A Community Obsessed with Continuity - The Samaritans

Last night, I had the opportunity to be present at the world premiere of the film, The Samaritans: A Biblical People, directed by Moshe Alafi, shown at the Other Film Festival at the Manhattan JCC.  Although the topic might seem a bit esoteric, I was surprised to find that it was a great film which provided an inside glimpse at a small community hovering on the brink of extinction.

When you think of the Samaritans, you generally think first about the “Good Samaritan” from the time of Jesus.  This film does not deal with the story of Jesus.  Rather, it deals with a sect of people living in Samaria since Biblical times.  They live by the Torah and their holy mountain is Mt. Gerizim, near the West Bank city of Nablus.  The community numbers about 850 today, some of whom live in Holon (Israel), just south of Tel Aviv, and most of whom live in a neighborhood outside of Nablus (Palestine). 

This is a film which tells their story.  But it is not an anthropological view from the outside.  Rather, it lets the people of the community – both men and mostly women – open up and talk about their traditions, especially their holidays, and, because their numbers are so small, their obsession with continuity.

Following the screening, the filmmaker, Moshe Alafi, answered questions.  I was fascinated by his explanation that this film was six years in the making and he was originally attracted to this exotic community because they are the authentic Biblical people, whereas Jews today don’t live by the Bible, rather they live by Talmudic Judaism. He went on to say that “I felt like I met my roots.  I look at the Samaritans like a time capsule.”  It is important to state that the Samaritans are not considered to be Jews, but they do carry Israeli citizenship, and those who live in Holon serve in the Israeli army.

In the film, we meet the high priest, and also the hazzan, and his son.  It is apparent that this community is run by men. A large part of the film, however, dealt not with the men but with issues concerning women. The film gives voice to articulate women, some speaking Hebrew and some Arabic.  What are the issues that concern these women? 

Arranged Marriages

First of all, the strict customs on marriage and the worry about the future of the community.  Young women must marry within the community, but young men are permitted to marry women from outside the community and to bring them in as converts.  As a result, many men have pursued Ukrainian brides. 

We follow Shahdi as he travels to the Ukraine to bring home Natasha as his wife.  We see their wedding, and as they go together to have a mezuzah made for their new home. (The mezuzah is enormous, the size of a large wall hanging!)  There are today approximately 30 Ukrainian converts within the community and these women will certainly make an impact on the future of the community! The hazzan understands the risks involved and is against his son bringing home a convert, but his son says he might not have a choice.

In the area of arranged marriages, the Samaritans have a practice called badal in which a family might ask another family for their daughter as a bride for their son and the response would be positive, but only if you provide a bride for our son in exchange! 

Family Purity

Another issue concerning women deals with the subject of family purity.  The Samaritans consider a woman impure each month during her menstrual cycle and she is set apart from the family and the community.  This sounds like something archaic, but, when you think about it, even Orthodox Jews practice this in one form or another till today. 

Animal Sacrifice

The Samaritans are the only people in the world still practicing animal sacrifice as prescribed in the Torah. In fact, the ceremony of the sacrifice of many sheep at Passover time is probably the most famous thing about the Samaritans known by people outside the community.  Imagine all that blood and gore and the delicious barbecued meat! The women describe the great emotions they feel as they smear the blood of the sheep on their foreheads (similar to how the Israelites of the Torah smeared the blood of the sacrifice on their doorposts to protect themselves).

The Samaritans: A Biblical People (documentary, 78 minutes) provides a fascinating and in-depth look at a group of people, stuck in history, who might be forced to change over the next few generations.