Finally! My report on the Samaritan Passover Tour:
The Samaritans observe a calculated calendar. We were not told how the calculations vary between theirs and the rabbinical, but we were told that the Samaritanâs decision to intercalate a month was based on the calculation. That it was by a small number the decision to intercalate was decided. Because of the intercalated month, their Passover was exactly one month after the rabbinical Passover. The date fell on what the Jews called Pesach Sheni, indicating the second month Passover. I wondered if their calculations reflect the delayed season the mount top of Gerizim causes. There were still full heads of barley in the green areas the day our tour group was there.
Samaritans claim they are descents from the tribe Joseph through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh and also from the Levites. They claim to have been in this area without exile from the period of their entry into Canaan. 2 Chronicles 30 tells us that there was some of the Northern Tribe that escaped Assyrian captivity and exile. Samaritans used to include descendants who claimed to be from Benjamin, but this line became extinct in the 1960s. According to Samaritan tradition, the split between them and the Southern Kingdom began during the time of the priest Eli when the Southern Israelites split off from the central Israelite tradition, as the Samaritans believe it to be. According to the Jewish tradition, the Samaritans became mortal enemies of the Jews during the time that Zerubbabel was rebuilding the Temple. The Samaritans wanted to rebuild the Temple alongside with the Jews and when Zerubbabel turned their offer down the offense caused a rift between the groups: Ezra 4-6, according to the Jewish telling at this point the Samaritans and the Southern Kingdom became mortal enemies.
In the Talmud, the Samaritans are called Cutheans referring to the ancient city of Kutha, which was located in Iraq. This is what the Jews believe to be true. In the Biblical account, Kuthah was one of several cities from which people were brought to Samaria. Modern genetics partially support both the claims of the Samaritans and the account in the Talmud and Bible. It seems and makes sense to me that the genealogy of the Samaritans lies in some combination of these two accounts. Genetically, modern Samaritan populations are found to have much greater affinity genetically to Jews than to neighboring Palestinian Arabs. However, according to the Jews, they are very similar to the Arabs. To me, they look like neither Jewish nor Arab. The women are very tall, slender and beautiful. They dress a little âLatinoâ in tight-fitting clothing, not at all like the religious Jewish women who dress to conceal their figure.
The Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism, a religion closely related to Judaism. Samaritans believe that their worship, which is based on the Samaritan Pentateuch and is slightly different than the Jewish books of Moses, is the true religion of the ancient Israelites from before the Babylonian captivity. They believe that those who remained in the Land of Israel when they escaped exile preserved their true religion. They see Judaism as a related but altered and amended religion brought back by those southern tribes returning from the Babylonian Captivity.
The Samaritans believe that Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of Israel from the time that Joshua conquered Canaan. The major issue between Jews and Samaritans has always been the location of the place worship of God. Mount Zion in Jerusalem according to the Jewish faith or Mount Gerizim according to the Samaritan faith. Itâs easier for the Samaritans to hold to this belief because they also reject the prophets and the writings, they only follow their copy of the five books of Moses.
The Samaritans were once a large community but the population shrunk significantly in the wake of the bloody suppression of the Samaritan Revolts against the Byzantine Empire. Conversion to Christianity under the Byzantines also reduced their numbers. Conversions to Islam took place and by the midâMiddle Ages it is estimated only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in Israel and Syria. This number dropped as low as 163 but as of this year, the number is 800 divided between Qiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim and the city of Holon, just outside Tel Aviv.
Of interest is the fact that the Samaritan men have begun to take wives outside of their own community. When their number dropped to 163 the gene pool was to closely related to the remaining individuals and the number of birth defects in the 55 and under population is very significant. I noticed many men that were visions imparted and not mentally whole individuals. The Samaritans speak freely about this problem.
On the day of the Passover, a community sufficient for 400 residents now had 400 additional relatives plus 5 tour buses and Arabs (probably with Samaritan roots) descend on their village.
Our tour guide acknowledged as my husband and I have noticed, that there are many genetic Jews among the Arab population in Israel, just as happened with the Samaritans. As he said, the forced methods of conversion to Islam have remained the same for centuries. After then enter a country and grow in numbers to demand Sharia Law the call to convert or die has been very effective.
The Priest that spoke to our group said he could remember when only 7 Passover sacrifices were needed for the entire community, this year they offered 55.
Jewish history says that the government of Israel reached out to Samaritan around the world and offered to bring them back to Israel so that their lineage and culture would not be lost. These Samaritans were placed in Holon, near Yaffo (or Jaffa). The others that stayed in the land on Gerizim and Shechem (Nablus) are said to owe their existence to a group of religious Jews from the US who funded their community when it was in jeopardy of being scattered due to an inability to earn enough money in their community setting.
Most Samaritans in Holon and Qiryat Luza today speak Hebrew similar to the Yemenites and Arabic. For liturgical purposes, Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan Aramaic, and Arabic are used, all written with the Samaritan alphabet, a variant of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, which is distinct from the Hebrew alphabet according to our tour guide.
Samaritans have a stand-alone religious status in Israel, but at one time they were officially accepted as converts to Judaism that right was revoked. There are occasional conversions from Judaism to Samaritanism and vice-versa due to marriages. While the Israeli Rabbinic authorities consider Samaritanism to be a branch of Judaism, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel requires Samaritans to officially go through a formal conversion to Judaism in order to be recognized as Halakhic Jews. Samaritans with Israeli citizenship (in Holon) are obligated to undertake mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces, while those with dual Israeli-Palestinian citizenship (living in Qiryat Luza, Mount Gerizim) are generally exempted. The Samaritans living on Mount Gerizim or Qiryat Luza hold three citizenships: Jordan, Palestinian and Israeli.
In Samaritan Hebrew, the Samaritans call themselves “Shamerim” (שַ×ֶרִ××), which is derived from the Ancient Hebrew term meaning “Guardians/Keepers/Watchers (of the Torah/Law)”. In Jewish tradition, however, it is sometimes claimed that Mount Samaria, meaning “Watch Mountain”, because watchers used to watch from the mountains of Samaria for approaching armies from Egypt in ancient times. In Modern Hebrew, the Samaritans are called Shomronim, which means “inhabitants of Samaria”.
According to Samaritan tradition, Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of the Israelites from the time that Joshua conquered Canaan and the tribes of Israel settled the land. The reference to Mount Gerizim derives from the Biblical story of Moses ordering Joshua to take the Twelve Tribes of Israel, to the mountains by Shechem (Nablus) and place half of the tribes, six in number, on Mount Gerizim, the Mount of the Blessing, and the other half on 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 (Deut. 11:29; 27:12; Josh. 8:33).
Having had enough experience in cleaning animals with my dad after his hunting expeditions I wasnât so much interested in the slaying and cleaning to the animals as I was the liturgy and the attitude of the people during the Passover event.
Growing up churched, Easter was always a very solemn time when we were told of the death and suffering of âJesusâ for our wicked and sinful lives. And then at the very end of the service, the final item was the joyful hymn âHe Aroseâ. Now, as someone who recognizes the biblical calendar and their feasts, there is still a reverence that I feel for the suffering of our Messiah.
What I found both with the Samaritans and with the Temple Mount Institute group in Jerusalem was a party atmosphere. Yes, this was a redemption taking place, a buying back, a release; and that is joyous. But even without their belief that the lamb represented their Messiah an animal was paying with its life for their life. It was almost as if that connection to a life for a life was missing.
In fact, the whole population of the Samaritans let out a joyous shout in the moments after the throats of the lambs had been cut. This had been preceded by some liturgical exchanges between a priest and the people which led a special pronouncement by the elderly High Priest and then the lambs were slain.
And of course, the 55 lambs were only served to the Samaritan people in their homes; we in the audience were âuncleanâ according to the Samaritans. While I am used to being perceived as unclean by many of the people I walk among I wondered what the Jews thought about being counted as âuncleanâ according to a version of their own law, lol.
I was asked if I would attend another Passover event with the Samaritan. I think not. I learned what I wanted to know about the attitude of the people. I heard their dialect of liturgical Hebrew that sounded like a guttural native Indian language. I saw Mount Gerizim and now have a better understanding of the landscape. What I would do if given the chance to return is to visit with them about their Astronomy Book of Calculations on display in the museum.
On last thought, as we walked off the mountain on our way back to the tour bus there was an unforgettable smell that filled the air. It was the smell of burning Rimmon (pomegranate) poles mixed with the smell of burning flesh. The lamb placed on pomegranate poles to be roasted over the pits. If you have never smelled the wood of pomegranate being burned it is hard to describe. To my nose, it smells like the best incense in the world. Fragrant beyond belief. And when mixed with the smell of the flesh of the animals what would have been acidic to my nostrils became me inhaling deeply for another whiff to that unforgettable fragrance. The smell to my nose was as the taste of salty-sweet is to my tongue. Something about the two smells together was delightful.
I deeply appreciate everyone who made this happen. It will be a memory I draw from for the rest of my life.Updated May 7, 2018, 11:37 PM