Who Are the Samaritans?

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Go to nordvpn.com/rfb or use code rfb to get a 2-year plan plus a bonus gift with a huge discount.

[@mosheh111]

This link does not work!

[@chnsm]

Would you cover thier halakha and thier priests books written over the years? I would love to see it

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

So if you prefer to take these Samarian Israelites by their word, do you also accept any and every claim made by the Black Israelites? They have pretty much the same "justification" for being the real descendants of the biblical patriarchs as this other group, they also divert from the Mosaic rite in essential bits like this other group... Yes, there is importance in following the evidence and archeological findings ARE excellent reasons to rethink positions. A minority position declaring the majority to be impure and having fallen off the true faith though is historically always shaky and usually born from some big peeves and religious disagreements the splintering of evangelical protestantism in the US comes to mind, so many "Schisms" there and most only due to "holier than thou" squabbling over rules and doctrine. That alone does not make you legitimate.

[@robertmitchell8630]

Anyone defending Moses Joshua Kaleb might as well be a Nuremberg sympathiser

[@robertmitchell8630]

even a cursory glance at history”, wrote Arthur Koestler, “should convince one that individual crimes committed for selfish motives play a quite insignificant part in the human tragedy, compared to the numbers massacred in unselfish loyalty to one’s tribe, nation, dynasty, church, or political ideology. . . Arthur Koestler, Janus: A Summing Up

[@gibiscus]

Ok, so all y'all wondering about the Good Samaritan, the point of the story was that a Jewish priest didn't help an injured Jew because he thought he might've been dead and priests (Kohanim = Cohens) are supposed to remain pure by not having contact with the dead, but the Samaritan was not a priest (if he was the same rules would apply) so he helped the Jew despite their ethnic/religious tensions. So there's two layers to the parable: the downsides of ritual purity and overcoming ethnoreligioua conflict.

[@palamecianrider7385]

I was looking for this comment ☺️

[@MarkusAldawn]

I was always taught it was about corruption and kindness- the priest and the wise man passed by, proving that faith or intellect did not guarantee good morals, where the Samaritan was supposed to be an example of someone you really wouldn't expect to help you. For context, I was told this story in a Northern Irish Catholic Sunday school. I think stressing the ritual purity probably would have taken a back seat to showing how sectarianism is bad because the other lot are, contrary to some people's belief, not evil. Or maybe it's an example of how Christianity doesn't always understand the Jewish parts of its history, with the rules about purity and death not emphasised (didn't even know that was a thing until now!) Still, very interesting regardless of the reason.

[@Usernumber777]

@@MarkusAldawn actually this is the accurate teaching of Jesus. He said about the priests and farizees that they only follow the law by mouth but not by heart

[@MrJMB122]

Let not forget the Samaritan woman

[@Usernumber777]

@@MrJMB122 yes the longest dialogue of Jesus in the Bible is his encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well

[@OttoStrawanzinger]

I think it's worth pointing out that the Samaritan Torah is nowadays very accessible to laypeople through Benyamim Tsedaka's book The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah, which not only contains an English translation of the Samaritan Torah, but also has it side by side with and English translation the Masoretic Torah, including differences between the two that are marked in the text.

[@nunyabiznez6381]

Thanks! I was wondering about that.

[@ivanfourie]

@@nunyabiznez6381 thank you . . im interested in the actual script of their Torah . . i wonder if an interlinear version exists?

[@ntmn8444]

I might pick this up!

[@stephennicolay1940]

I now have this and will begin reading very soon.

[@leejennifercorlewayres9193]

@@stephennicolay1940 What did you find out?

[@deanedward2379]

The recent DNA study is an important aspect not mentioned. The studies find that Samaritans and Jews share common ancestral DNA linking the two to the original Hebrew Israelites.

[@ntmn8444]

Oh of course.

[@BrianStanleyEsq]

That the cohens show a common patrilineal (Oy, what an insult to the matrilineal ancestry demanded by the rabbis of the Ashkenazim!) ancestry but cannot agree on the pronunciation of the Name casts an interesting light on a comment made by a 1st c. Jewish religious figure: "G-d is able to raise up sons to Abraham from the stones of this field."

[@highpath4776]

@@BrianStanleyEsq Interesting , as Jesus said if the people were prevented from crying out then the stones of the field would. Indicating a though of continuation , I assume poetic rather than an expected actual possibility.

[@highpath4776]

@Pojka I dont think its disputed that Canaan was occupied by a whole load of tribes , communities and peoples from around the Med, and the Arabian areas, interesting if there were settlements of peoples from further away

[@highpath4776]

@Pojka Iran - remind me is that potentially one of the areas of Ur (or would there be nomadic connections to there ?)

[@wompa70]

History is absolutely fascinating. Partly because, as you pointed out, history is still happening.

[@chendaforest]

Francis Fukurama claimed in the late 90s that the 'end of history' had arrived. He was a idiot.

[@oceanmachine1906]

@@chendaforest that is what Marxism/Communism claimed too

[@buythegamesagain]

Between the U.S. President threatening to nuke Patriots and Russia threatening to nuke anyone, I wholeheartedly agree

[@chendaforest]

@@oceanmachine1906 yes but he wasn't a Marxist.

[@oceanmachine1906]

@@chendaforest never said he was

[@reade_gauvin]

I’ve always wondered about the context of Jesus’ “Good Samaritan” story, and what the history is there. Great video!

[@Chuck_Carolina]

Reade, I would like you to read Luke 9-: 51-56 and also John chapter 4. I hope these will help.

[@laurencedankel4751]

@@Chuck_Carolina I think he was asking for a wider context than the New Testament sources you so condescendingly proffer.

[@taesu8]

I think it is a rebuke on people who observe ritual, at the cost of being blind to be good. In the case of Good Samaritan, the ritual of purity. Two first people passed the distressed man did not want to taint themselves from touching a dying man. Samaritan who was passing by has no restriction and assisted the man and thus observing God's desire instead of following the rituals.

[@bigscarysteve]

@@laurencedankel4751 You sound like a true disciple of Marcuse.

[@moondust2365]

@@taesu8 True. In part, it's a rebuke on Jewish treatment to Samaritans, showing how Samaritans can be good to Jews and vice versa. And in part, that, a rebuke on ritual observation at the cost of avoiding a good deed. After all, had the Samaritan been a priest, it's likely that he too wouldn't have helped the man. Of course, if the Samaritan was a priest, it would have strengthened the point of being helpful to others regardless of both ethnic/religous differences as well as ritual law.

[@ntmn8444]

I’ve been fascinated by the Samaritan Israelites for years. I’m shocked reading these comments that people didn’t know Samaritans are real and still around. But I’m glad more and more people are learning about them.

[@shainazion4073]

Watch the videos on "The Traveling Clatt", he goes and shows the Samaritans in his latest videos

[@JohnDoe-bh2lp]

Same with Assyrians. Uneducated Americans and Europeans are saying how you can identify as an ancient ethnicity...because it's your ethnicity and it still exists.

[@bereftspud279]

I've been waiting for this! Fun fact, I am currently working on getting a PhD in history and religious studies, with a focus on the history and development on Samaritanism! Thanks for the video!

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Whoa, cool! Best of luck with the PhD. It is crazy that late antiquity programs don't focus on this group more.

[@bereftspud279]

@@ReligionForBreakfast Thanks! Your videos are a major inspiration for learning about the rest of the world outside of my American bubble! :D

[@MisterTipp]

@@ReligionForBreakfast I wonder about the state of the source materials for late antiquity Samaritans. Is there a lot of it? Is it translated to modern languages? I reckon this could make a potential course or dissertation about the subject a bit tricky.

[@bereftspud279]

@@muhametalijaj7838 thank you!

[@MatT3431433]

@@MisterTipp I'd hope that language/s are presumed for a research degreee.

[@coolguy4989]

As a jew it's fascinating to see a religion that is so similar to mine, I'm amazed at the fact that they stll practice sacrifices. We jews haven't done that since the exile by the romans 2000 years ago so all the connection that I have to the practice is only through what I can read in the torah, seeing it in real life is incredible! especially when it is supposed to be one of the central aspects of jewish religious practice! thank you for the video!

[@AlaisDahen]

I found that interesting as a Catholic as well. I wonder how they reason doing sacrifice without the temple or even the tabernacle, seeing as the temple and tabernacle were to be the places of sacrifice given the true presence of God either on the mercy seat or within the holy of holies. Rather interesting. In our Christian New Testament, it was also stated that one of their places of worship was at the well of Jacob. It's interesting how so similar religions can be so divergent, even between us Christians and the Jewish belief (albeit a bit more so since we believe the Messiah has come and the Jews don't). Even moreso between your faith and the faith of the Samaritans. It's almost like us (Catholics) and the Orthodox Christians (there's basically only 7 or so differences).

[@trentbresler3179]

@@AlaisDahen the bible tells us that clearly there was sacrifice Before the temple and before the tabernacle. Look at Cain and able or when Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, even when they were in Egypt they asked the Pharaoh for 3 days to go Sacrifice to the lord, and we know that the Passover was done before they left Egypt. So in my eyes he just formalized it with the laws but blood sacrifice was happening long before the Temple.

[@hoathanatos6179]

@@AlaisDahen Well the Samaritans see Mt. Gerizim as the holiest site in the Holy Land and so the sacrifices are done there. The Judean temple means nothing to them and their faith as Israelites where the Israelite Temple at Mt. Gerizim plays the same role as the Temple of Jerusalem does for the Jewish people.

[@AlaisDahen]

@@hoathanatos6179 yeah, but I mean why do they think that?

[@coolguy4989]

@@trentbresler3179 this is actually very different, in jewish theology we believe that there are 613 commandments given to us by God in the torah, practically every single part of modern and ancient Jewish practice is based on the 613 commandments (including all of the temple sacrifices), the sacrifices that you are describing happened before the torah was revealed so they are a very different kind of worship

[@marksman314]

We went to visit them on our holiday trip to Israel and Palestine -- they were super sweet people, and I wish them all the very best!

[@arimoff]

No such as palestine. Only islamonazis occupying jewish land

[@M4th3u54ndr4d3]

Great video! I am a geneticist and computer scientist from Brazil. I have moroccan&syrian jewish ancestry. I love to study about the ethnicities of middle east. Here's what I discovered about samaritans: they are the closer non-jewish group with ashkenazi jews. The genetically closer groups to ashkenazi jews are: 1- sephardic jews 2- mizrahi jews 3 - *samaritans* 4 - south italians 5 - assyrian/chaldean/aramean christians 6- druze 7 - levantine arabs (palestinians, lebanese, syrians, jordanians) The samaritans also are very closer to sephardic and mizrahi jews. BUT they have good amounts of iraqi haplogroup subclades, which can definitely indicate an ancient admixture with assyrians/baylonians/persians. So, genetically speaking, both histories are partially true. They are indeed very genetically similar to the main jewish ethnic groups, and they do have mesopotamian admixture. The genetic tests are a new and interesting weapon to analyze these religious stories. Sorry about my english!

[@Reubentheimitator6572]

I think your English is pretty good but for your use of comparatives (e.g. your use of 'closer').

[@Dreadboi1990]

Sounds like Macedonian to me seeing how all those groups you listed historically are mixed with greeks romans and turks

[@gnosis2871]

Hi, thanks for the information. May I ask what your sources are?

[@hedgehog3180]

You probably didn't intend this but using “weapon” in this context isn't really appropiate as it implies a conflict that has to be won. I figure you might have used it because the word gets used metaphorically in context where it's a good thing like “a new weapon against disease” or “a weapon to fight misinformation” but that's because in those contexts you're seeking to eliminate something that's almost universally agrees to be a bad thing, so “fighting” it doesn't imply a conflict with anyone. However in this context where we're talking about ethnicity we (as in scholars) should be detatched observes who don't pick a side and just seek to describe a situation. Therefore using the word “weapon” is inappropiate as it implies conflict which scholars not only shouldn't participate in but it's also generally understood that when talking about something as heated as religion scholars have an obligation to try to defuse any conflicts and help people better understand each other. Instead in this context using the term “tool” is much more appropiate as it is neutral and solely implies that this can be used to gain greater insight into a certain topic without implying the existance of a conflict or taking any side in one. I figure that's what you were aiming for anyways. This got really long but as a fellow non-native speaker I know how confusing English culture can be in these situations, you can really only learn things like this from having a ton of exposure to English Academia. It's especially confusing because few other languages makes as much use of war metaphors as English does and they're extremely common in all forms of English literature so understanding the conventions for the use of war metaphors is difficult. In general war metaphors are mostly used in writing aimed at a lay audience to try to make it more exciting, it's almost never used in academic texts as it's seen as too flowery for any serious writing, though of course even in academic writing metaphors are used it's just that you should only use neutral ones. Otherwise your English is pretty perfect, I wouldn't have known that you aren't a native speaker if you hadn't told me and your grammar is definitely better than mine.

[@DelzaPauladaMotaSwallom]

I'm Brasílian as well. I'm very impress with your level of knowledge about these groups. Is, actually, fascinanted to get to know the origins and history of these people. By the way, your inglês is perfect!

[@Vanalovan]

I remember for my BA final project I worked with a source that was a letter from a Jewish garrison in southern Egypt during the Persian period (4th century BCE i think) that was addressed to both Jerusalem AND Gerezim asking for instructions on how to properly observe Passover. I argued that at the time, it was a clue that this garrison didn’t see a difference between Jews and Samaritans

[@Tsukuyomi28]

It does seem like they were more similar and less hostile back then from what I've seen.

[@stupidminotaur9735]

or a mixed garrison with both

[@gavinriley5232]

Or there was controversy as to who was correct, so just ask for both opinions and take the stricter of the two.

[@BrandanLee]

@@gavinriley5232 Or the strictest and most ancient of all jewish laws: arguments.

[@flutiyama]

I'm Brazilian, and I had absolutely no idea of the Samaritan movement down here. Immediately researching it as soon as I finish this video!!!!

[@onedaya_martian1238]

Please report back !! That would be fascinating. Like the Nisei of Sao Paulo, they would be a surprising group to learn about in that amazing country. - Signed- Wannabe Carioca !!

[@deanedward2379]

There are also Samaritan Israelite communities now in Cuba, Philippines and Canada.

[@stinkeye460]

You would still have to convert to be a Samaritan. You don't have to convert to Judaism to worship the G-d of Israel. You can become a Ben Noach instead. These are righteous Gentiles who worship the G-d of Israel and accept Judaism as their faith without converting to Judaism. People from all over the world have been doing this in mass since they discovered this through the internet.

[@cuckoophendula8211]

To the Christians watching this video, this is great contextualization for the parable of the Good Samaritan. EDIT: Lol, I find it unsurprising yet cool that I'm not the only one pointing this out

[@SomethingBeautifulHandcrafts]

Also explains why Jesus took his message to the Samaritan woman at the well. He was explicit that He had come for the lost of Israel, which included the Samaritans.

[@StrawB0ss]

Now content like this is why I'm a subscriber. Didn't even know these people exist.

[@AlaisDahen]

I didn't know that they still existed. I knew that there was a split of Jews and Samaritans who worshiped the Abrahamic God, but I thought they died out long ago.

[@antiganadasilva8899]

Those people are not the sumarian cause the sumarian and jews are the same. Only their nationalties are different. They are just claiming what does not belong to them.

[@ef2718]

@@AlaisDahen Introduction to Samaritans kzbin.info/www/bejne/rni8Zauqf5aVopI

[@davidgusquiloor2665]

This gives the good samaritan a little more context.

[@harrisonwinch2527]

I know its a bit outside your typical timeframe, but could you do a video on Byzantine Iconoclasm in the 8th and 9th centuries, and the subsequent rise of icons in Eastern Orthodox Christianity? It's a fascinating example of how categories like "orthodoxy" and "heresy" are constructed and reimagined over time, and continues to have huge significance today in the widespread use of icons in Greek and Russian Orthodox Christianity.

[@hedgehog3180]

Also how Byzantium started to identify itself as a sorta second Isreal.

[@lakrids-pibe]

I noticed in the old picture of Solomon's temple in the video, and it made me think that it would be interesting to hear about the design of the temple. We only know the temple from written descriptions, and modern reconstructions have many suggestions on how it can be interpreted. I know architecture is not the main topic of this channel, but I just love the old (and new) drawings.

[@baruch.mizrahi]

I’ve actually seen a picture of the map of where and how the temple’s sections were located and built. But I do know an organisation called The Temple Institute that talks about the temple and all of that stuff.

[@shainazion4073]

Look up Norma Robertson on KZbin, She has all the Temple information.

[@abnerbinyamimmenashe9453]

I really enjoyed this video from a scholarly perspective and would like to thank you for giving more exposure in the academic world about the Israelite Samaritans and how we are NOT a disappearing people, how we are very different from Jews, and about the archeological, historical and religious information about us. You all feel welcome to come and JOIN Studies Shomrey haTorah GROUP TO LEARN WITH US. We have plenty of articles and studies on Israelite Samaritan Torah and tradition. - Abner from the Official Israelite Samaritan Community - Shomrey HaTorah.

[@grizzerotwofour7858]

Anyone one of those "why haven't i looked this up on my own yet" topics from your channel! Love it

[@erictaylor5462]

I knew there was a good reason Jesus chose a Samaritan in his story about helping others in need.

[@chendaforest]

Is like this related ? Like the good Samaritan was a Samaritan ?

[@chendaforest]

@Yam Samam thank you. I know little of such matters 🙏

[@KaiHenningsen]

@@madmonkee6757 How about a black guy, or an immigrant, or ...?

[@jacquesstrapp3219]

@@KaiHenningsen Any despised minority would work for this parable.

[@KaiHenningsen]

​@@jacquesstrapp3219 Exactly, and the US certainly has those.

[@grahamrankin4725]

As usual, a very well researched video. I especially liked knowing their current status in Israel

[@jsw7814]

Really great presentation but I have a couple of issues. Firstly, I am a researcher of Karaite Judaism which has some similarities to Samaritanism (there were contacts between the two and even an ill-fated attempt to unite the two communities by the adventurous Karaite eccentric Abraham Firkovich). I’ve published some books on the subject. You say that Samaritans consider the Jewish center of worship at Jerusalem “a mistake”. I’m not sure I would characterize it that way- just like the Jewish take on the Samaritan sanctification of Gerizim is certainly not viewed as a mistake but as something more sinister. Then again, the ancient record is not exactly crystal clear on these issues. Secondly, the group of Brazilians who are converting to Samaritanism is a fairly modern phenomenon. I’ve come across the leader of this group (who claims converso ancestry); while initially expressing interest in returning in normative Judaism, he (they) was put off by what he perceived to be contradictions in the Jewish scriptures. One of the things that perturbed him the most was the fact that King David was descended of a Moabite (Ruth) and yet the Hebrew Bible expressly forbids the conversion of Moabites perpetually (the Rabbinic tradition deal with this and says that conversion was only forbidden for males but not for females). Samaritanism of course views the Davific dynasty as illegitimate usurpers.

[@tzvi7989]

Then again in the modern day, these differences shouldn't matter between us. Both Shomronim and us Jews are all b'nei yisrael after all

[@macosta3499]

Who is the samaritan leader in Brasil and do they have an online presence? Would like to know as a Brazillian

[@shayalynn]

Interesting information, thanks for sharing!

[@projectbreadwinners2942]

Every video on this channel is a gem. Always packed with information. I’d love a longer more fleshed out video on this topic.

[@dark_fire_ice]

I love history, and this is why; one is either trying to revive a narrative or see more of an on going narrative.

[@LandgraabIV]

This topic is really interesting to me. I'm Brazilian and I would like to know your source regarding a community trying to convert here?

[@tolkiendil4806]

As a Brazilian, I'm also very curious about this. Where does this information come from?

[@edwardi8396]

I don't know Dr. Andrew Henry's source, but I do know that French social anthropologist Fanny Urien-Lefranc has conducted surveys of and had conversations with Brazilians who have "entered" Samaritanism. (She avoids the word "convert.") Brazilians began entering Samaritanism in 2015. She began reaching out to them for information in 2017. One of her articles available online, "From Religious to Cultural and Back Again: Tourism Development, Heritage Revitalization, and Religious Transnationalizations among the Samaritans," devotes several paragraphs to Brazilian Samaritans.

[@Salsmachev]

Based on his bibliography, it looks like Special issue of the journal religions, open access: Religions | Special Issue : Exploring Samaritanism (mdpi.com) - technical, but a wide-ranging set by the big names and Reinhard Pummer, The Samaritans: A Profile (Eerdmans, 2016) - the best (and only) English-language state of the field starting point

[@webbess1]

There's a bibliography in the description.

[@joantrotter3005]

The converts are from what religious background? Like many with ancestry from Spain and Portugal, there are plenty of Jewish genetic mixed in. I expected my DNA test to show Jewish because I had a Jewish Grandmother and some on my Dad's side. Nope. But my Spanish is way higher than thought, and it shows middle eastern. My husband didn't think he had any but his test reads like one grandparent was. My sister has an ex that is Italian and Brazilian and he looks middle eastern. He's very Catholic, but Jewish ancestry wouldn't surprise me!

[@xx99Username99xx]

Their alphabet looks rad.

[@foxhound963]

Thats what I was thinking.

[@sarahrosen4985]

I think Useful Charts did a video on it.

[@jonathanbarnes3061]

@@sarahrosen4985 thank you

[@Inhumantics]

Thanks so much for sharing the full story of people who have come from great antiquity, may be misunderstood and are still around today!

[@donaldseigel4101]

Samaritans are a mix between the Israelites who were not captured and exiled to modern day Iraq, and the Cuthites from South Western Iran who were forced to immigrate to ancient Israel. "Modern genetics partially support both the claims of the Samaritans and the account in the Hebrew Bible (and Talmud), suggesting that the genealogy of the Samaritans lies in some combination of these two accounts. This suggests that the Samaritans remained a genetically isolated population."

[@Grmario85]

Extraordinarily interesting community. They literally function as a flashlight into the ancient world.

[@tiagoSS90]

Wait brazil? What does brazil have to do with samaritans? I would like to read more about it. Is there a source for it. It wouldn't be a problem if sources were in either Spanish, Portuguese or English Thanks

[@chendaforest]

I don't know but I've heard of other groups in Brazil converting to other religions like Zoroastrianism, which has also become something of an ethno religious group. This may reflect Brazil's huge cultural and ethnic diversity in some way...

[@LightUpTheSkys]

The research article is by Fanny Urien-Lefranc, published in 2020 in the journal Religions: "From Religious to Cultural and Back Again: Tourism Development, Heritage Revitalization, and Religious Transnationalizations among the Samaritans" The religion for breakfast youtube commented this.

[@luizmenezes9971]

Brazilians loves weird minority and threatened religions and cultures that they clearly don't belong to. Google for tupiniviking.

[@chendaforest]

@@luizmenezes9971 Obrigada! Something about Norse/Viking/European connections ??

[@luizmenezes9971]

@@chendaforest It's a portmanteau of Tupiniquim (one of the many native tribes from Brazil) and Viking. Because a lot of brazilian metalheads worship norse gods. Conversely, many pagan reconstructionists (Norse reconstructionists included) uses Umbanda (an Afro-Brazilian religion) as inspiration to fill the gaps for the traditions and rituals they've lost due to christian anti-pagan zeal. The "tupiniviking" (an exonym) are aware of it, and use to point out to the folkists (the racists that insists only norse descendents can worship the Aesir) that their religion is white washed macumba (another exonym for Umbanda).

[@valdo9737]

This is the most comprehensive, objective and plausible video I've watched on the subject of the Samaritans

[@mohamadamirulashrafbinfadz692]

Nice sharing. I'm students of comparative religions as well and very interested currently on Haymanot Judaism practised by the Ethiopian Jews community. How about if you cover about them in your next video, I believe it will be an interesting topic as not so much about them being discussed yet in the KZbin.

[@aaronturner2694]

This is a fascinating period of time and I am glad to be here to study with you all!

[@ahmedkol7605]

توبوا الى الله لأن بالصلاح والاسلام تحيا النفوس والقلوب Repent to Allah in Islam because by Islam live the hearts and the souls..

[@musicalintentions]

What a fascinating subject! Thank you for sharing this with us.

[@Wintermute01001]

It's interesting how the story of the Good Samaritan was taught to me in Catholic School. It was taught as a call for ethnic and national tolerance but there was little emphasis on the *religious* differences between Jews and Samaritans, which would make the story a call for religious tolerance as well.

[@gimassaro5]

Hey Andrew! Awesome video, thank you! Could you please reference to any sources or news about this Brazilian Samaritan conversion movement? I'm Brazilian and I'm really interested in founding out more!

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

The research article is by Fanny Urien-Lefranc, published in 2020 in the journal Religions: "From Religious to Cultural and Back Again: Tourism Development, Heritage Revitalization, and Religious Transnationalizations among the Samaritans"

[@aldsidu8600]

They are on Facebook with a huge group of over 13,000 of them. One group (American) with 160 or so members is: Studies Shomrey haTorah. There are a couple of the Brazilian leaders on that English page. The page with over 13,000 members are pretty much literally all from Brazil, and it is in Portugeese I believe. I can't remember the name now. Join the English page and ask, and you will be directed to them.

[@hyperion3145]

They're also on the Samaritan Israelite website

[@Chuck_Carolina]

Andrew, as a Christian Elder and lay leader I really like your content and want to thank you for the permission to use it. I take some guff from time to time over my thirst for knowledge when it comes to history and archeology in some circles; us Christians, being judgmental - imagine that! Stay thirsty my friend,

[@fernandov1492]

Please do a video with "Let's talk religion". Much love from México, keep putting out excellent content.

[@ebrim5013]

This was so fascinating, thanks for making it!

[@ahmedkol7605]

توبوا الى الله لأن بالصلاح والاسلام تحيا النفوس والقلوب Repent to Allah in Islam because by Islam live the hearts and the souls..

[@christophermccurry8039]

Very fascinating. These two groups illustrate something I have always found curious, religions believing a cosmic entity has extremely close ties or reliance on a specific spot, in a certain region, on a small planet, in a vast universe.

[@kellydalstok8900]

And groups declaring themselves the chosen people. Which is not unlike the nazis declaring themselves Übermenschen.

[@christophermccurry8039]

@@kellydalstok8900 while I agree with the overall point I see the effect of Godwin's Law is wasting no time tonight XD

[@Ataturkinator]

@@kellydalstok8900 "The chosen people" doesn't mean that Jews are in any way better than non-Jews, in fact it's commonly joked that we were chosen to have a worse time than non-Jews. "The people chosen" works better as a translation than "The chosen people", as the idea is that the Jews were chosen to practice God's wishes on earth; not chosen to be inherently better or something

[@generalgrievous2202]

​@@Ataturkinatoralmost like a conscription, so to speak, they were "conscripted" to enact God's will

[@snam85]

Another interesting fact about the contemporary Samaritan community is that they have recognized that they need to bring new blood into the community. There was an interesting newspaper article a few years ago about how the Samaritans of Mount Gerizim sent a mission to Ukraine to convert young women who were willing to convert to Samaritanism and move to Nablus so the community could be reinvigorated.

[@ikkl000i]

yeah sounds more like trafficing ukrainian women cz who else is exploited more within the slawic community

[@deborahdean8867]

Supposedly they did get a group of 20 women? They learned for 6 months and then a few returned home but the rest stayed, married etc.

[@thebusybrownangel5829]

This was a great video. I see many people think of the Good Samaritan account, but this brought to mind for me the account of the woman at the well. The scriptures say the well was near a parcel of land given to Joseph by Jacob. The Samaritan woman said the well was given to them by their father Jacob. She asked Yeshua if He was greater than their father, Jacob. Yeshua stayed in Samaria and taught them for two days. He didn’t do that with gentiles.

[@josephzammit8483]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4jOpZaNas6FbK8

[@django7783]

Man, I am from Brazil. I got completely surprised in the end of your video!

[@codyjoco]

Great video, however my 19 month daughter waved at you and said hi the entire video and you didn’t wave back, so she got mad! 😂

[@jojones4685]

I was researching the modern samaritans yesterday. What a coincidence

[@matthewmann8969]

A Semitic Endogamous group that prefers to stay to themselves for the most part kinda like the Druze

[@sahulianhooligan7046]

And Zoroastrians

[@ninaaden8338]

Todays Samaritans are actually dwindling in population, so much so that their men have gone and married outside their ethnoreligious group, particularly eastern European women.

[@woodygilson3465]

Ancient Israelites were originally Canaanites who did the same thing.

[@mannygutierrez7654]

Thank you so much for educating me on this fascinating religion 😊

[@grimmace2131]

Wow! That was a great video. I'll admit I was under the impression that they were a Biblical "fossil" as well. A fascinating history!

[@annecohen8927]

wow. I never knew anything about the Samaritans that also were known to be Israelites. I am so glad to be coming in here. to learn more.

[@Pogomeerschweinchen]

Thank you so much for this fantastic summary. This is so helpful to understand the rich history of Judaism!

[@nielsvizgan3078]

Great work! By far the best video regarding Samaritan Israelites on KZbin

[@lshulman58]

6:30 "will the true Israelites please stand up." Reminds me of something I have heard regarding the Roman Catholics vs. Orthodox churches: which one is the "true" or "original" church, and which broke away? Perspective that favors ones own group is always suspect due to self-serving bias.

[@ntmn8444]

They’re both the original and true church. They just split because of disagreements. But I as Catholic completely accept Orthodox Christians as the same, even if they’re not in communion with Rome.

[@SPQR748]

How can two groups of people from the same area and dating back to the same era of history interpret things so differently? Santayana once said that history is a group of events that never happened, told to us by people that were not there. 🌞

[@yvonnelenders5986]

Exactly

[@friedkeenan]

Ok so I know this isn't related to the video, but I think a video on (our theories about) Proto-Indo-European religion and how it's deduced from a combination of comparative mythology and comparative linguistics would be really really cool

[@friedkeenan]

@@muhametalijaj7838 It is indeed _fairly_ speculative, but the way you can concretely deduce that PIE people had some sort of Sky-Father from language alone is super cool. And that Rome's foundation myth of Romulus and Remus could very well have come from/influenced by one of the PIE creation myth stories where *Manu (man) kills *Yemo (twin) to create humanity and all that (Remus probably comes from *Yemo, looking at the etymological evidence) is super interesting to think about. I want Andrew to make a video on it because while reading wikipedia is fine and all, I'd like a more firmly scholarly view on stuff to help sus out the more concrete from the more speculative

[@bigscarysteve]

@@friedkeenan Are you familiar with a KZbin channel called "Survive the Jive"? He covers these topics a lot. He has several videos about the Indo-European concept of the soul and reincarnation, in which he pulls together quotes from Plato, Ovid, and the Buddhist scriptures to present evidence for the older concept of these things--I find that particularly fascinating.

[@friedkeenan]

@@bigscarysteve I've read that Greek mythology isn't a great source for reversing PIE religion because of its frequent interaction and melding with the near east. Anyhow, I find things that rely _solely_ on comparative mythology quite a bit less concrete than things backed up through linguistics. The example I jump to for explaining why is how stories of a flood engulfing the whole world are common throughout several disparate cultures, Indo-European and otherwise, but it would not make sense to say that they all came from one religion/mythology. However, when things are found through linguistics, it really does show rather concretely that PIE had words to describe such things as Sky-Father and lends credence to the fact that they had a god in their pantheon that fit such a role, whether or not that same figure themselves transformed into Jupiter, Zeus, etc. over the millenia

[@il967]

I know tha Dheous is the sky father of the PIE people.

[@varana]

@@friedkeenan Although that tends to isolate the PIE people in a way that we cannot prove (nor disprove). It's quite likely that the culture we can reconstruct through historical linguistics, also had been in contact with other cultures, and had been extensively influenced by others. PIE is not a pure state of origin, it's just a random snapshot of the time where our linguistic reconstruction happens to end. (Not to mention that referring to a single PIE religion is maybe oversimplifying.) The topic is really interesting, yes. I'm not sure that that level of linguistic speculation falls into RfB's field of interest, though.

[@Eli-y3y1b]

Most people dont know this, but throughout most of the 2nd Temple period, most of the leaders of the Jews did NOT accept any book outside Torah Law. These were Sadducees. The Sadducees were in charge of the kingdom, Temple, preisthood, Sanhedrin, Rabbinic Law and Court systems. The pharisees only gained power after Herod. And even the pharisees did NOT consider the later scripture as equal to Torah Law. Torah is #1 priority. The goal of Rabbinic Judaism was to unify all the different groups into something that everyone can have a portion in and keep Torah alive through the dark exile.

[@andrewmize823]

I was raised in a household where the Bible was to be regarded as the literal, living word of God, and any attempt at reading it critically or expanding upon the rote scripture would have been generally frowned upon--so needless to say, the story of the Good Samaritan was the absolute limit to my knowledge about Samaritanism. I'm not religious anymore in the strictest sense of the word, but I do enjoy reading the Bible from a literary standpoint, and this video helped me gain insight into something I've mostly overlooked in the past.

[@bortiz11]

Fantastic subject and delivery! I love learning, and your teaching skills. Thank you!

[@jadcohen2773]

great documentary! im proud to be a samaritan!

[@drgjs58727]

Your channel is wonderful. Thanks Andrew.

[@MatthewNehrling1]

That was fascinating. Thank you for posting. I'm curious about a follow up with more about the culture and how they were able to survive so long. Obviously the New Testament has a unique reference to them that is favorable.

[@John-14798]

*Could you please tell us about Mesopotamia, what and where was it? Thank you for creating this video, I was always so curious when watching ancient history channels of who exactly are the Samaritan’s so thank you so much.* 🙏🏾

[@KaitlynBurnellMath]

So, one thing that has bothered me about Samaritans--we have plenty of evidence for the antiquity of Samaritan israelites, DNA that suggests their Levites are related to Jewish Levites. You bring up that DNA evidence suggests only their capital was destroyed by the Assyrians--also very relevant. But scholars also think that the Torah/Pentateuch went through a number of final redaction processes that happened during Persian rule, after the Babylonian exile, and also much during the Babylonian exile. And the Samaritan Torah is so close to the Jewish Torah (outside of mentions of Gherazim) that the only sensible explanation is that it was shared. This doesn't really line up with the timeline where Samaritan israelites and Judeans were distinct with distinct scriptures and hating each other by the second temple period. There must have still been sharing going on between Judea and Gherazim during or after the second temple period. Either that, or the dates of authorship we've estimated on parts of the Torah post-dating the Babylonian exile must be way off. Of course, you don't need written finalized scriptures to have a religious practice and an ongoing presence in the region.

[@michaelrenper796]

It makes a bit more sense in context of what we learned from the Qumram scrolls. Namely that there was never (in antiquity) a single Jewish belief, nor two. But a wide range of sects who shared a common cultural background but fought bitterly in politics and details. If you now add politics into the game. E.g. the the returnees from Babylon establishing themselves as an elite in Jerusalem but at the same time alienating some of the local sects. Then more politics during the Greek and Romans times .... at the end two sects survived (many more died out in the last 2000 years) the Jews and the Samaritans. Who distilled two similar but distinct stories from a wide range of traditions (of which many are lost, but sometimes get a snippet like in Qumran).

[@rogerlephoque3704]

I wonder if Cohanim DNA also matches? There's a KZbin piece out there that features a Samaritan gentleman who rejoices in the name of Abdullah Cohen!

[@engineeredtruths8935]

Yes the dating is way off. History is largely false and constructed as a lie.

[@user-jr4kc6lu9q]

@@rogerlephoque3704 The Samaritan Cohen DNA lineage is different from Jewish Cohen DNA lineages.

[@tzvi7989]

Tbh the Samaritans are basically first temple Jews who have a different site for their temple

[@carolynsilvers9999]

I always wondered about this thanks for sharing.

[@chilldragon4752]

I would love to hear your thoughts on Taoism. Love the videos.

[@joshfranks9732]

Yeah that would be cool

[@garyjohnson301]

Taoism and Buddhism are really interesting to me

[@covenawhite4855]

There is another You Tube Channel called "Let's Talk Religion" who discusses Taoism, Hinduism, Gnostic, and Christianity.

[@steveng8251]

Always impressed by your delivery.., and how you don't seem to add a slant.. Good job sir.

[@jacobshore]

Interesting. One point of clarification. The Pentateuch manuscripts found at Qumran vary significantly from the Masoretic Pentateuch. I have studied the Dead Sea Scrolls, and while there are variants in the Bible, the Pentateuch is rather surprisingly consistent (other than in consistently spelling things slightly differently (example: vowel helper letters are added) and letter shape). I'm not sure how that would lead one to the conclusion that there was no excepted version of the Pentateuch. Are you contesting this assertion or drawing this conclusion from something else ( like variants in the Prophets and Writings?)

[@porkadillo9752]

The fact that there are 3 very ancient versions of the Penteteuch is itself proof of the text's flexibility in ancient times. Being mostly consistent is not the same as being entirely consistent, especially where theology is concerned. There were likely many different editions of the Pentateuch that we'll never know about, and I guarantee every single one of them claimed to be the proper edition.

[@tzvi7989]

@@porkadillo9752 they likely have a common ancestor tho and diverged due to the local politics of each sect at the time

[@shambles5345]

Wonderful video, incredibly informative. I love learning about the Samaritans

[@adamcohen2881]

GREAT VIDEO! i am a samaritan, if you have any questions i will be more ready to answer!

[@angieraftis5896]

Hi Adam, I was just wondering do Samartians believe in an afterlife?

[@i_likemen5614]

What's your relations with Israelis and Palestinians? Who do you support more?

[@RobespierreThePoof]

I am mostly curious about linguistic issues and insularity, if you don't mind. Given the history of the area, I am wondering if Hebrew also survived only as a liturgical language or if there were speakers before the restoration of modern Hebrew'. I am also curious if the community is very insular. This happened in Hasidic and haredi Jewish communities in the diaspora and is one of the ways that traditions are presrved. I'm also thinking of the insularity of the Druze who survive, it seems, because they do not marry outside their ethnic group

[@BrandanLee]

Is the BBQ goat as good as it looks?

[@adamcohen2881]

@@angieraftis5896not really to be honest, the torah doesn't mention that many information about what happens after someone dies

[@redman9331]

So basically Samaritan are just ancient Hebrews who stayed in former ancient Israel kingdom after the conquest of Roman but adopted different view of ancient Hebrew religion separated from the school of thought which later became Judaism. In essence , Jews and Samaritans are same people with same religion but different sects.

[@عليياسر-ذ5ب]

You mean a European person raped by Slavs and Germans, along with a person who resembles the indigenous people of the Middle East

[@changer1285]

Beautiful thank you so much! I love learning about the diversity in isrealite religion!

[@georgescoresby]

Such a good effort to explain a difficult subject. Thank you.

[@daesoulae]

can we get a video on nestorianism pls?

[@sandro-eliesaad9541]

Huge thanks for the effort put in on this. Appreciated! (nice haircut and congrats for the new glasses btw :D )

[@mrniceguy7168]

Samaritans have always fascinated me on a genetic level, since they are ostensibly what the ancient Jews were like

[@user-jr4kc6lu9q]

Egyptian Karaite Jews are also genetically very close to the original Israelites -- moreso than other Jewish groups.

[@RorySeanWainer]

Very interesting ... thank you

[@ABird971]

I guess knowledge of references to Samaritans in the New-Testament is assumed. Interesting that they're not mentioned in this video.

[@grafinvonhohenembs]

This was insanely interesting! This channel is amazing!

[@mosesmanaka8109]

Jesus had a particular love for the Samaritans who although were seen as outcasts by Jews and who had no dealings with them, Jesus often lifted the Samaritans up in status in his parables and interaction as the type whom GOD choses to enter his Heavenly Kingdom, like the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus uses this outcast woman who was an outcast of an outcast to illustrate the abundant love of GOD for people who even choses to love her. She like many other socalled outcasts like the Tax Collectors, Prostitutes and Gentiles entered GOD's Kingdom not made of stone and mortar but was found in the hearts of his adopted children on earth.

[@raysjb]

I think it would have been good to include mention of modern genetic analysis that shows that Samaritans are in fact descendants of Israelites, not foreign immigrants or of mixed origin.

[@myszowaty93]

Apropos lesser known “offshoots”of Judaism I would love to see your analysis of Karaism

[@ZachVanHarrisJR]

*”Samaritans on my mother side” ✌🏾❤️🙏🏾✡️ - MELL DUNEY 616*

[@hereBDBD]

so many stories within stories...beautiful. thank you...

[@CerebrumMortum]

The dead sea scrolls? The Talmud itself has a portion about them having several versions of the Torah, deciding on a cannonical one, and destroying the others. You don't need the dead sea scroll to know the Hebrew Bible has been through a prolonged editorial process.

[@rafalapolanski]

Great and informaive material. What I really miss is an ending, not necessarily a statement, but questions summary. Where to followup? Thanks anyway!

[@betsyboomstein5393]

During the intifada, the Palestinian Arabs couldn't differentiate them from Jews. Israel helped them build their settlement next to their Holy mountain near Nablus. Even Samaritans attending Nablus University say that Arabs question them if they are Jews. ALL SAMARITANS have ISRAELI passports.

[@yahudi9936]

During the first intifada the Palestinian Arabs ethnically cleansed them from Nablus and they has to build a new village (Kiryat Luza) which has full time IDF presence there.

[@jonatamobile9591]

@@yahudi9936 man i love jews and samaritans, wanted to give my life to protect them from dogs....

[@hey_niki_]

This is a boldface lie. I lived in Nablus and spent time listening to lectures from the Samaritan temple and taught in a school with Samaritan kids alongside Christians and Muslims. Samaritan people hold three passports including Palestinian. They are of the same community and have lived side by side forever. The university in Nablus is called An Najah University, so it's clear your just a racist fear mongerer.

[@JennyFB1281]

Do you plan to do a video about the Druze? I went to Israel years ago and met a few Druze people, very cool people, but I didn't really understand their religion. They basically described it as a branch of Islam, but with significant differences.

[@jorenbosmans8065]

Not the focus of this channel, but I am curious about how the Current day relation between Samaritans and Muslims is as they don't consider Jerusalem important. I would guess it can go several ways.

[@lachlanmacrae7054]

Was thinking the same thing!

[@tstarr8314]

If by current day relations you are referring to the Islamic law which protects the people of the book, the respect and protection still applies. The people of the book are those who follow revelation (the Torah, Psalms, Quran, etc) and the Smaritans follow the Torah; it's not the place of Muslims to decide theological differences between Jewish sects. The ruling about the people of the book comes directly from the Quran, so it cannot be changed. But it's also important to note that there is no Khalifa (overall ruler of Muslims and Islamic lands) and no avenue for someone to be declared Khalifa. If a Muslim government decided to discriminate against or persecute the Samaritans they would be going against the law of God as well as international human rights laws. If you mean the political relations between Muslims and Samaritans in Palestine, I think the media neglects to mention that there are Christians and other religious groups also living in Palestine who are being attacked by Israel. I don't know of any tensions between Palestinian Muslims and Palestinian Samaritans. They are both on the same side of the barbed wire fence afterall.

[@jorenbosmans8065]

@@tstarr8314 I'm aware of the Islamic law reasons and it is still An interesting part of their law. But the part I am interested in is the political one. I know that Palestinians aren't only Muslims, but the Samaritans seem to be a bit more different than the Christians. They can claim Israeli citizenship and appearantly wish to do so, but some still live in Palestina. They Also have no claims for Temple mountain, but say it has absolutely no religious value. So yeah, a bit weird. I'm Also unaware of tensions with this group, but wasn't aware they still existed.

[@AlaisDahen]

I think the Muslims view Jerusalem as important seeing as they believe that the Dome of the Rock is where they believe that their prophet Mohammed was brought to Heaven, albeit, if I understand correctly, Mecca is a more important for them. If you meant the Samaritans though, that would be pretty interesting not only on a political aspect but even a religious one.

[@jorenbosmans8065]

@@AlaisDahen yeah, the Dome of the rock is important for Muslims and a topic of debat with Jews as they (Generalizing) want to rebuild their Temple on that place. I find the Samaritan perspective interesting as they give no value to that mountain, so to them the Dome of the rock van just stay.

[@betheva5917]

What Jesus said to the Samaritan woman was that (while Samaritans worship on Mt Gerazim and the Jews in Jerusalem) the day would come that they would worship in neither place but would worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

[@LucasSampaioMaia]

I am brazillian. I would love to know more about brazillians trying to convert. It's the first time I heard of It!

[@jeffsykes4589]

Is this where the story of the Good Samaritan gets it's cultural significance? I was taught growing up that Samaritans and Judean didn't get along, and the fact that this person was a Samaritan helping a Judean was core to the story.

[@ethanbartlett8208]

Hey Andrew, have you ever thought about doing a review of Richard Smolley's "How God Became God."? It would tie in nicely with this video because it deals with how in ancient Israel there was never just one narrative or interpretation of the Torah.

[@gputsche]

Really insightful! Thank you.

[@2tehnik]

If one of the ideas was showing a side of how Samaritarians aren't a "mastodon," I feel like it somewhat failed. I'm not sure I see how they evolved in those 2000 years, more so just how they had some issues being accepted socially (which is the standard misreading Andrew is saying we shouldn't focus too much on).

[@letsomethingshine]

His point was that Mark Twain was comparing them to an extinct species still found in low population, but Samaritans have never been "extinct" only endangered, despite all the lies from the anti-Samaritans who wish that Samaritans not be protected so that their narratives can roll along better and not cause them cognitive dissonance while loving their own mythologies.

[@stargatis]

Loving your voice and calm tone🙂

[@rogerlephoque3704]

I reckon this Samaritan chappie, the one who stopped by to help when all others walked on by, sounds remarkably like a proto-Chabadnik-in-the making...

[@antondelacruz9362]

Im so glad i found this channel.

[@toocutepuppies6535]

I asked my sweet Grandma why she had changed religions so many times in her life and she told me, "I don't want to finally enter heaven and find out I belonged to the wrong church." So apparently, God has a specific church he approves of, but we all have to guess which one that is at our own perial!

[@tafazzi-on-discord]

It's not a guess, it's an investigation God does want us to go through.

[@shayalynn]

Church is not the correct word in my opinion. Church denotes institution or a physical building where people assemble. In the Greek Scriptures, it uses ‘ecclesia’ which means the assembly. Spiritually, it was never really about the building [who can contain the Presence of God?] but it’s about where His people are. In the first century when someone became a proselyte or converted to Judaism as Christianity wasn’t termed yet- you wouldn’t look for a building but you would look for where the assembly [the people gathered for one purpose, of one mind] was at. They usually went to each others houses and shared communion. Sadly, Catholicism claims to be the original apostolic church when the Acts of the Apostles speak for themselves, as well as the other Epistle writings. It’s sorta resembles how Echad is a Hebrew word that translates as "one" or “unity." This idea of unity - being many parts yet one unit, although echad has other nuance meanings. It’s described in Ezekiel 37, similarly, that God plans one day to bring together the two rebellion-split houses of Israel and Judah. There will not be a king in the Northern Kingdom Israel and a king in the Southern Kingdom Judah. God will take their two "sticks" or "rods" (symbols of their authority) and rejoin them as one scepter under "David," the future Messiah. I will make them an undivided nation [goy echad] in the Land . . . One single King [melech echad] will be king for all of them, And they will no longer be two nations, And they will no longer be divided into two kingdoms. (Ezek 37:22) Some believe this union of the two kingdoms is also a compound or composite unity of two parts. But that's precisely not the point here. Their once individual, self-willed identities will disappear; they will become one nation, under God, indivisible. As originally intended, the one people will be ruled by Messiah, the Echad King [melech echad].

[@otisarmyalso]

Sicilian findings very interesting. The Temple at Gerizem is impressive structure viewed from afar... as was my privilege during visits to Israel

[@cherieamour671]

My grands mothers were Samaritains, I never being interested by Samartanism. However I wonder if Jersim and jerusalem are not the same word said with differents accents, this is just my opinion I have not much historical nor religious knowledge. The Samaritian are a very old Nation I doubt they have any Iranian origine, they are true Semtic race. Samaritains are the old version of the israelites. However I am very relaxed about religion difference, I do sincerely to respect every one in his beleive.