Samaritans hold annual Passover sacrifice ceremony on Mt. Gerizim
Abrahamic religious group holds 3,600-year-old annual ceremony, sacrificing 50 sheep - one for every family in the 800 member community.
Itay Blumental
Hundreds of members of the Samaritan community and many guests - both Israelis and Palestinians - gathered on Mount Gerizim near Nablus on Saturday night for their annual Passover sacrifice.
Those in attendance, dressed in traditional white capes and red head coverings, listened to the Samaritan High Priest reading the commandment given to the Israelites to offer the sacrifices, after which 50 sheep were sacrificed - one for each family. On Sunday, after the sacrifice ceremony, the Samaritans hold a Sabbatical day.
The ethnoreligious group got its name when its members were exiled to the Samaria area in the final days of the First Temple by the Assyrian king Sennacherib. According to Samaritan tradition, the sacrifice ceremony has been performed for the past 3,600 years.
The sheep who are slaughtered are skinned after being sacrificed, with portions forbidden for consumption. They are then burned on the altar fire. Later, the sheep are skewered and cooked in ovens in the ground. When the meat is roasted, each family gathers in their own home to perform the mitzvah of eating the Passover sacrifice.
The Samaritans comprise some 800 members. Half of them live on Mount Gerizim and the other half in Holon, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.
The Samaritans follow Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion with close links to Judaism. They adhere only to what is written in the Bible, and consider their worship the true religion of the ancient Israelites.
The head of the Samaria Regional Council, Gershon Mesika, attended the ceremony.
"We can to show our respect to the Samaritan group, which constitutes a part of the State of Israel," he said. "Over the years we've had full cooperation between the Samaritans and the regional council - on normal days, days of celebration and days of mourning."
Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 40,00.html
Opinion:
For something a little different I thought I would cover this. As you can imagine such a small group (which used to be in the millions) wouldn't render as much attention except the occasional glance. First I will address the concerns of the comments simply waving of the festivity as a sign of superstition is a sign you clearly don't get why its done at all. As for the source, well like I said not many people give a damn about the ritual at all. Unlike say the Passover of Judaism which would obviously have far more coverage. It is always interesting to talk to the Samaritan High Priest explain the origin story of Israel, their people, and the religion in general. On a note I would like to correct the article since Samaritans adhere to the Samaritan Torah not the Bible at all. Unlike the Jews with the Tanach they only consider the first five books valid, and everything else erroneous from the Jews time in exile. So what say you oh unleavened, and leavened masses of NSG?
1) Is animal sacrifice inhumane, or immoral?
2) Is animal sacrifice (in any religion that employs it obviously) unnecessary in this time, and day?
3) Last, but not least I suppose the other branches of the Abrahamic religions (contrary to popular belief there are more than three) could be talked about here as well.
