By Rosalie Whitehill
Thursday, after another fine day at school, we visited a Samaritan community of about 700 people in Holon where we gathered in the home of one of the community leaders to listen to him tell of the community and their beliefs. The Samaritans do not consider themselves Jewish….rather they are Israelites ……..remnants of the tribes of Ephraim and Menasha, who never left the kingdom of Israel,……. they speak, read and write in Paleo-Hebrew, old Hebrew not in use by Israelis and he had his granddaughter come in and read for us. The menorah, and not the Magen David (Jewish star) is their official symbol. After the talk, we walked to the community center and synagogue. We noted that mezuzahs were plaques over the doors of houses with prayers that the owners felt were appropriate. At the synagogue, were shelves for shoes as they must be removed before going in to pray. Fascinating stuff!!!
Dinner was at a favorite restaurant where the food is great and the wait staff are all very charming young people formerly considered “at risk”……a double reason to enjoy our meal!!
Rosalie