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Bar Mitzvah (Hatam Tora)
The concept of bar mitzvah does not exist in the Samaritan tradition, considering every soul to be eligible in that sense from birth. Thus, one is obliged to keep all the commands strait from birth as oppose to the age of thirteen, according to the Jewish tradition. An example to that could present the Yom Kippur fast in which unlike in the Jewish tradition, even Samaritan infants are expected to fast.
The parallel concept to Bar Mitzvah in the Samaritan tradition is called 'Hatam-Torah'. Already at the age of five or even sooner, Samaritan children go to one of the priests to learn the Samaritan writing, its deduction and of course the Pentateuch and its laws. At the end of this training which takes about one to two years, Samaritan children learn to recite the blessing of Moses (Deuteronomy 33:34). As soon as the child finishes citing the verse, he receives the title of Hatam-Torah or Hotemet-Torah for girls.
Hatam-Torah is the parallel ceremony to the Jewish Bar-Mitzva ceremony. It peaks when the child stands in front of the audience and cites loudly and clearly the entire blessing of Moses (Deuteronomy 33+34). When the boy finishes citing, the ceremony turns secular mostly with music, fiesta and dancing. This tradition in fact proves very helpful to the children when they first attend school because the Samaritan alphabet is also comprised of 22 letters (excluding finals). Samaritan children study in a secular public school together with non Samaritan children. |
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