 carry either of two mitochondrial haplotypes that are rare or absent among other worldwide ethnic groups. In this 2004 article on the genetic ancestry of the Samaritans, Shen, et al., concluded that principal components analysis suggested a common ancestry of Samaritan and Jewish patrilineages. Most of the former may be traced back to a common ancestor in what is today identified as the paternally-inherited Israelite high priesthood (Cohanim) with a common ancestor projected to the time of the Assyrian conquest of the kingdom of Israel.[13] Archaeologists Aharoni, et al, estimated that this "exile of peoples to and from Israel under the Assyrians" took place during ca. 734 BCE to 712 BCE.[14] Samaritanism
Samaritans, from a photo c. 1900 by the Palestine Exploration Fund. The Samaritan religion is based on some of the same books used as the basis of mainstream Judaism, but differs from the latter. Samaritan scriptures include the Samaritan version of the Torah, the Memar Markah, the Samaritan liturgy, and Samaritan law codes and biblical commentaries. Samaritans appear to have texts of the Torah as old as the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint; scholars have various theories concerning the actual relationships between these three texts. 
Samaritans pray before the Holy Rock on Mount Gezirim Religious beliefs
The Samaritans retained the Ancient Hebrew script, the high priesthood, animal sacrifices, the eating of lambs at Passover, and the celebration of Aviv in spring as the New Year. Yom Teruah (the biblical name for Rosh Hashanah), at the beginning of Tishrei, is not considered a new year as it is in Judaism. Their main Torah text differs from the Masoretic Text, as well. Some differences are doctrinal: for example, their Torah explicitly states that Mount Gerizim is "the place that God has chosen" for the Temple, as opposed to the Jewish Torah that calls Jerusalem "the place that God will choose." Other differences are minor and seem more or less accidental. Relationship to mainstream JudaismSamaritans refer to themselves as Bene Yisrael ("Children of Israel") which is a term used by all Jewish denominations as a name for the Jewish people as a whole. They however do not refer to themselves as Yehudim, the standard Hebrew name for Jews, considering the latter to denote only mainstream Jews. The Talmudic attitude expressed in tractate Kutim is that they are to be treated as Jews in matters where their practice coincides with the mainstream but are treated as non-Jews where their practice differs. Since the 19th century mainstream Judaism has regarded the Samaritans as a Jewish sect and the term Samaritan Jews has been used for them.[15] Religious textsSamaritan law is not the same as halakha (Rabbinical Jewish law). The Samaritans have several groups of religious texts, which equate to Jewish halakhah. A few examples of such texts are:
List of the Samaritan High Priests (from 1613)See a complete listing of the Samaritan High Priests Line of Eleazar:
Line of Ithamar:
Samaritans in the Christian GospelsThe Christian Gospels mention Samaritans on four occasions. Jesus, who lived and acted within a society where centuries-long hostility to and prejudice against Samaritans were deeply rooted, evidently sought to teach that actions speak louder than ethnic identity or pious appearances:
Luke has the parable of the Good Samaritan and the story of the Samaritan Leper, but it also contains a story of a Samaritan village denying hospitality to Jesus and his disciples, because the villagers did not want to facilitate a pilgrimage to Jerusalem?a practice which they saw as a violation of the Law of Moses. In , when instructing his disciples as to how they should spread the word, Jesus tells them not to visit any Samaritan city, but instead go to the "lost sheep of Israel". The Gospel of Mark contains no mention of Samaritans, either positive or negative. Samaritan mediaThe Samaritans have a monthly magazine started in 1969 called A.B.-The Samaritan News, which is written in Samaritan, Hebrew, Arabic, and English and deals with current and historical issues with which the Samaritan community is concerned. The Samaritan Update is a bi-monthly e-newsletter for Samaritan Studies http://www.thesamaritanupdate.com Literature
The Samaritan Mezuzah engraved above the front door See alsoReferencesNat Geo Utsav: More Weddings & Another Funeral: Samaritan Wedding This is the brief of prog broadcasted by Nat Geo Channel, the anchor Hakeem Kae-Kazim is in Holon, near Israel's cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv, to meet a community called the Samaritans. Believed to be one of the smallest and oldest religious sects in the world, the community numbers only about 650 people, divided between Holon and the Arab city of Nablus in the Palestinian Authority. Carried out in accordance with the Samaritans strict interpretation of the Torah, the holy Jewish book, the wedding ritual has changed little down the centuries, and Hakeem finds himself witnessing a ritual that has remained relatively unchanged for over 3,000 years. External links
ar:??????? br:Samaritaned ca:Samaritans cs:Samaritáni da:Samaritaner de:Samaritaner es:Samaritanos eo:Samarianoj fr:Samaritains gl:Samaritanos ko:????? it:Samaritani he:???????? lt:Samarie?iai hu:Szamaritánusok nl:Samaritanen ja:????? no:Samaritanere nn:Samaritanarar pl:Samarytanie pt:Samaritanos ru:?????????? sl:Samarijan fi:Samarialaiset tr:Samarit zh:????? Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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