Samaritans – Ancient form of Judaism?

Posted by Sigal Mendelson on August 31, 2009 under Bible History, Israel history, Traditions | Be the First to Comment

Who are the Samaritans? Are they Jews or other tribe? Are they Josef’s sons or the true religion of Israelis as they call themselves? Or maybe they are one of the Palestinian groups which live in Israel?

The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, a parallel but separate religion to Judaism or any of its historical forms. Based on the Samaritan Torah, Samaritans claim their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites prior to the Babylonian Exile, preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel, as opposed to Judaism, which they assert is a related but altered and amended religion brought back by the exiled returnees.

Although historically they were a large community — up to more than a million in late Roman times, then gradually reduced to several tens of thousands up to a few centuries ago — their unprecedented demographic shrinkage has been a result of various historical events, including most notably the bloody repression of the Third Samaritan Revolt (529 CE) against the Byzantine Christian rulers and the mass forced conversion to Islam in the Early Muslim period of Palestine.

With the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language by Jewish immigrants to pre-state Israel, and its growth and officialization following the establishment of the state, most Samaritans today speak Modern Hebrew, especially in Israel. As with their counterpart Muslim, Christian, Druze and other Palestinian religious communities, the most recent spoken mother tongue of the Samaritans was Arabic, and it still is for those in the West Bank city of Nablus.

Highlights of Samaritan Belief

• There is one God, the same God recognized by the Hebrew prophets.
• The Torah was given by God to Moses.
• Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the one true sanctuary chosen by Israel’s God.
• Many Samaritans believe that at the end of days, the dead will be resurrected by Taheb, a restorer (possibly a prophet, some say Moses).
• They believe in Paradise (heaven).
• The priests are the interpreters of the law and the keepers of tradition; scholars are secondary to the priesthood.
• The authority of classical Jewish rabbinical works (the Mishnah and the Talmud) is rejected.
• They have a significantly different version of the Ten Commandments (for example, their 10th commandment is about the sanctity of Mount Gerizim.

Relationship to mainstream Judaism

Samaritans 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 (Judeans), 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.

Samaritan 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

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan”

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Jerusalem, Israel: Haredim Clash with Police Over Shabbat Opening of Parking Lot.

Posted by Sigal Mendelson on August 30, 2009 under News | Read the First Comment

Ultra-Orthodox struggle with the police after parking Safra (ספרא) opens in Jerusalem this Shabbat, the third parking fee on Saturday. Facing them, many non-observing (Hilonim) Jews demonstrated in support of the mayor Nir Barkat, who decided to allow the opening of the parking lot in order to accommodate the many visitors arriving on Saturdays as close as possible to the Western Wall Area (הכותל).

Last Saturday was the second Shabbat in a row that the garage was open by orders of the Jerusalem Municipality to accommodate visitors to the Old City. Although most senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis and newspapers have abandoned the issue, the extreme Edah Haredit is advocating continued protests. The police does not expect these to get out of control.

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Benefits to New Immigrants and Returning Citizens to Israel

Posted by Sigal Mendelson on August 29, 2009 under Aliyah | Be the First to Comment

If you are a new immigrant or returning citizens to Israel, you are eligible for a number of benefits at MATI.

What Benefits are Available to New Immigrants or Returning Citizens?

• Consultations – New immigrants and returning citizens receive a number of free consultancy meetings with MATI advisors.  In the meeting you will receive information regarding how to open a business in Israel.  The advisor will check the feasibility of the business idea and offer relevant assistance and advice.
• Loan request up to 100,000 NIS – In order to apply to the Ministry of Absorption loans at special rates or to other relevant loans a loan application must be completed.  This application includes information regarding the business, and its feasibility. New Immigrants and returning citizens can apply to these loans via MATI at a considerable discount.  During this process the specific business milestones will be defined and the business model will be conceived.
• One on One Assistance – You are eligible to receive 25 hours of free one-on-one consulting with an expert business advisor in the specific fields you need assistance, such as marketing, finance, import/export, management and more
• Courses and Training – You can receive significant discounts on MATI training programs.

About MATI:

MATI stands for Center for cultivation of Entrepreneurship, and is operated by the Israeli Ministry of Commerce. It provides assistance in opening new businesses and expanding the existing ones in all fields: Industry and crafts, trade, hi-tech, services and tourism.

More online resources:

http://www.mati.org.il/Index.asp?CategoryID=114

http://www.mati.co.il/

http://www.matik8.co.il/

http://netex.mako.co.il

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