Abstract

The paper surveys the question of Samaritan identity – with its legal, religious, and social repercussions – according to late antique rabbinic sources. By presenting the state of the art in current scholarship on rabbinic literature, the introductory remarks show how the rabbis came to develop different perceptions of Samaritans – from fellow Israelites, to semi-Jews, and finally non-Jews – in different geo-historical contexts (e.g. Tannaitic Palestine versus Amoraic Baby-lonia). In order to delineate a closer outlook on the literary sources themselves, a selection of texts discussing the topic of "Kutim" (i.e. Samaritans) are presented and analyzed diachronically according to their literary genre. Firstly, the problematization of Samaritans’ ethnic and religious identity is treated from the halakhic (i.e. juridical) point of view. An example of the complex non-linear evolution of rabbinic discourse on Samaritans’ liminality and ambiguity is found in the legal debate on the potential inclusion/exclusion of Samaritans from the "zimmun" blessing. The issue is explicitly related to the definition of Jewish identity ("Yisra’el" versus "goy") in parallel excerpts from Mi¨nah, Tosefta, Palestinian Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud. Secondly, in midra¨ic (i.e. exegetical) sources, religious differentiation between rabbinic Jews and Samaritans is explored from the theological perspective. These texts share a concern for the belief on the resurrection of the dead as a key-aspect of the construction of a rabbinic religious ideology. Finally, particular attention will be devoted to Minor Tractate of the Babylonian Talmud "Kutim", which collects miscellaneous materials on the specific theme of social relations with Samaritans. On account of its intricate redactional history, "Massekhet Kutim" offers a noteworthy testimony for the understanding of identity politics in rabbinic culture. An Italian translation of the full text of "Kutim" is provided as appendix, together with a transcription of the Hebrew original.