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What is Samaritan mean?
Samaritans (; Samaritan Hebrew: ࠔࠠࠌࠝࠓࠩࠉࠌ, romanized: Shamerim, transl. Guardians/Keepers [of the Torah]; Hebrew: שומרונים, romanized: Shomronim; Arabic: السامريون, romanized: as-Sāmiriyyūn) or Samaritan people are members of an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites of historical Israel and Judah. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic, monotheistic and ethnic religion.
Samaritans believe that their religion, based exclusively on the first six books of the Hebrew Bible (the Samaritan Torah plus the Book of Joshua), is the true religion of the ancient Israelites, preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel during the Babylonian captivity; this belief is held in opposition to Judaism, the ethnic religion of the Jewish people, which Samaritans see as a closely-related but altered and amended religion brought back by those returning from captivity in Babylon under the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
The Samaritan people believe that Mount Gerizim was the original holiest place for the Israelites since the time of Joshua's conquest of Canaan. Consequently, their views differ from Jewish belief regarding the holiest site on Earth to worship God: designated by Judaism as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, but by Samaritanism as Mount Gerizim near Nablus.
Initially a large community, the Samaritan population shrunk significantly in the wake of the bloody suppression of the Samaritan Revolts (mainly in 525 CE and 555 CE) against the Byzantine Empire; conversions to Christianity under the Byzantines and later to Islam following the Muslim conquest of the Levant also reduced their numbers. By the mid-Middle Ages, the Jewish writer and explorer Benjamin of Tudela estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in Palestine and Syria.
Presently, the total population of the Samaritans stands at less than 1,000 people, divided into two communities: one in the city of Holon in Israel, and another in the Samaritan village of Kiryat Luza in the West Bank. The Samaritans residing in Kiryat Luza hold both Israeli citizenship and Palestinian citizenship (see Israeli occupation of the West Bank). Samaritans in Holon primarily speak Israeli Hebrew, while those in Kiryat Luza speak Levantine Arabic; for liturgical purposes, Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic are used, written in the Samaritan script.
Samaritans have a standalone religious status in Israel, and there are occasional conversions from Judaism to Samaritanism and vice-versa, largely due to interfaith marriages. While Israel's rabbinic authorities consider Samaritanism to be a sect of Judaism, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel requires Samaritans to undergo a formal conversion to Judaism in order to be officially recognized as Halakhic Jews. A notable example of a Samaritan convert to Judaism is Sofi Tsedaka, an Israeli actress who formally adopted the Jewish faith at the age of 18. Samaritans possessing only Israeli citizenship are drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, while those holding dual Israeli and Palestinian citizenship in Kiryat Luza are exempted from mandatory military service.
referencePosted on 14 Oct 2024, this text provides information on Miscellaneous in Jobs related to Jobs. Please note that while accuracy is prioritized, the data presented might not be entirely correct or up-to-date. This information is offered for general knowledge and informational purposes only, and should not be considered as a substitute for professional advice.
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