Life
Aharon was born in Nablus in 1927 and was educated by his father Ab-Chisda, a son of the High Priest Yaacob I ben Aaharon ben Shalma, learning from him the traditional poems, chants and prayers of the Samaritans. [3]
In early life, Aharon stood out as an exceptional singer and as a reader of the Torah and became an author and poet. To earn a living, for forty-five years he also worked as a nurse at the National Al-Watani Hospital in Nablus, a hospital specializing in oncology, where he was loyal and expert. [3]
Aharon was a younger brother of the High Priest Yoseph ben Ab-Hisda ben Yaacov ben Aaharon. Before becoming high priest himself, he was a deputy high priest and well known in the small Samaritan community. He was married and had four sons and two daughters. [1]
As the eldest living member of the family of priests, on the death of Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq Aharon inherited the office of High Priest. In 2010, at the age of 83, he presided over the Passover ritual for the first time, wearing a green silk robe, secured with a broad cloth, and a tallit draped over his head. In their tradition, the Samaritans trace this attire back to Biblical times. Fewer than 750 of the faithful attended the rite. [1]
On April 19, 2013, Aharon died of heart failure while at home on Mount Gerizim, aged 86. [3]
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran.
Samaritanism is the Abrahamic, monotheistic, ethnic religion of the Samaritan people, an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. Its central holy text is the Samaritan Pentateuch, which Samaritans believe is the original, unchanged version of the Torah.
Samaritans, also known as Israelite Samaritans, are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic and ethnic religion similar to Judaism, but differing in several important aspects.
The Samaritan Torah, commonly called the Samaritan Pentateuch, is a text of the Torah written in the Samaritan script and used as sacred scripture by the Samaritans. It dates back to one of the ancient versions of the Hebrew Bible that existed during the Second Temple period, and constitutes the entire biblical canon in Samaritanism.
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi a historian, ethnologist, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving President of Israel.
Samaritan Hebrew is a reading tradition used liturgically by the Samaritans for reading the Ancient Hebrew language of the Samaritan Pentateuch, in contrast to Tiberian Hebrew among the Jews.
Mount Gerizim is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the Palestinian city of Nablus and the biblical city of Shechem. It forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the northern side being formed by Mount Ebal. The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the West Bank and rises to 881 m (2,890 ft) above sea level, 70 m (230 ft) lower than Mount Ebal. The mountain is particularly steep on the northern side, is sparsely covered at the top with shrubbery, and lower down there is a spring with a high yield of fresh water. For the Samaritan people, most of whom live around it, Mount Gerizim is considered the holiest place on Earth.
Baba II Rabba, was a notable Samaritan High Priest. He is believed to have lived during the late third and early fourth centuries CE; Jeffrey Cohen puts his birth at 288 and his death at 328.
In the Torah, Ithamar was the fourth son of Aaron the High Priest. Following the construction of the Tabernacle, he was responsible for recording an inventory to ensure that the constructed Tabernacle and its contents conformed to the vision given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Moses Gaster was a Romanian, later British scholar, the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish congregation, London, and a Hebrew and Romanian linguist. Moses Gaster was an active Zionist in Romania as well as in England, where in 1899 he helped establish the English Zionist Federation.
Saloum Cohen, also known as Shalom ben Amram ben Yitzhaq,, served as the Samaritan High Priest from 2001 until his death. He lived in Nablus in the West Bank and is buried in the cemetery of Kiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim.
Elazar ben Tsedaka ben Yitzhaq was the Samaritan High Priest from 2004 until his death. He was born in Nablus. He succeeded his cousin Saloum Cohen in 2004. According to tradition he is the 131st holder of this post since Aaron.
Yoseph ben Ab-Hisda ben Yaacov ben Aaharon;, served as the Samaritan High Priest from January 26, 1987 until his death.
The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest of the Samaritan community in the Levant. According to Samaritan tradition, the office has existed continuously since the time of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and has been held by 133 priests over the last 3400 years. However, the historicity of this claim is disputed. One account by Josephus suggests that its office holders are an offshoot of the Zadokite high priests of Jerusalem from around the time of Alexander the Great. As of 2013, the incumbent high priest is Abdel V.
Events in the year 1927 in the British Mandate of Palestine.
Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach (Samaritan Hebrew: ࠏࠢࠁࠝࠃࠀࠢࠋ ࠁࠣࠍ ࠀࠟࠔࠝࠓ ࠁࠣࠍ ࠌࠣࠑࠋࠪࠉࠇࠣ ʾĀbədʾēl ban ʾĀ̊šər ban Maṣlīyaʾ; born 1935 in Nablus, is the current Samaritan High Priest. He assumed office on April 19, 2013. According to Samaritan tradition, he is the 133rd high priest since Aaron and in accordance with Samaritan custom, upon his death, the office automatically transfers to the oldest surviving descendant of Ithamar. Aabed-El is married and has two sons and two daughters.
The Tolidah or Tulida is a Samaritan chronicle that is considered the oldest Samaritan historical work. Written mainly in Hebrew, with sections in hybrid Samaritan Hebrew and Aramaic, the book provides a concise summary of Samaritan history and the dynasty of kohanim up to the Middle Ages.
Yaacob I ben Aaharon ben Shalma was the 120th Samaritan High Priest from 1874 to 1916. Ben Aharon was described as "legendary" for his role in the revitalization of the Samaritan community. He befriended prominent Zionists, did a fundraising trip to England, and became the face of his community for Westerners. His memoirs were translated into English. Yaacob inherited the role of the high priest at the age of just 32 and carried the role until his death in 1916. Yaacob was instrumental in the survival of the Samaritans, he made connections that provided Samaritans with as much of a tent, a luxury for Samaritans who, in his time, had merely nothing, he was also instrumental in the reunification of Samaritans from all areas of the country. Yaacob still has descendants living to this day, their family is even considered the sons of Yaacob and called the "House of Yaacob", his grandson, also named Yaacob, whom he raised, eventually became a Samaritan high priest for about three years between 1984 and 1987, Yaacob's death was directly connected to the drafting of 25 Samaritan adult men into the Ottoman army, this seriously devastated Samaritan futures and he died of a heart attack during a pilgrimage to the holy mountain; his grandson was just 16. He is the progenitor of the house of Jacob, one of the three houses of Samaritan High Priests.
Matzliach ben Phinhas ben Yitzhaq ben Shalma was the 122nd Samaritan High Priest from 1933 to 1943. He was succeeded by his brother Abisha III ben Phinhas ben Yitzhaq ben Shalma, both of them being members of the clan of Phinhas, descendants of Phinhas ben Yitzhaq ben Shalma. His sons Asher ben Matzliach ben Phinehas and Phinehas X ben Matzliach ben Phinehas would later become high priests. His grandson became high priest Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach.
Phinehas X ben Matzliach ben Phinehas was the 126th Samaritan High Priest from 1982 to 1984. He was the son of Matzliach ben Phinhas ben Yitzhaq ben Shalma and the nephew of Abisha III ben Phinhas ben Yittzhaq ben Shalma. He succeeded his brother Asher ben Matzliach ben Phinehas as high priest and was succeeded by Yaacob II ben Uzzi ben Yaacob ben Aaharon in 1984. His nephew became high priest Aabed-El ben Asher ben Matzliach.
