The Samaritans ( in Hebrew – שומרונים in Arabic – السامريون ) are the remnant of the ancient northern Kingdom of Israel, descendants of the tribes Joseph, Menashe, and Levi, who have remained in Samaria (‘Shomron’) and survived the Assyrian exile in the years 721-722 BCE.
The Samaritans still keep on the original Pentateuch, written in ancient Hebrew script; adhere to the sacred place – Mount Gerizim (הרגריזים in one word) and still observe the ancient tradition of the people of Israel.
Our real name is, ‘Bene- Yisrael Ha -Shamerem’ (שמרים- -שמרים ) – in Hebrew , which means ‘The Keepers‘, or to be precise, the Israelite – Keepers, as we observe the ancient Israelite tradition, since the time of our prophet Moses and the people of Israel. The modern terms, ‘Samaritans’ and ‘Jews’, given by the Assyrians, indicate the settlement of the Samaritans in the area of Samaria, and the Jews in the area of Judah.
Five Principles of faith.
As descendants of the real Israelites , we have five Principles of faith:
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- One and only one God – The Lord of the people of Israel
- One and only one Prophet – Moses son of Amram.
- One Holy Torah – The Holy Pentateuch . Only the first five books of the Torah, written by Moses and observed by the priests of the people of Israel, till these days.
- One Holy Place –Mt. Gerizim – The Mountain of blessing, mentioned in the Torah. In our prayer service we keep saying “Mount Gerizim all the days of our life.
- The Vengeance Day –The belief in “The End Of Days” and the ‘Taheb’- the Saviour, a prophet like Moses, from the lineage of Joseph, who will show up at the end of the days.
The uniqueness of being a member of the Samaritan Community is by :
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- Keeping the Commandments of the Torah, according to the Samaritan tradition, with emphasis on:
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- Observance of Circumcision, on the eight-day of the newborn male.
- Observance of the Sabbath, according to the Torah.
- Observance the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
- Observance of the Purity and Impurity Laws of the Torah.
- Participation in the Passover Sacrifice.
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- Living in Israel (The ancient borders of the Holy Land)
- Keeping the Commandments of the Torah, according to the Samaritan tradition, with emphasis on:
Seven Holidays.
As followers of the Torah, The Samaritans celebrate only the Seventh festivals mentioned in the Torah :
Because of the fact that our children, learn in a regular educational institutions, they still dress up in costumes on Purim, and eat doughnuts on Chanukah, but without any religious lineaments.
Two Main Centers of Samaritans.
Nowadays , the Samaritan Community that lives in Israel, numbers about 860 souls, divided between two main centers, one in Mt.Gerizim (near Nablus) and the second in Holon, near Tel-aviv.
The Samaritans in Holon, living in their own neighborhood which was established in 1952, and occupied by mostly Samaritans, with few Jewish families. Some new couples have found their place, in the attached neighborhood, within walking distance from the Samaritan one.
Most of the Samaritans in Holon, earn their living, from Israeli companies. There is no specific Samaritan occupation. Among the Samaritans are found : Bankers, Marketing agents , Software programmers, Accountants, Managers etc’.
The Samaritans on Mount Gerizim, living in Luza ,which was established in 1987. Till that point, they used to live in the Samaritan neighborhood in Nablus. This happened after several occurrences during the First Intifada.
Some of the Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim, earn living, by being self employed, within the Palestinian Authority, while others work for various entities around Nablus.
What Else?
We preserve the ancient Hebrew of the Torah, as it was also used by the Jews till the 1st C.E., and the original version of the Torah as it was given by Moses to the people of Israel.
At the Head of the community, stands the High Priest, who is the oldest priest among the Priestly family. He is the only arbiter in religious matters and the leader of our religious ceremonies.
We also have our unique ancient music, our unique cuisine, our unique liturgy, unique literature, unique art, and our unique clothing during Sabbath and Holidays . Go ahead, and browse the site for more information.
See also :
- The schism between Samaritans and Jews
- The Persian era
- The Hellenistic Period
- The Byzantine Period – 324 C.E – 638 C.E
- The Roman Period (63 B.C.E – ~324 C.E)
- The Return of the Diaspora Samaritans to Nablus at the End of the Middle Ages / by Natahan Schur
- Photo Gallery
Shalom Osher: I have several questions:
1 Why did the Samaritans await the coming of Taheb in 1838?
2 If you had the chance to travel back in time to what age in the history of the Samaritans would you go? at the time of entry to the Aretz?, pre-exile? in the time of Babab Rabah? or which ?…
3 If a Jewish Kohen decided to go to the Makom Kadosh /Gerizim/ could he present the pesah service? Or would I need some conversion…? Let’s remember that the tribe of Lewi Kohanim are not Jews or Samaritans, they only present their service separately.
Good Matzot and Bikurim to the whole community.
How many Palestinians did you safe?
How much are you resisting the war against the world by rich “jews”.
Why not speak the truth about the Talmud (demonbook)?
Until the day the good people stand up in Israel i do not believe the people to be holy.
Holy people create peace and prosperity for all people, they do not lie or steal.
I have NOT killed and will never lie voor DNA(blood).
I believe in the only God and know what’s holy and unholy.
People who are blind to the truth are NOT God’s chosen people.
And why does Israel exist? Did the Moshiach come to show where the promised land is?
WE ARE STIL IN EXILE. ISRAEL IS AGAINST THE WILL OF G’D.
Abrahan was from Ur and his wife came from the Hittites.
Theur children could never become a new race…it’s all a lie.
Kazarians are European and can not be “Jew”.
I bet there’s not even 5% hebrew DNA living in Israel.
95% are unholy thiefs and fake “Jews”.
And the Rothschilds original family name is Bauer (farmer).
Lies, lies, lies, lies lies.
Call me evey name you wish but i will always speak my truth.
Schizo Christian
stupid muslim nazi
Hello, I desperately want to convert, and I was wondering if that is possible? Am I able to convert to become a Samaritan?
It is a interesting visit
Shalom. I’ve been thinking about converting to become a Samaritan, and I’ve been trying to get a copy of the defter prayer book, but I haven’t found any site selling it. Do you have any advice, and do you know where I could get a copy of the defter?
Shalom,throughout my Jewish life, I found it difficult to believe in the Rabbinical order and their Judaism, and Christianity and Islam were not more convincing, and when I lived in Israel from 2006 to 2008, I discovered your existence, I studied and one day I came to see you in Holon, I spoke with the Cohen and members of the community, and it opened my eyes.Since my return to France, I have accepted the 5 principles of faith, and I believe in Mont Gerizim as the place chosen by God, on people I specify that I am not a Jew but a Samaritan Israelite. I know I’m not totally one of you, I wrote my own liturgy, I follow the Jewish calendar for holidays, but my faith and my attachment is to Mount Gerizim and to the Samaritans, may God protect you and may Taheb arrive soon to open the eyes of the Jews.
This is an excellent and really interesting resource for anyone looking to learn more about the fascinating Samaritan faith/people. Thank you so much.
Just wondering if your community is growing in numbers?
Chi è il Ben Yosef il primo messia che gli ebrei aspettano da 6000mila anni?
Bene, puoi vedere che il patriarca YAHUSEPH (yoseph) è il primogenito Bakor di Yaakov, In lui è il servizio avoda di essere il leader Shalit / Mashal / Melek tra i suoi fratelli. (una tale figura messianica) Davidic è fuori contesto, fuori dalla Torah, gli Shamerim attendono la figura del Taheb (restauratore)
Puoi anche vedere la figura di Yahushua ben Nun (tribù Efraym) primo melek (re) in Israele.
Shalom and Todah Osher. I have a question how do the Shomronim look when the community grows in number? Possible several decades later. Maybe get an independent state in Israel “a small autonomous state over Nablus” I know that politics and relations between Israelis and Palestinians are difficult. you remain neutral and in good coexistence.
But it is also difficult to depend on external actors who are not willing to live together in peace “a true peace”.
This website is an important resource to people the world over- whether they themself are a Samaritan, identify with Samaritans, or are simply interested in learning about the unique and fascinating Samaritan community.
Thank you very much for your stella efforts, Osher.
Scott Terence Morgan.
Derby, UK.
Who is Jesus Christ to Samaritans?
Simply a deceased Jew.
Do Samaritans have any stories about noah and abraham living at the same time? Because if you create the gantt chart of the samaritan text from adam to joseph you clearly see that noah is dead before abraham is alive. Thank you very much hope someone can answer that for me .:)
Hi Koch,
No. There are stories about Adam and Noah. The story tells that Adam was the one who has named him Noah. But there are no stories about Abraham and Noah.
I’ve been looking for reliable information about the Samaritans for a long time, then I found this site. Thank you so much. Greetings from Poland.
Do Samaritans have any stories about noah and abraham living at the same time? Because if you create the gantt chart of the samaritan text from adam to joseph you clearly see that noah is dead before abraham is alive. Thank you very much hope someone can answer that for me .:)
it is a very intersting website! good job!
alessandra Tv2000 MO correspondent
Dear Osher, love your website with all the reliable information. Thank you for the collaboration on the magazine issue! https://www.bibelwerk.shop/produkte/die-samaritaner-der-unbekannte-teil-israels-3002102
Hello,
im a student from a Jewish school in Spain and I would like to know more about the ideology of Baba Rabba, could you explain me about the ideology of Baba Rabba?
Thanks
Hi Mr. Griggs,
Baba Rabba was a Samaritan leader, who lived in the fourth century and lead the fight against the rulers in that days. He also established the high religious committee and split the country into regions, which each one, had its own Priest, who was the arbiter in religious issues.
For more info you can write to me directly and I’ll refer you for further sources.
Osher.
Hi Achi!
As in the past I am always interested!
kol-tuv!
Ilan
It is always nice to hear from you.
Osher.