Editing Synagogue (section)

===Distinguishing elements===
The elements which distinguish Samaritan synagogues from contemporary Jewish ones are:
* Alphabet: the use of the [[Samaritan script]]<ref name="Pummer"/>
* Orthography: When the Samaritan script is used, there are some Hebrew words which would be spelled in a way typical only for the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]], for instance, "forever" is written {{smallcaps|ʿlmw}} instead of {{smallcaps|lʿlm}}.<ref name="Pummer"/> When Greek is the language used in inscriptions, typically, Samaritans may contract two Hebrew words into one, such ''har'' "mountain" and Gerizim becoming {{langx|grc|Άργαρίζειν|Árgarízein}}. This is an archaic practice that was primarily maintained by Samaritans.<ref name="Pummer"/> 
* Orientation: The façade, or entrance, of the Samaritan synagogue, typically faces [[Mount Gerizim]], which is the holiest site to Samaritans, while Jewish synagogues are oriented towards Jerusalem and the [[Temple Mount]].<ref name="Pummer"/>
* Decoration: The mosaic floor and other architectural elements or artifacts are sometimes decorated with typical symbols.<ref name="Pummer"/>
**As the Samaritans have historically adhered more strictly to the [[Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image|commandment forbidding the creation of any "graven image"]], they would not use any depictions of man or beast.<ref name="Pummer"/> Representations of the signs of the [[zodiac]], of human figures or even Greek deities such as the god [[Helios]], as seen in Byzantine-period Jewish synagogues, would be unimaginable in Samaritan buildings of any period.<ref name="Pummer"/>
** A representation of Mount Gerizim is a clear indication of Samaritan identity.<ref name="Pummer"/> On the other hand, although the existence of a Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim is both mentioned by Josephus and confirmed by archaeological excavation at its summit, the temple's early destruction in the second century BCE led to its memory disappearing from Samaritan tradition. No temple-related items would be found in Samaritan synagogue depictions.<ref name="Pummer"/> Religious implements, such as are also known from ancient Jewish synagogue mosaics (the [[temple menorah]], [[shofar]], [[showbread]] table, [[trumpet]]s, incense shovels, and specifically the façade of what looks like a temple or a [[#Torah ark|Torah shrine]]) are also present in Samaritan ones, but the objects are always related to the [[Tabernacle]], the [[Ark of the Covenant]] within the Tabernacle, or the Torah shrine in the synagogue itself.<ref name="Pummer"/> Samaritans believe that at the [[Last Judgment|end of time]], the Tabernacle and its utensils will be recovered from the place they were buried on Mount Gerizim, and as such they play an important role in Samaritan beliefs.<ref name="Pummer"/> Since the same artists, such as mosaicists, worked for all ethno-religious communities of the time, some depictions might be identical in Samaritan and Jewish synagogues, Christian churches, and pagan temples, but their significance would differ.<ref name="Pummer"/>
** Missing from Samaritan synagogue floors would be images often found in Jewish ones: The [[lulav]] (palm-branch) and [[etrog]] (citron fruit) have a different ritual use by Samaritans celebrating [[Sukkot]] and do not appear on mosaic floors.<ref name="Pummer"/>
* [[Mikveh]]s near the synagogue after 70&nbsp;CE: Jews abandoned the habit of building mikvehs next to their houses of worship after the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|70 CE destruction]] of the [[Jerusalem Temple]], but Samaritans continued the practice.<ref name="Pummer"/>