#shavuot — Public Fediverse posts

The Holy Spirit in Scripture

And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8

#baptism #HolySpirit #jesus #Messiah #Pentecost #salvation #scripture #shavuot

https://lightforthelastdays.co.uk/articles/christians-issues/the-holy-spirit-in-scripture/

The Israeli cheese that conquered France – and more surprises for Shavuot

Hanan Sofer started making cheese in his home kitchen in Moshav Herut – and today his cheeses win gold and silver medals at the Cheese World Cup in France. The collection of Hanan Hagaban fo…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Frenchcheese #Bread #Cheese #francais #france #French #frenchcheese #Pasta #Shavuot #Wine
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2667085/the-israeli-cheese-that-conquered-france-and-more-surprises-for-shavuot/

The Blogs: It’s Time For A Change: Service Year In Merhavim | Orna Raz

Returning to Merhavim on Sunday after the Shavuot holiday, we all felt that the year was drawing to…
#NewsBeep #News #BreakingNews #BenjaminNetanyahu #breakingnews #Israel #PersonalHistory #Shavuot #YitzhakRabin
https://www.newsbeep.com/565956/

https://www.europesays.com/iran/137710/ The Blogs: It’s Time For A Change: Service Year In Merhavim | Orna Raz #BenjaminNeta​nyahu #Israel #PersonalHistory #Shavuot #YitzhakRabin

https://www.europesays.com/iran/136924/ The Blogs: What Our Children Remember | Yankie Denburg #chabad #Israel #Shavuot #synagogues

https://www.europesays.com/iran/135173/ Israel must reclaim the Torah’s moral, ethics #God #Israel #IsraeliSociety #JewishExtremism #jews #rabbi #Shavuot #TikTok #Torah

Israel’s National Library recieves copy of UK’s first Jewish cookbook

A rare hard copy of the first Jewish cookbook and housekeeping guide published in England recently joined the…
#EuropeSays #Headlines #News #Europe #Europa #EU #Israel #England #food #Jewishcuisine #Jewishfood #NationalLibraryofIsrael #recipe #Shavuot
https://www.europesays.com/iran/132742/

https://www.europesays.com/iran/132742/ Israel’s National Library recieves copy of UK’s first Jewish cookbook #England #food #Israel #JewishCuisine #JewishFood #NationalLibraryOfIsrael #recipe #Shavuot

Random reflection from hour #17 of #shavuotlive

I got to hear part of Shaul Magid's presentation Sinai and the State Against Our Will: Rav Manitou’s Description of the Problems of Our Time, which I will definitely be listening to again in recorded form, to explore more thoroughly the question of whether we Jews (metaphorically) accepted the Torah willingly or whether we did so under coercion.

#Shavuot

Random Reflections from the overnight of #ShavuotLive when I was passing between times of sleeping and being awake (hours #10-16)
1. Was Essau a vampire? What about the angel that wrestled with Jacob? - Not as crazy as it sounds, as Essau fell up on Jacob's neck when they reconciled and the angel had to go when the sun came up after the night of wrestling!
2. Some words are rolling in my head about games of chance, of how humans want to see divine messages in randomness.

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Vampires #Shavuot

Random reflection from hour #7 of #ShavuotLive - Mazel M's program "GODHOLE THEORY: A Kabbalistic, Quantum, Classroom Cosmology" was crazy trippy. Zany. Provacative. I'm glad this was one was late, as I think I had more fun with it.

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Shavuot

Random reflections from hour #6 of #ShavuotLive from Judaism Unbound
This hour was by John Argaman on the topic of "Why do we need sermons" was excellent. The most important message he gave was an encouragement that religious communities should ask good questions about why they do sermons, and then give serious thought to how to change services and sermons to meet these goals.
I also agreed with several in the chat that discussed how that we wish that Jewish sermons looked more like sermons in non-white traditions, especially with providing opportunities for call-and-response, sponateous immediate responses, etc.

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Shavuot #Preaching

Random reflections on Hour #4 of #ShavuotLive - This is a great shift in gears - to a study session about erotic Yiddish poetry written by and for women. The presenter is Arielle Stein.
My main take away is that everything is #Torah, even erotic literature. And if Torah is in Song of Songs, it can certainly be in Ginsberg's Howl, and it can most certainly be in erotic Yiddish poetry.

#Shavuot #Mazeldon #Judaism

(from last night)

Very random reflections from hour #3 of #shavuotlive

It is so helpful to hear Miriam speak with painful vulnerability about the weirdness of living in today's fascist dysopian reality.

This hit me hard because 2 hours ago I was at a local hispanic grocery store, buying some ingredients for a BBQ happening this weekend. They had all kinds of great food and as always I was given very friendly helpful service, by folks who are patient and kind with my espanol muy limitado. --- This store is still open thankfully, but the experience of being there has changed for many shoppers. A lot of folks come in fast, get what they want and leave quickly --- I assume some must fear being that being too long in a store that serves an immigrant community could make them vulnerable to ICE raids, and I assume that many folks aren't even making it to the store, but instead are shopping elsewhere or doing without.
And yet, it was for me an ordinary Friday afternoon. I was in zero danger of any problems, by the hands of either criminals (who are nearly non-existent these days) or law enforcement (because I'm white-appearing person). The worst thing that might happen is that I might order too much meat at the butcher shop thanks to my bad Spanish (this happened to me many years ago in Elkhart, Indiana when I miscommunicated that I wanted 3 kg rather than 3 lbs).
This disconnect of experience is really jarring to me, especially because I gave it little thought in the moment while I was leisurely and unhurriedly browsing the aisles at the market.

Anyway thanks Miriam Terlinchamp for opening up this revelation for me.

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Shavuot

(from last night)

Random Reflections from hour #2 of #ShavuotLive

The experience of time and memory is so subjective. It is not fixed at all in our lived experience, which is amplified by some through being either neurodivergent or by having a mind-altering experience (such as that spurred by meditative pracitce or drug use).

Enjoying the peaceful evening. It's overcast here, cool and damp. #Oklahoma can be a nice place sometimes.
Also, it's not long until #Shabbat.

#Judaism #Mazeldon #Shavuot

Random reflections from hour 1 of #ShavuotLive

Presenter was @lexaphus

Wordplay is holy

YHWH is all breath sounds - so is God's name breath itself?

Shavuot is about 49 (49th day of the omer), which seems big to me as Im 49 years old but turning 50 soon (under the Jewish calendar, tomorrow, while under the secular calendar in early June). This feels important somehow.

#Mazeldon #Shavuot #Judaism

For those wondering about my #ShavuotLive posts --- this is an annual observance of the Jewish holiday of #Shavuot that happens online via Zoom --- 24 hours of expansive unbounded Jewish learning, because Shavuot if a holiday in which Jews celebrate the giving of the law by Moses at Mount Sinaii -- which includes not only the written Torah but also the more expansive oral Torah.

For myself, as a Humanistic Jew, I see this all through the lens of metaphor and mythology, which is why I revel in this holiday for its expansive possibilities --- which is also why Shavuot Live features everything from traditional textual studies to explorations of erotic female-centered Yiddish poetry, to a discussion of the idea that the Biblical character of Essau might have been a vampire, to the theological lessons that toddlers might teach us, and so much more.

#HumanisticJudaism #UnboundJudaism #Mazeldon

https://www.europesays.com/uk/979482/ National Library acquires world’s earliest known kosher cookbook #cookbook #Health #MosesMontefiore #Nutrition #Shavuot #TheNationalLibraryOfIsrael #UK #UnitedKingdom

Just gave my annual donation to Judaism Unbound in appreciation for the incredible experience of #ShavuotLive for the last 5 years (I sadly missed years #1-2, not knowing about the awesomeness yet)

Please consider giving if you can. #ShavuotLive #Shavuot
#Mazeldon

Just gave my annual donation to Judaism Unbound in appreciation for the incredible experience of #ShavuotLive for the last 5 years (I sadly missed years #1-2, not knowing about the awesomeness yet)

Please consider giving if you can. #ShavuotLive #Shavuot

#Mazeldon #Judaism #UnboundJudaism

https://www.europesays.com/iran/126961/ Police arrest 13 for trying to ‘sacrifice’ bread on Temple Mount to mark Shavuot #AnimalSacrifice #Israel #Shavuot #TempleMount

The Blogs: Are Secular Israelis Still Jewish? | Rachel Collins

Every Shavuot, Israel reveals one of its deepest unresolved identity crises. Religious Jews celebrate the giving of the…
#NewsBeep #News #BreakingNews #breakingnews #Israel #Israelisociety #jewishidentity #Shavuot #zionism
https://www.newsbeep.com/553134/

The Blogs: Are Secular Israelis Still Jewish? | Rachel Collins

Every Shavuot, Israel reveals one of its deepest unresolved identity crises. Religious Jews celebrate the giving of the…
#EuropeSays #Headlines #News #Europe #Europa #EU #Israel #Israelisociety #jewishidentity #Shavuot #Zionism
https://www.europesays.com/iran/126898/

The Blogs: Are Secular Israelis Still Jewish? | Rachel Collins

Every Shavuot, Israel reveals one of its deepest unresolved identity crises. Religious Jews celebrate the giving of the…
#EuropeSays #Headlines #News #Europe #Europa #EU #Israel #Israelisociety #jewishidentity #Shavuot #Zionism
https://www.europesays.com/iran/126898/

https://www.europesays.com/iran/126898/ The Blogs: Are Secular Israelis Still Jewish? | Rachel Collins #Israel #IsraeliSociety #JewishIdentity #Shavuot #Zionism

National Library acquires world’s earliest known kosher cookbook

The National Library of Israel has obtained a rare original copy of what is widely considered the first-ever…
#NewsBeep #News #Nutrition #CA #Canada #Cookbook #Health #MosesMontefiore #Shavuot #TheNationalLibraryofIsrael
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/687116/

#ShavuotLive is starting in 1 hour and 20 minutes!!!!

24 hours of Unbound Torah learning via Zoom!!!

#Shavuot #Mazeldon #Judaism

https://www.judaismunbound.com/shavuot2026

National Library acquires world’s earliest known kosher cookbook

The National Library of Israel has obtained a rare original copy of what is widely considered the first-ever…
#NewsBeep #News #Nutrition #cookbook #Health #MosesMontefiore #Shavuot #TheNationalLibraryofIsrael #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/598419/

https://www.europesays.com/iran/126634/ Shavuot’s lesson for Israel: Sovereignty without purpose cannot survive #Israel #JewishHolidays #Judaism #MiddleEast #Shavuot #Zionism

"According to this midrash, we were all at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, but each one of us had a different experience of revelation at Mount Sinai. We all experienced the Torah according to who we are. Each of us experiences the Torah differently. Just like tastes are different, so too our experience of the Torah is different.”

Read the Article: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/teacher-appreciation/

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Jewish #Shavuot

From Svivah - Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ9w4pYJu4k&t=306s

#Mazeldon #Jewish #Judaism #Shavuot

Whether you’re learning late into the night or taking a quiet moment during the day, we’ve gathered resources to help you bring this sacred time into your own home. Here, you’ll find texts, teachings, and reflections shared by SVIVAH’s community. We invite you to learn in the ways that feel right to you. Join us virtually, or sit with a friend. Bring these resources to people you learn with, or let them spark something new. However you may be walking into Shavuot this year, know that you are with us.

Shavuot Resources: https://www.svivah.org/shavuot

Source Sheet plus Conversation Starters (google, unfortunately): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T3LAI1KuednFz1eGDQsUMGlKIAocwdoi/view

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Jewish #Shavuot

From Svivah:
We all really wanted to spend Shavuot with you. It’s when we celebrate each of us receiving the Torah at Sinai — this magnificent moment of community, but when we all received the unique Torah our ears were supposed to hear — and we LOVE that! So we’re each sending you a little something for this Shavuot. And we’re just going to imagine us all together, celebrating.

Recordings: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQvZ0l_wOuEb5h6dR0Qi-q5QBVSkm_69O

#Mazeldon #Jewish #Judaism #Shavuot

From Rabbi Jill's newsletter:
At the Foot of the Mountain, Together

This Shavuot, I want to speak about the blessed intersection where individuals and community meet. As Jews, this nexus is our most shining moment, the source of our greatest creativity and our deepest gift. It is what makes us a people bonded together all over the world, and linked through time and space...

Finish the article on Rabbi Jill's blog: https://jewishmindful.org/2013/05/27/we-write-our-own-torah-with-our-lives-and-we-walk-together-as-one/

Read the Newsletter Online: https://mailchi.mp/ravjill/shavuot2026?e=c75be1a6d8

#Mazeldon #Jewish #Judaism #Shavuot

TONIGHT!
On the cusp of Shavuot, we are glad to uplift ShavuotLIVE, Judaism Unbound’s 7th annual 24-hour festival of digital learning and unlearning, starting this Friday at 6pm ET.

Register here: https://judaismunbound.zoom.us/meeting/register/zb_F34-jRy6RvwRLlHXKbw#/registration?blm_aid=3187713

We hope you will join the more than 650 folks from all around the world who have already registered for ShavuotLIVE, and make it a special point to be there for the kickoff session, The Torah of Wordplay, in honor of our beloved Arthur.

#Mazeldon #Jewish #Judaism #Shavuot

https://www.europesays.com/iran/126438/ The Blogs: Three-Day Weekend | Harriet Gimpel #Gaza #Israel #ItamarBenGvir #Shavuot

Reboot has compiled a guide to help you reimagine your Shavuot with a collection of content that can easily complement or supplement your traditional ritual experiences to personalize how you embrace this holiday season: https://rebooting.com/article/shavuot-guide/

n Schott's 'Round Midnight, he has slowed down Thelonious Monk's legendary composition of 'Round Midnight to eight hours, creating one of the most powerful musical pieces of our lifetime, an improvisational production steeped in Jewish stories and philosophy.

You can see an hour of his solo performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RfrWUUhZb4

...and part of his extraordinary 14 piece orchestra here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BxYv05wjJg

Support Reboot: https://rebooting.com/about-us/donate/

#Mazeldon #Jewish #Judaism #Shavuot #

https://www.europesays.com/iran/126355/ National Library acquires world’s earliest known kosher cookbook #cookbook #Israel #MosesMontefiore #Shavuot #TheNationalLibraryOfIsrael

This week Shavuot and Shabbat arrive as one.

And I love this holiday for so many reasons.

But maybe the one I love most is how differently it lives in different people.

Ask people what is Shavuot about.

Some will tell you it's cheesecake and pashtida - a savory quiche.

For others it is entirely about the Torah. The receiving of it. What that means. What it asks of us.

For some it is about the land. The first fruits. The harvest. The most ancient, grounded version of this holiday that connects us to something we can hold in our hands.

And for others it is a time of something quieter and more internal - tikkun, repair. Of the self. Of the world.

Same holiday. So many ways to live inside it.

I think that says something beautiful about us as a people.

That we can each find our own door into the same moment and walk through it in a way that is completely ours.

חַג שָׁבוּעוֹת שָׂמֵחַ Happy Shavuot Holiday

וְשַׁבַּת שָׁלוֹם And Shabbat Shalom

Inbal

#ShabbatShalom
#Shavuot #HebrewByInbal

https://www.europesays.com/people/82094/ Netanyahu posts skit of young man ‘coming out’ as his supporter, to parents’ horror #2026IsraeliElections #BenjaminNetanyahu #GaysInIsrael #lgbtq #Shavuot

Shabbat candle-lighting times for Israel and US

Shavuot begins in Israel on Thursday, May 21, and ends on Friday, May 22, as Shabbat begins. For…
#Israel #News #Candlelighting #diaspora #DiasporaJews #Judaism #Shabbat #Shavuot
https://www.europesays.com/3009243/

This #Shavuot: every one of us has a story — a Torah — that only we can tell. When we stand together, those singular stories become something larger. Something holy. Your Torah. Our Torah. One people. Chag Shavuot Sameach. 🕯️ Read more: jewishmindful.org/2013/05/27/w...

Your Torah, Our Torah - Path W...

This #Shavuot: every one of us has a story — a Torah — that only we can tell. When we stand together, those singular stories become something larger. Something holy. Your Torah. Our Torah. One people. Chag Shavuot Sameach. 🕯️ Read more: jewishmindful.org/2013/05/27/w...

Your Torah, Our Torah - Path W...

#OTD
God gave Moses the Torah—the 10 commandments—and today #Israel breaks them all to dance around a golden calf instead of seeking the path through that that does not break them.

#Shavuot #gaza #lebanon #iran

Reign check, or: Summer pauses

A Sijo

cold drizzle sweeps through Jerusalem
while I shop for Shavuot;
summer's dry reign had held the hills
until this morning's rain;
fresh loaves steam up plastic wrapping
against the morning chill

Tanka Tuesday: What art says

For Tanka Tuesday, we are encouraged to compose syllabic poems employing homophones.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Tonight in Israel 💙🇮🇱
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#shavuot #tikkunolam #telavivcity

10 Reasons Ice Cream Is Holy

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.lifeisasacredtext.com/10-reasons-ice-cream-is-holy/

Cheese, pasta, and desserts: All the new launches for Shavuot

Shavuot is already around the corner, bringing with it new launches aimed directly at dairy-based cooking, hosting, and family meals: Italian cheeses, special pastas, new de…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Dessert #Italiandesserts #2026 #Cheese #desserts #Italia #Italian #italiandesserts #italiano #italy #Jewishholidays #Pasta #Shavuot
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2651884/cheese-pasta-and-desserts-all-the-new-launches-for-shavuot/

The haftara for the second day of #Shavuot, this Saturday, is Habakkuk 3, an Archaic Biblical #Hebrew poem that shares some features with one of the late 9th- or early 8th-century BCE texts found at Kuntillet 'Ajrud.

Wine accessories central to Israeli homes despite global consumption decline

Global wine consumption fell to a 27-year low in 2025, according to research by the International Organization of Vine and Wine. Meanwhile, the wine cooler has moved from a niche product to a central product in Israeli h…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #Wine #art #Israel #Jewishholidays #judaism #Shavuot
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2649930/wine-accessories-central-to-israeli-homes-despite-global-consumption-decline/

You've been saying this holiday's name your whole life.

Did you know it literally means Weeks in modern conversational Hebrew?

There's a reason it means weeks - and it changes how you see the Jewish calendar. 🇮🇱

#Shavuot #Weeks #Hebrew #Language #Harvest

Did you know Judaism's Shavuot and Christianity's Pentecost fall just 2 days apart in 2026? 🕊️ Both holy days trace back to the same ancient harvest festival — and both celebrate divine instruction given to a waiting community: Torah for the Jewish people, the Holy Spirit for Christians. 📜🔥 Two traditions, one sacred root. Explore how Shavuot, Pentecost, and more are compared across world religions at manypaths.one

#ManyPaths #Shavuot #Pentecost #InterfaithDialogue #WorldReligions

inspirations towards revelation

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.lifeisasacredtext.com/inspirations-towards-revelation/

Shavuot this year begins at sundown on 21st May and commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. #Shavuot BL Add 22413; 'Tripartite Mahzor', prayer book for Shavuot & Sukkot; c.1322 CE; Germany, S. (area of Lake Constance); f.3r @[email protected]

🌿 Shavuot is almost here and in Israel, things are about to get very interesting.

https://youtu.be/RKGDJnOx47Y?si=OBU2Xp1sZUdHTgGh

#Shavuot #Israel #FirstHarvest #LearnHebrew #Language

The Blogs: No Cheesecake without Sustainability | Yehuda Yaakov

Shavuot, which falls this week, has been my favorite holiday since arriving in Israel in the 1980s. But…
#NewsBeep #News #BreakingNews #Agriculture #breakingnews #Climatechange #environment #firesinIsrael #Health #Israel #IsraelatWar #Shavuot
https://www.newsbeep.com/543424/

Samaritanism

Samaritanism is an Abrahamic monotheistic, ethnic religion. It comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, & legal traditions of the Samaritan people.

Often preferring to be called Israelite Samaritans, who originated from the Hebrews & Israelites. They began to emerge as a relatively distinct group after the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire during the Iron Age. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the 4th, & penultimate, stage of ancient Assyrian history.

Central to their continuity as an Indigenous Heritage in the Holy Land is keeping the Patriarchal & Mosaic covenant as specified in the Samaritan Torah. Samaritans believe this is the original & unchanged version of the Pentateuch (which is the first 5 books of the Hebrew & Christian bible) since Moses & the Israelites at Mount Sinai.

The Abisha Scroll is traditionally held by the community to be the oldest existing scroll written by Abisha, son of Aaron the priest, around 3,000 years ago based on living tradition. However, Jewish & Christian theologians have made attempts to dispute this claim which proved unsatisfactory.

Judaism claims Samaritanism developed right alongside their own religion. Samaritanism asserts itself as the true preserved form of the monotheistic faith that the Israelites kept under Moses. Samaritan belief also holds that the Israelites’ original holy site was Mount Gerizim, near Nablus, the State of Palestine (West Bank).

They also believe that Jerusalem only attained importance under Israelite dissenters who had followed Eli (In the Book of Samuel, Eli was a priest & judge of the Israelites in the city of Shiloh) to the city of Shiloh.

The Israelites who remained at Mount Gerizim would become the Samaritans in the Kingdom of Judah. Mount Gerizim is revered by Samaritans as the location where the Binding of Isaac occurred. In comparison to the Jewish belief that it occurred at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

Today there are only about 900 registered communal members. This puts Samaritanism as 1 of the smallest ethnoreligious groups globally in the Abrahamic faiths. Samaritans believe that this is a prophecy fulfilled from the scriptures: “You’ll be left few in number.”

Though they hope for a future time when a prophet like Moses known as the “Taheb” (Restorer) will perform 3 signs, namely the jar of manna, the staff of Moses, & Cherubim, or the Golden Candlestick.

This time period they believe is when an era of Divine Favor would return, & the hidden tabernacle of Moses would miraculously be revealed for the Israelite people & Mount Gerizim is restored to its former glory.

Samaritans trace their history, as a separate entity, to a period soon after the Israelites’ arrival into the “Promised Land.” Samaritan historiography traces the schism to High Priest Eli leaving Mount Gerizim, where stood the 1st Israelite altar in Canaan, & building a competing altar in nearby Shiloh.

The dissenting group of Israelites who followed Eli to Shiloh would be the ones who, in later years, would head south to settle in Jerusalem (the Jews). Whereas the Israelites who stayed on Mount Gerizim, in Samaria, would become known as the Samaritans.

Genetic studies in 2004 suggest that Samaritans’ lineages trace back to a common ancestor with Jews in the paternally-inherited Jewish high priesthood (Cohanim) temporally near to the period of the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel. They’re probably descendants of the historical Israelite population. The Cohanim refers to the Jewish priestly class, male descendants of Aaron the priest.

The Hasmonean king, John Hyrcanus, destroyed the Mount Gerizim Temple & brought Samaria under his control around 120 BCE. This led to a long-lasting sense of mutual hostility between the Jews & Samaritans.

From this point, the Samaritans likely sought to consciously distance themselves from their Judean brethren. Both peoples came to see the Samaritan faith as a religion distinct from Judaism. By the time of Jesus, Samaritans & Jews deeply disparaged one another, as shown by Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan.

The main beliefs of Samaritanism are:

• There’s 1 God, Yahweh, the same God recognized by the Jewish prophets.
• The Torah is the only true holy book & was given by God to Moses. The Torah was created before the creation of the world & whoever believes in it is assured a part in the world to come. The Torah’s status in Samaritanism as the only holy book causes them to reject the Oral Torah, the Talmud, & all the prophets & scriptures, except for a version of the Book of Joshua (which they don’t hold as Scripture), whose book in the Samaritan community is significantly different from the Book of Joshua in the Jewish “Bible.” Moses is considered to be the last of the line of prophets.
• Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the 1 true sanctuary chosen by God. The Samaritans don’t recognize the sanctity of Jerusalem & don’t recognize the Temple Mount, claiming instead that Mount Gerizim was the place where the Binding of Isaac took place.
• The Apocalypse, called “the day of vengeance,” will be the end of days. When an entity called the Taheb (basically the Jewish Messiah equal) that comes from the tribe of Joseph will come, be a prophet like Moses for 40 years & bring about the return of all the Israelites, following which the dead will be resurrected. The Tahib will then discover the tent of Moses’ Tabernacle on Mount Gerizim, & will be buried next to Joseph when he dies.

The Samaritans have retained the institution of a high priesthood & the practice of slaughtering & eating lambs on Passover Eve. They celebrated Pesach, Shavuot, & Sukkot. But they use a different method from that used in mainstream Judaism in order to determine the dates annually.

For example, Yom Teru’ah (the biblical name for Rosh Hashanah), at the beginning of Tishrei (This is the 1st month of the civil year & the 7th month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar.), isn’t considered a New Year as it is in Rabbinic Judaism.

Their Sabbath is observed weekly by the Samaritan community every week from Friday to Saturday, beginning & ending at sundown. For 24 hours, the families gather together to celebrate the rest day: all electricity with the exception of minimal lighting (kept on the entire day) in the house is disconnected, no work is done, & neither cooking nor driving is allowed.

The time is devoted to worship which consists of 7 prayer services, reading the weekly Torah portion, spending quality time with family, taking meals, rest & sleep, & visiting other members of the community.

Passover is particularly important in the Samaritan community, climaxing with the sacrifice of up to 40 sheep.

The Counting of the Omar remains relatively unchanged. The Counting of the Omar is a ritual in Judaism that consists of a verbal counting of each of the 49 days between the holidays of Passover & Shavuot. However, the week before Shavuot is a unique festival celebrating the continued commitment Samaritanism has maintained since the time of Moses.

During Sukkot, the Sukkah (the temporary hut built for use during Sukkot) is built INSIDE of houses, instead of OUTSIDE like mainstream Judaism. This Samaritan tradition is traced back to the persecution of the Samaritans during the Byzantine Empire.

The roof of the Samaritan Sukkah is decorated with citrus fruits & branches of palm, myrtle, & willow trees. This is in accordance with the Samaritan interpretation of the 4 species designated in the Torah for the holiday. The 4 species are 4 plants (the etrog, lulav, hadass, & aravah) mentioned in the Torah as being relevant to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

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#120BCE #4Species #Aaron #Abisha #AbishaScroll #AbrahamicFaiths #AncientAssyria #Apoclypse #Aravah #BindingOfIsaac #BookOfJoshua #BookOfSamuel #ByzantineEmpire #Canaan #Cherubim #Christians #CitrusFruits #Cohanim #CountingOfTheOmar #Eli #Etrog #GoldenCandlestick #Hadass #Hasmonean #HebrewCalendar #Hebrews #HighPriestEli #HighPriesthood #IndigenousPeoples #IronAge #IsraeliteSamaritans #Israelites #Jerusalem #Jesus #Jewish #JewishProphets #Jews #Joseph #Judah #KingJohnHyrcanus #KingdomOfIsrael #Lulav #Manna #Messiah #MosaicCovenant #Moses #MountGerizim #MountSinai #Myrtle #Nablus #NeoAssyrianEmpire #OralTorah #Palestine #ParableOfTheGoodSamaritan #Passover #PatriarchalCovenant #Pentateuch #Priest #PromisedLand #RabbinicJudaism #RoshHashanah #Sabbath #SamaritanTorah #Samaritanism #Shavuot #Shiloh #StaffOfMoses #Sukkah #Sukkot #Tabernacle #Taheb #Talmud #TempleMount #Tishrei #Torah #WestBank #Willow #Yahweh #YomTeruAh

I work at a reception desk and today asked one of our clients what he did for #Shavuot this year. He replied that he's a Christian and so he doesn't celebrate Shavuot.

I was SO excited to tell him that the country I come from has a large Christian minority, and I spent a few minutes telling him how much we loooove the Christians in my home country and how nice we have been to them throughout history.

He looked uncomfortable and got quiet. I can't think of anything I did wrong.

1/2

I ran out of energy towards the end of #ShavuotLive yesterday, so I didn't keep up my running commentary... but because I don't want to forget some of the insights I gained from the experience, I thought I would share some reflections (post metaphorical "mountain top") from the last few hours of the program:

Hour #17 - I really liked this session by Chava Shapiro called ""G!d, Glitched: Spinoza and the Kabbalists," which served as a good introduction to Baruch #Spinoza, but also as a reminder of the ways that Spinoza's ideas might motivate us to reconsider what the future of #Judaism might look like.

Hour #18 - Danya Ruttenberg's session "Resilience Isn't A Solo Project: The Interdependence Lessons From Ruth" was helpful, particularly in how Danya highlighted the choice that Ruth had in insisting to Naomi that, "no, you can't do this alone. I'm not abandoning you." It really is all about inter-dependence.

Hour #19 - Raye Schiller & Antonia Lassar's session "Why is Gossip Good for the Jews? with the Yenta Podcast" was an absolute riot, illustrating yet again how ANYTHING can be #Torah, even stories about #poop. (and I'm not kidding about this)

Hour #20 - I missed this one

Hour #21 - #ArthurWaskow (yes, that Arthur Waskow)'s session "The Thunder on the Other Side of Sinai" was too beautiful and too tender to reduce down to a short summary, but I very much want to listen to this one again and to engage with the text he shared with us.

Hour #22 - I caught only parts of Miriam Terlinchamp's session "Celebrating our 2024-25 Judaism Unbound #Gerim (#Converts/Jews-By-Choice)" but the parts I heard were SO good, and I was very moved by the amazing people who are new Jews thanks to Judaism Unbound's "Judaism Inbound" program.

Hour #23 - I listened to Dan Libenson's session ("How to Choose Anything: Advice from Moses’s Father-in-Law") while I was biking to the Pride parade in OKC. It was a good listen, but I especially found it interesting that Dan argued that Moshe only followed part of his father-in-law's advice, but not all of it.

Hour #24 - I got to listen to only part of the final Siyum (closing session) because I was riding my bike in the OKC pride parade with my friends from the The Peace House OK, but this felt meaningful to me because a lot of my own understanding of Queer takes on Torah and Judaism has come by way of the Judaism Unbound podcast.

All together, I think I heard 17 of the 24 sessions. It was a good #Shavuot.

#JudaismUnbound

Tagging: @lexaphus