cxlvi. 10, in which the Holiness, Glory, and Kingdom of God are

proclaimed.

The Priests’ Blessing, originally spoken by priests, descendants of Aaron, is now in most Synagogues included by the Reader in the tefillah by way of quotation; only on Holy-days it is pronounced by the priests.

(3.) ‏קריאת התורה‎ “the Reading of the Law,” and the “Lessons from the Prophets” (‏הפטרה‎), with the benedictions preceding and following (supra, p. 348).

OCCASIONAL PRAYERS—BENEDICTIONS, ‏ברכות‎.

The feeling of our dependence on the goodness of God must constantly be present to our mind. Whatever we enjoy, be it in the form of eating or drinking, or some pleasing or remarkable sight, an agreeable smell, a festivity on a joyful event, or the performance of a Divine commandment (‏מצוה‎); whatever befall us, whether it be pleasant or unpleasant—all this we consider as sent to us by the Will of the Almighty, and we express our conviction by a suitable berachah. The general rule is thus laid down by our Sages: It is unlawful for man to enjoy anything on earth without previously acknowledging by a berachah that God is the source whence the enjoyment is derived. For different cases different forms of “blessings” have been fixed by our Sages. In some cases the enjoyment is also followed by a prayer of thanksgiving, the most important being the prayer after meals, called ‏ברכת המזון‎ “Benediction for food or Grace.” [161] In the Mishnah it is called “Three Blessings” (‏שלש ברכות‎), because it consisted originally of three paragraphs, each ending with a benediction. The three paragraphs are the following: (1) ‏ברכת הזן‎ (“Benediction commencing ‏הזן‎”), in which we praise God’s providential care of all creatures. (2) ‏הודאה‎ “Thanksgiving,” or ‏ברכת הארץ‎ (Benediction referring to Palestine). In this paragraph we offer thanks for our individual sustenance, as well as for our national gifts: Palestine, the Covenant, and the Law. (3) Prayer for the restoration of Zion and the rebuilding of the Temple (‏בנין ירושלם‎).—Subsequently a fourth paragraph was added (‏הטוב והמטיב‎ “who is good and causes His creatures to be good”) in commemoration of the relief given to the Jews after the close of the war with Hadrian. [162]—On certain occasions, e.g., at a wedding repast, suitable additions are made. Besides these, various supplications have been added in later times.

There are various short forms of this ‏ברכת המזון‎; the shortest is that for children, “Blessed be the Merciful, the Giver of this bread.” [163]—When three grown-up male persons or more have their meal together, a special introductory form is used, called ‏זמון‎ “summons to prayer,” one of the company acting as Reader, and the rest forming the congregation.

Another form of thanksgiving is the “Abstract of the Three Blessings” (‏מעין שלש‎), consisting of one paragraph which contains the whole of the Grace in a contracted form, and is used after cake, wine, and the like.

No restriction is enforced upon us if we desire on our part to give expression to our feeling of gratitude and reverence toward the Almighty in our own words on occasions not provided for in the ancient forms of benedictions and prayers. In order, however, to make a distinction between the forms of obligatory berachoth fixed by our Sages and the optional ones introduced by ourselves, we do not employ the words, “O Lord, our God, King of the Universe,” which are essential in the former.

NOTES.

1. On Page 424 sqq.

Among the different minhagim observed in the Synagogue the following are noteworthy:—The head is kept covered, the hands uncovered; gloves are generally taken off before the beginning of the Service. It was customary to spread forth the hands during prayer, and the phrase “spreading forth the hands” is used in the Bible in the sense of “praying.” The priests still raise their hands when pronouncing the blessing. Isaiah, rebuking those who prayed to God without seeking purification from evil deeds, says, “And when you spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers I will not hear; your hands are full of blood” (Isa. i. 15). Following the example of the Psalmist, “I will wash my hands in innocency, so will I compass thine altar” (Ps. xxvi. 6), we wash our hands before prayer, as a symbol of the duty of purifying our conscience from guilt before approaching the Almighty with our petitions. We thus uncover our hands as if to say, “The reproach of Isaiah does not apply to us; we have tried to free our heart and our hands from guilt.”

A custom frequently animadverted upon is the habit which many Jews have adopted of swinging their bodies forward and backward during prayer. We consider it a more decent way to stand or sit still when communing with the Supreme Being. Both ways find support in the Talmud (Babyl. T., Berachoth 31a, and Shabbath 10a); whilst the one stands like “a servant in the presence of his master,” the other gives way to his emotions and excitement. The Magen Abraham, on chap. xlviii. 4, says: “He who follows the one example is right, and he who follows the other is likewise right: all depends on the devotion of the heart.” Rabbi Jehudah ha-Levi in his Cuzari (Book II. chap. xli.) mentions and explains the custom of shaking during prayer. The habit of accompanying the emotions of our heart by corresponding motions of our body has produced the custom of raising the whole body upwards when uttering the word “holy” in the kedushah.

During tefillah we remain standing in the same place; at the end, when we have finished our petition, we retire slowly a few steps backward; the same is done by the Reader during the last paragraph of the kaddish. It is as if, our petition ended, we reverently withdrew from the heavenly King who has given us audience during the prayer.

We bend the knee, incline our head, and bow down on certain occasions during the Service, but we do not kneel during prayer.—It has perhaps been avoided as an idolatrous practice, with reference to Judges vii. 5.

When the Ark is opened and the Sefer is taken out or put back, we stand and show our respect for the Word of God in various ways. Some bow the head; others, considering this as worship, kiss the Sefer, or otherwise express their reverence.

The traditional way in which the kohanim proceed to bless the people is this: they remove their shoes, as the priests did who ministered in the Temple; water is then poured over their hands by the Levites, the ablutions of the ancient priests being thus imitated to some extent (see Exod. xxx. 20). It is a holy act, and is done in the Synagogue generally in front of the Ark. The priests ascend the steps of the hechal and wait till called upon by the Reader to pronounce the blessing. They turn toward the congregation, spread forth their hands in the traditional manner, and cover head and face with the talith, in order not to be disturbed in their devotion by the sight of the congregation before them; the Reader dictates the words of the benediction to them to guard against any mistakes being made by them. The congregation, giving special importance to each word, add Biblical quotations and special supplications during the interval between one word and the other. Of greater importance, however, is respectful listening to the words uttered by the priests, and chanted by them in a peculiar traditional tune. The priests turn to all directions while pronouncing the blessing, expressing thereby that they would have no one excluded from the blessing.

Some kohanim refuse to perform this duty, pretending or believing that they are unworthy to bless the congregation. This is a mistake. Those who feel that they are unworthy must try by improved conduct to render themselves worthy, but disobedience to the direct commandment of the Divine Law is certainly not the beginning of improvement. Others object to the singing, in which they are unable to join; others to taking off their boots. The excuses are certainly insufficient. But as these two elements are less essential, they might, if necessary, be dispensed with if the fulfilment of the commandment is secured thereby.

2. On Page 439.

There are various parts in our Service which originally seem to have formed a substitute, under certain circumstances, for a section of the Service or for the whole of it, but were subsequently, when the circumstances altered, embodied as an integral part of the Service in addition to the sections which they had replaced.

In the Morning Service there is in the section called ‏ברכות השחר‎ a prayer beginning ‏לעולם יהא אדם‎ and concluding ‏לעיניכם אמר יי‎. This prayer, preceded by an exhortation to be God-fearing in secret—when persecution prevented public worship of God—contains an expression of pride in our history, and of gratitude to God that we have the privilege to proclaim the Unity of God in the words, “Hear, O Israel,” &c., and a petition for the fulfilment of the Messianic prophecies.

In the Maaribh the part beginning ‏ברוך יי לעולם‎ and ending ‏על כל מעשיו‎ was originally a substitute for the Amidah, and the conclusion of the Evening Service for those who considered the tefillah in the evening optional. Similarly, on Friday evening the contracted tefillah was originally a substitute for the tefillah for those who came late. In both these and similar cases the substitute and its original have been retained as integral parts of the Service.

3. On Page 442 (2).

In the public Service the tefillah is repeated by the Reader after the silent prayer (‏בלתש‎) of the congregation. This minhag must have been introduced very early. In the Talmud (end of Rosh ha-shanah) it is spoken of as a regular institution, its purpose is discussed, and the reason stated why we should not dispense with the Reader’s repetition or with the silent tefillah. It seems that there was, on the one hand, a desire on the part of the congregants to have an uninterrupted silent tefillah in which they could give suitable expression each one to his personal and peculiar wants and wishes. On the other hand, there was also a desire felt by many to be guided in their devotions by the Reader. Our minhag satisfies both requirements. But it is a grave error to think, as unfortunately many do, that, while the Reader repeats the tefillah, the congregants may turn their heart and mind to other things, however holy these be. The congregation and the Reader must be united in devotion during ‏תפלה בצבור‎, and where the continued concentration of thought during the tefillah and its repetition seems unattainable, it would be better to sacrifice the minhag of repeating the tefillah rather than to have the repetition of the prayer without the participation of the congregants, or even without decorum.

In the repetition of the tefillah the kedushah forms an important addition. The essential idea of the kedushah is repeated thrice during the Morning Service, viz., in the first of the benedictions preceding the shema, in the tefillah or Amidah, and in the concluding section commencing ‏ובא לציון‎.

In the first kedushah (called ‏קדושה דיוצר‎), while praising God as the Creator of light and of the heavenly luminaries, we introduce these, as proclaiming, as it were, the holiness and glory of God in the words of the Prophets. In the last kedushah (called ‏קדושה דסידרא‎ or ‏סידרא דקדושה‎) we merely read, among other passages from the Prophets, those verses of Isaiah and Ezekiel which contain the chief sentences of the kedushah. In the kedushah of the tefillah the Reader summons the congregation to proclaim the sanctification of God in the manner of the angels above; it has therefore its place only in Public Worship, whilst as to the other two kedushoth there is no difference whether a person prays by himself or in a congregation of worshippers.

As regards ‏קדיש וברכו‎, two prayers generally united, it must be remarked that in their meaning they are disunited: the half-kaddish is the conclusion of the mizmorim or pesuke dezimrah, and ‏ברכו‎ is the commencement of the next section: shema, with its benedictions. The half-kaddish, wherever it occurs, concludes some section of the Service. In shacharith, after Amidah, or after “Supplications,” or after the Reading of the Law; at Musaf, Minchah, Neïlah, and Maaribh after the introductory psalms. The half-kaddish before the Amidah in the Maaribh is probably a remnant of the whole kaddish that used to be said when the Service ended there and the Amidah was considered optional (‏רשות‎).

4. On Page 442 (3).

An important element in the Service is religious instruction. The means adopted were the reading of the Torah and Haphtarah, the introduction of moral lessons, principles of faith, exposition of Divine precepts into the Service, and lectures containing various lessons, exhortations, and explanations of the Biblical and Post-Biblical Sacred Literature. These lectures are an ancient institution. The prophets instructed the people, especially on New-moon and Sabbath (2 Kings iv. 23); the Scribes and the Rabbis of the Talmudic age expounded the Torah and other Biblical and Post-Biblical writings; they were followed by darshanim and maggidim, the modern preachers and ministers. The aim of these lectures is to create, maintain, or intensify the fear of God and the love of the Torah (‏אהבת תורה ויראת שמים‎).

The Sermon has lost much of its original force and influence. The cause of this fact is probably to be sought chiefly in the materialism and scepticism of the age, but to some degree also in the character of the sermon. It cannot be denied that the pulpit, instead of being made a place from which Love of Torah and Fear of God receive life, encouragement, and strength, is frequently turned into a platform for discussing communal or personal quarrels or theological controversies, or creating a discontent with existing institutions, without sufficiently considering the result of such discontent. Themes like these are not outside the province of the preacher, but they must not be the staple of his discourses, which must principally seek to foster ‏אהבת תורה ויראת שמים‎ in the hearts of the congregants. As to the history and literature of this branch of the Service, see Zunz, Die Gottesdienstlichen Vorträge der Juden. Berlin, 1832.

5. On Page 420.

The question is frequently asked whether special meetings and Services may be arranged with a view of improving the religious status of the Jewish community. There is no reason why attempts should not be made in this direction. By all means let everything be done that is conducive to a revival of religious feeling and religious practice. But in such attempts care must be taken that nothing be done that is contrary to the precepts of the Law, both Written and Oral; that the teachers, preachers, or lecturers do not themselves display a disregard for recognised religious authority, and by such conduct undermine the existing reverence for the inherited traditional Religion.

On this basis meetings on Sabbath for the purpose of reading the Bible, praying, and singing, in whatever language this be done, and special Services for the pupils of Religion Classes at the close of the session, must be welcome to all who have a love for our holy Religion.

6. On Page 420.

A question of equal importance that frequently disturbs the peace of the congregation is this: whether and in how far the established Ritual or minhag of a Synagogue may be altered. The Ritual is not the work of one man or of one age; it is the product of the thoughts and the feelings of our nation through many centuries. Its foundation was laid by the Men of the Great Synagogue in the time of Ezra. Generation after generation were busy in the construction of the building; storey was added to storey; from time to time new wings made their appearance. Reverence and piety made successive builders reluctant to pull down what the same feelings of preceding generations had reared. The whole formed a Sanctuary every single stone of which was cherished and guarded against desecration. Notwithstanding the storms and tempests to which it was exposed, and which certainly caused a breach here and there, our Sanctuary stands still on its ancient foundations, and its walls retain their power of resistance.

What is the duty of the present generation with regard to this structure? Architects or would-be architects examine it minutely from foundation to top-stone; but they come to different conclusions. We will examine these conclusions, sine irâ et studio, assuming that the examination has been conducted bonâ fide, with a view of strengthening the Sanctuary, and that the reports are in accordance with truth and the examiners’ innermost conviction.

(1.) Some declare “the Building no longer attractive; there are so many other edifices full of points of attraction both without and within; these must in course of time draw away the visitors from our Sanctuary, and estrange those who used to fill it.” We admit the force of the argument. It has always been the aim of those who had the management of the Synagogue in their hands to make the Service attractive; there is no reason why it could or should not be done at present. Means of attraction are mostly of an external character: the art and luxury displayed in the building and its furniture, the eloquence of the preacher, the voice of the reader, the singing of the choir, introduction of novelties, such as instrumental music (scil., on week-days) and prayers in the vernacular. In themselves these things are harmless, and although they are not the essence of the worship, they may lead to it; [164] and, for this reason, it must be considered a condition sine quâ non, that the style of singing, reading, and preaching should be such as to please the majority, if not every one, of the congregants. [165] But there is this to be feared and guarded against: viz., that the husk be mistaken for the fruit, and true devotion be lost. Besides, the experiment has been made, and the desired result has not been obtained. There are plenty of places for the enjoyment of vocal and instrumental music, with which the Synagogue would vie in vain in point of attractiveness, and novelties, as novelties, soon wear away, and bring no real improvement. Let the leaders of the Synagogue strengthen the faith of their brethren in God and His Word, maintain, by good example, their reverence for our ancient traditions and customs, and be themselves earnest and devout worshippers; they will then surely be more successful in drawing others to the House of God.

(2.) Another critic says: “The Synagogue Services are discordant;” that is, the feelings expressed in our prayers have no echo in the hearts of the worshippers. “Education and general progress have so entirely changed the whole life of man that he can no longer be edified by the prayers and method of devotion followed by our forefathers.” Those who assert this, of course, only assert it of themselves, and so far their statement may be accepted as correct. But on examining it more closely we find that there must be something misleading in it. For what is the central idea of the ancient prayers and hymns? The conviction that we address our Heavenly Father, who is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe; who is just, good, and holy; who alone can fulfil the wishes which we utter in our prayers, and “who is near to all those who call upon him in truth.” Does progress of education force us to abandon this principle? Certainly not. Those who do abandon it cannot be said to do so by force of education, for they are found among the educated and uneducated alike; and we should be false to our own Faith if we were to abandon this fundamental principle of our Divine Service.

The second of the fundamental Principles of our Faith, though less general than the preceding, is yet equally essential in Judaism, viz., the belief in Revelation, in the Integrity and the Divine origin of the Torah, and the truth of the Divine messages sent through the prophets. The Ritual is replete with references to this belief, and it would amount to a rejection of this essentially Jewish Principle, if we were to expunge such references from the Ritual in order to please a few unbelievers.

References to the Sacrificial Service, and especially prayers for its restoration, are disliked by some, who think such restoration undesirable. Let no one pray for a thing against his will; let him whose heart is not with his fellow-worshippers in any of their supplications silently substitute his own prayers for them, but let him not interfere with the devotion of those to whom “the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord pure, enlightening the eyes; the judgments of the Lord true and righteous altogether” (Ps. xix. 9, 10), and who yearn for the opportunity of fulfilling Divine commandments which they cannot observe at present. [166] Prayer, in the true sense of the word, is impossible without the recognition of God as our Master, whom we are willing to serve, and whose commands we desire to do, whether the act implied in them be in other respects agreeable to us or not.

(3.) The Ritual contains many sections which owe their existence to particular circumstances that have passed away, and to local conditions which are different from those prevailing in the countries in which we live. Have these a right to be kept perpetually in the Ritual? Certainly not. There is no reason why prayers which have become obsolete and meaningless should not be modified or discontinued. But as a rule our prayers are free from references to the particular causes of their composition, and there is no need to expunge from the Service petitions, thanksgivings, or praises which were originally intended for a special occasion, if they are expressed in general terms, and have become in the Synagogue a source of devotion and edification. But as to the latter condition, it is difficult to decide whether a liturgical composition has become, and is still, an aid to devotion. Much depends on the individual character of the particular congregation in which the question has been raised, and each case should be decided on its own merits by a competent and responsible authority.

Many of the Piyyutim [167] and Selichoth belong to this class; also a few sections in the ordinary Ritual (see note 2), and the repetition of the Amidah, and the Kiddush in the Synagogue on the eve of Sabbaths and Festivals.

(4.) It is further asserted that the Ritual was formulated in bygone times; our wants and tastes are different from those of former ages. We can neither pray for the same things nor in the same way as our ancestors. But what did our ancestors pray for? For the well-being of their body and of their soul; for the realisation of our national hopes and the ultimate triumph of our holy Religion. Just the same ends we wish to obtain at present, and these objects form the substance of our Ritual.—There are some petitions which seem to many out of place, and out of date. Such are petitions against cruel oppressors. Our fathers had good reason to cry to the Almighty for relief, for they were oppressed, whilst we, living in a free country, in the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens, have no cause whatever for complaint. If we were to separate ourselves from our brethren in distant countries, we could expunge all such petitions from the Ritual. This is, however, not the case; we feel deeply grieved at the sufferings of our brethren. We should like to see them relieved from oppression and persecution, and pray to God for His interference in behalf of the persecuted. When we use the term “revenge” (‏נקם‎) we do not associate with it any base desire to see the enemy crushed or annihilated; we use it rather in the sense of a just and merited penalty for evil-doers, and associate with it the idea of the ultimate victory and triumph of our holy Religion after long periods of oppression and persecution. It is their Faith for which our fathers suffered, and our brethren in some countries still suffer, and the triumph of which forms the centre of these petitions. Intense grief and sorrow sometimes suggested harsh expressions, such as “Destroy our enemies,” “Put an end to them,” but these are figurative expressions, and are used in the sense explained by Beruria, the wife of Rabbi Meir: “May the sinners cease from sinning, and sinners will be no more.” Similarly we pray in the Amidah: “Let our slanderers have no hope of success, so that evil-doers may soon vanish and disappear; break the power of the presumptuous, and humble them.” In these words we give expression to our feeling of indignation against the slanderers of our holy Religion, the revilers of Judaism, such, e.g., as from time to time renew the blood-accusations, or by false and deceptive arguments or other means entice Jews to abandon their faith. [168]

(5.) We hear frequently the complaint that the Public Service is too long. This complaint is of a relative character; it is different from the feeling of joy expressed in the words, “Blessed are those who dwell in thy house;” it is different from the sentiment of those chasidim (Mishnah, Berachoth v. 1) who sat still a while before the commencement of the prescribed prayer, or those who after the conclusion thereof sit down again, saying, “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to thy name; the upright shall dwell in thy presence” (Ps. cxl. 14). As regards the length of the Service, we should bear in mind the principle of our Sages: It makes no difference whether the Service is long or short: only be devout. It is provocative of irreverence to protract the Service unnecessarily until it becomes wearisome; but it is equally unbecoming to hurry over it as though it were an unpleasant task. On the whole the Services, especially when they are well regulated, are not too long, unless too much time be spent in singing or in unnecessary interruptions.

In all cases in which a modification seems advisable and lawful it must be borne in mind that the Ritual is a Sanctuary every element of which is holy, and that hasty reforms may be less effective than is hoped. It may perhaps be easy to pull down, but it is not so easy to build up. Devout members of a congregation may easily be alienated, but not so easily will new members be attracted, or if attracted, permanently retained.

7. On Page 424.

Rabban Gamaliel said, “Provide thyself a teacher, and be quit of doubt” (Aboth i. 16). The rule laid down in these words for every individual applies also to the whole community. Questions like those mentioned in the preceding note frequently arise in Jewish congregations, and cause dissension where union is so much needed. A teacher must be appointed in every community, who shall be able to guide and to instruct it as to what is right and wrong. In fact, such a teacher has, as a rule, been appointed in Jewish congregations; he is known by various names: Haham (‏חכם‎), Rav (‏רב‎ “Teacher”), Rabbi (‏רבי‎ “My teacher”), Teacher of righteousness (‏מורה צדק‎), and Judge (‏דין‎). The weight of his authority is less to be determined by the nature of his office or by written conditions than by his learning, piety, and personal influence. According to the rule, “Judge not alone” (ibid. iv. 8), he is generally assisted by two councillors (dayganim), with whom he forms a court of judgment—Beth-din—when questions of more than ordinary importance have to be decided. The congregation must accept his decisions as final, and must have confidence that he, like the high-priest of old, will give his answers according to “light and integrity.”

VI. THE DIETARY LAWS.

“Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing” (Deut. xiv. 3); that is, according to our traditional explanation, everything that the Word of God declares to be abominable (Sifre, ad locum). One of the sections of the Dietary Laws concludes thus: “For I am the Lord that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. xi. 45).

Holiness is therefore the only object of these laws that is distinctly mentioned in the Pentateuch. But what is the nature of the holiness which they are intended to produce or to promote? “The Dietary Laws,” says Maimonides, “train us in the mastery over our appetites; they accustom us to restrain the growth of desire, the indulgence in seeking that which is pleasant, and the disposition to consider the pleasure of eating and drinking the end of man’s existence” (“The Guide,” III., chap. xxv. p. 167). And, indeed, wherever the Law commands restraint of some bodily enjoyment, or restriction of any of our appetites, such commandment is followed or preceded by the exhortation to be holy, or the warning not to defile oneself.

Is there any secondary object in these laws besides the motive distinctly mentioned? It has frequently been observed that Jews have enjoyed a certain degree of immunity from epidemics that raged among their non-Jewish neighbours. It has further been noticed that they have a lower rate of mortality and a greater longevity. These facts are generally explained to be the result of a temperate life, regulated by the Divine Law. Finding that such is the consequence of obedience to the Dietary Laws, we may fairly assume that in distinguishing certain things from the rest, in prohibiting some and permitting others, the Lawgiver aimed at the health and the well-being of man’s body. Our conception of the goodness of God compels us to believe that in recommending certain things for our use He intended thereby to promote our well-being, and to show us what is good for our health, and what is injurious. But we must take care that we do not on that account consider these precepts exclusively as sanitary regulations, however important such regulations may be. We must not lose sight of the fact that Holiness is the only object of the Dietary Laws, mentioned in the Pentateuch.

But what difference can it make to the Almighty whether we eat this or that? Surely it makes no difference to the Almighty; but we have faith in His Goodness and Wisdom, and are convinced that He knows by what means we may best attain to that holiness which we are so frequently exhorted to seek, and that the Divine Laws which He revealed to us for this very purpose show the shortest and the safest road to this aim.

With the following exceptions, the Dietary Laws concern only animal food:—

(1.) ‏ערלה‎ “Forbidden fruit,” i.e., the fruit of a tree during the first three years after its planting (Lev. xix. 23).—The fruit of the fourth year (‏נטע רבעי‎) was formerly, in the time of the Temple, brought to Jerusalem, and consumed there amidst praises and thanksgiving to Him who is the source of all blessing (ibid. v. 24). Those who lived far from Jerusalem were allowed to redeem the fruit of the fourth year with silver, and to spend the latter in the holy city.

(2.) ‏חדש‎ “New corn.”—The Omer of barley offered on the second day of Passover is called “the first of your harvest” (Lev. xxiii. 10), and it was enjoined, “Ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor fresh ears, [169] until this selfsame day, until ye have brought the oblation of your God” (ibid. 14).

These two laws (‏ערלה‎ and ‏חדש‎) seem to have their source in the dictum, “The first of the first-fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God” (Exod. xxiii. 19).

(3.) ‏כלאים‎.—Mixture of different kinds. “Thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed” (Lev. xix. 19). [170] “Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with two kinds of seed” (Deut. xxii. 9). In the former case only the sowing of divers kinds is prohibited, but the produce of such sowing is not forbidden; in the latter case, if the law is transgressed, the produce of both the vine and the seed is not to be used for any purpose whatever (‏אסור בהנאה‎), for the law is followed by the words, “lest the whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which thou hast sown and the increase of the vineyard.”

Although these and similar [171] precepts are introduced by the words “Ye shall keep my statutes (‏חקתי‎),” and no reason is given for the enactment of these statutes, it seems, from the position occupied by these laws in a section of moral precepts, that they serve as reminders of the important lesson that our conduct should be regulated by the principles of contentment and simplicity of life, principles which are the best safeguard against undue desire for luxury and superfluity. The prohibition of sowing divers kinds of seed further reminds us of the importance of preserving our heart in a state of simplicity and purity; that twofold weights, twofold measures, and especially a twofold heart are an abomination to the Lord.

In reference to animal food the following principles are observed:—

1. The killing of animals and the consuming of their flesh must not tend to create savage and cruel habits. It is therefore forbidden—

(a.) To cut off a piece of flesh from a living animal for our food (‏אבר מן החי‎ “a limb of a living animal”).

(b.) To kill the parent with its young on the same day (Lev. xxii. 28; comp. Deut. xxii. 6).

(c.) To give unnecessary pain to the animal in killing it. The various regulations for the lawful killing of animals, ‏שחיטה‎, handed down by Tradition as Mosaic, ‏הלכה למשה מסיני‎, are not only in harmony with this principle, but seem in many instances to have been dictated by it.

(d.) To eat the blood of beasts and birds (Lev. xvii. 12, 14). The blood contained in the meat is removed as far as possible by having the meat soaked in water for half-an-hour, and then kept covered with salt for an hour, the salt being again removed by rinsing. This process is called kasher; that is, preparing the meat so as to make it kasher (‏כשר‎ “fit for food”).

2. The flesh of beasts and birds that have died from any other cause than having been killed in the manner prescribed is forbidden. The flesh of animals that have been killed in the prescribed manner, but are found to have been affected with some dangerous disease, is also forbidden as t’refah (‏טרפה‎). [172]

3. With regard to the distinction between animals allowed for food and those forbidden, all animals are divided into ‏בהמה‎ and ‏חיה‎ “cattle and beast,” ‏וף‎ “bird,” ‏דג‎ “fish,” and ‏שרץ‎ “creeping thing.”

(a.) With regard to cattle and beasts, the rule is given, “Whosoever parteth the hoof and is cloven-footed and cheweth the cud, that you may eat” (Lev. xi. 3).—The clean cattle (‏בהמה טהורה‎) and the clean beasts (‏חיה טהורה‎) are enumerated in Deut. xiv. 4 and 5 respectively.

(b.) A number of birds are enumerated (Lev. xi. 13–19) as forbidden, but no general characteristics of the clean or the unclean birds are given; and as we are uncertain as to the exact meaning of the names of many of the birds, we only use for food such birds as are traditionally known as “clean birds.”

(c.) Fish that have scales and fins are permitted; others—e.g., the eel—are “unclean” (ibid. xi. 9–12).

(d.) “All winged animals that creep (‏שרץ העוף‎), going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of, every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; even these of them ye may eat; the arbeh with its kind, and the soleam with its kind, the chargol with its kind, and the chagabh with its kind” (ibid. 20–22). These are certain kinds of locusts that satisfy the above condition. (Comp. Maimonides, Mishneh-torah, Hilchoth maachaloth asuroth i. 21–23.)

(e.) “And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten” (Lev. xi. 41). In this prohibition are included all kinds of worms such as are found in fruit, and mites, snails, oysters, lobsters, crabs, &c.

4. The milk of “unclean” cattle or beasts (e.g., asses’ milk), the eggs of “unclean” birds, and the roe of “unclean” fish (e.g., caviare prepared of the roe of the sturgeon) are likewise forbidden.

5. “Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat” (Lev. vii. 23). From the context we learn that only those portions of the fat of cattle are forbidden which in the case of sacrifices were burnt upon the altar as an offering made by fire unto the Lord, viz., “the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the fat that is upon the kidneys which is by the flanks” (ibid. iii. 3, 4). The forbidden fat is known by the name ‏חלב‎, chelebh, whilst the fat permitted as food is called ‏שומן‎, shuman.

6. “Therefore the children of Israel do not eat of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank” (Gen. xxxii. 33). This law is designed to remind us of the wrestling of Jacob with the man who attacked him, which struggle forms a type of Israel’s fight against the evil threatening him from within and from without, and teaches us the lesson that, despite temporary troubles and struggles, Israel will ultimately be victorious. The hind-quarters of cattle are not eaten unless the forbidden fat and “the sinew that shrank” (‏גיד הנשה‎) have first been removed from them.

7. “Thou shalt not seethe the kid in its mother’s milk” (Exod. xxiii. 19). Tradition explains this law as forbidding all mixture of meat and milk (‏בשר בחלב‎). In its literal sense the verse in which this law is mentioned seems to point to the duty of self-restraint, as if to tell us that we should not greedily devour the first ripe fruit, or the young immediately after their birth.

The significance of the law may be learnt from the fact that it is mentioned three times in the Pentateuch. Hence the strictness with which this commandment is observed in Jewish homes. In a Jewish household, established in accordance with Jewish law and tradition, there are two separate sets of utensils, the one to be used for the preparation of meat-diet, the other for the preparation of milk and butter diet.

The flesh of fish is not considered as meat in this respect, nor are fish subject to the laws of shechitah.

NOTES.

1. On Page 459—1a.

The prohibition of eating meat taken from the body of an animal whilst alive is based on the words ‏אך בשר בנפשו דמו לא תאכלו‎ “But flesh, when the blood thereof is in its soul, shall ye not eat” (Gen. ix. 4). The phrase “to be in the soul” means to be surrounded and animated by the soul, to be in the midst of active, living organs of the animal. “The blood of an animal is in the soul thereof” may therefore be paraphrased thus, “The blood hath its vital powers and the animal is alive.” (Comp. Lev. xvii. 11.)

This prohibition is one of the ‏שבע מצות בני נח‎ “the seven Noachide commandments,” i.e., commandments which, according to Tradition, were already in force in the days of Noah, and are binding on all his children or all mankind, and not on the Israelites alone; viz., (1) the prohibition of idolatry (‏עבודה זרה‎), (2) of murder (‏שפיכות דם‎), (3) of adultery (‏גלוי עריות‎), (4) of blasphemy (‏ברכת השם‎), (5) of robbery (‏גזל‎), (6) of eating meat taken from a living animal (‏אבר מן החי‎), and (7) the institution of courts of justice (‏דינין‎). See Babyl. Talm., Sanhedrin 56a.

2. On Page 459—1c.

The existence of certain rules concerning killing animals for food included in the oral teaching of the Torah is derived from the following passage: “Thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which the Lord hath given thee as I have commanded thee” (Deut. xii. 21). In the Commentary of Rashi, ad locum, we read: “Here we see that certain commandments have been given with regard to the killing of animals, how this should be done. These commandments are comprised in Hilchoth Shechitah, which form part of the Oral Law, revealed to Moses on Sinai.” They are fully discussed and explained in the first chapter of the treatise Chullin.

Any deviation from these rules in the act of killing the animal renders the shechitah unlawful (‏פסולה‎). The killing of cattle, beasts, or fowl for food is therefore entrusted only to such persons as possess a knowledge of the rules of shechitah and are skilled and trustworthy. The beth-din or the Chief-Rabbi decides whether a person has duly qualified himself for the office of shochet (‏שוחט‎), and whether he may kill animals for kasher food.

It is the duty of the shochet to examine the animal before killing it, and to satisfy himself that it is not in a dying condition; after the shechitah of any cattle or beast (‏בהמה‎ or ‏חיה‎) he must examine the lungs to assure himself that they are in a normal condition. If he finds them in a diseased state he declares the flesh of the animal as t’refah (‏טרפה‎) and unfit for food. In the case of poultry the examination is not made by the shochet; but if any deviation from the normal state is discovered in the lungs or in any other part, the meat must not be used as food unless the animal has been examined by a competent person (Rabbi or dayyan), and declared by him to be kasher.

As to the beneficial influence of these examinations on the general condition of health in the Jewish community, see Dr. H. Behrend’s articles in Jewish Chronicle, November 12, 1880, and October 24, 1890, and Nineteenth Century, October 1890.

3. On Page 459—1d.

The following particular rules are to be observed in kashering meat:—

(a.) The meat is first soaked in water for half-an-hour; this must be done within three days after the killing of the animal. It is then taken out of the water, placed on a slanting board or in a wicker-basket, and after a few minutes, when the water has sufficiently run off, sprinkled on all sides with salt. After the lapse of an hour the salt is again removed by soaking and rinsing.

(b.) In case of urgency, when, e.g., the meat is wanted for a patient, or when on Friday afternoon there would not be left time enough for cooking or roasting the meat, it need only be kept in water for fifteen minutes and in salt for half-an-hour.

(c.) In kashering poultry all the inner parts of the animal must be taken out and salted separately; the rest must be sprinkled with salt both within and without.

(d.) Liver is salted a little and roasted on fire, not in the oven or in any vessel. This done, the liver may be cooked or roasted in any way.

(e.) The heart is cut open before the salting, and a piece is cut off at the apex, in order that the blood may run off more easily.—For the same purpose the horny part of the legs is cut off.—The head must be opened and sprinkled with salt on both sides, after the brain has been taken out; from the latter the skin is drawn off, and then it is salted.

(f.) Eggs found in poultry are treated as meat, but must be salted separately.

(g.) The vessels used for soaking and salting the meat should not be used for other purposes.

4. On Page 459—1c.

The law of shechitah applies only to cattle, beasts, and birds (‏בהמה‎, ‏חיה‎ and ‏עוף‎); there is no commandment as regards the killing of fish. Tradition supports this exception by reference to the distinction made in Num. xi. 22: “Shall the flocks and the herds be slain (‏ישחט‎) for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together (‏יאסף‎) for them, to suffice them?” Although the latter term (‏יאסף‎) is also used of quails (ibid. 32), no such inference is made with regard to birds, because in ver. 32 the term ‏יאסף‎ is not contrasted by ‏ישחט‎; besides, the verb ‏שחט‎ is frequently applied in the Law to birds, but never to fish. Comp. Babyl. Talm., Chullin, p. 27b.

There is this difference to be observed between ‏בהמה‎ on the one hand, and ‏חיה‎ and ‏עוף‎ on the other. In the case of the latter two the shechitah must be followed by the covering of the blood (‏כסוי דם‎ Lev. xvii. 13). The object of this law is, according to some, to prevent the blood being used for idolatrous and superstitious purposes, as birds and beasts were generally hunted in the fields, mountains, and woods, places frequently associated in the imagination of the ancients with evil spirits and the like. (Comp. Commentary of R. Obadiah Seforno on the Pentateuch, ad locum.) The law was perhaps intended to impress the lesson on the mind of the hunter that the blood shed of a living being presents a ghastly sight that offends the eye of man. He will accustom himself to think that taking away the life of another being, even of an animal, is an act of grave responsibility, and will not be led to misuse his weapons against any of his fellow-men.

5. On Page 460—3b.

Comp. Mishnah, Treatise Chullin, iii. 6.—The characteristics of the clean and the unclean cattle and beasts are given in the Pentateuch, but the characteristics of the clean or the unclean birds are not mentioned in the Law. Our Sages, however, declared every bird of prey—or every bird that seizes its food with its claws, and lifts it up from the ground before eating it (Rashi) to be an unclean bird; while all birds are clean that have a projecting claw (‏אצבע יתרה‎ a claw longer than the rest) and a crop (‏זפק‎), and whose stomach has a membrane that can easily be peeled off (‏קרקבנו נקלף‎). Another rule is this: Birds that dwell and associate with unclean birds are unclean. “Not without reason does the starling go to the raven: they are of the same species” (Babyl. Talm., Chullin 65b). The sentence serves also as a moral lesson (ibid., Baba Kama 92a). At present, however, only those birds are killed for food which are known traditionally to have always been considered as “clean birds” (Maimonides, Mishneh-torah, Hilchoth maachaloth asuroth, i. 14–20; Tur Joredeah, chap. lxxxii.).

6. On Page 461—7.

Onkelos translates this commandment: ‏לא תיכול בשר בחלב‎ “Thou shalt not eat meat in milk,” in accordance with the Oral Law. The threefold repetition of the commandment forbidding the seething of a kid in its mother’s milk is explained traditionally to indicate a threefold prohibition: that of boiling meat and milk together, that of eating such mixture, and that of deriving any benefit whatever from it (‏ואיסור‎, ‏איסור אכילה‎, ‏איסור בישול הנאה‎). In obedience to the principle, “Make a fence round the Law,” we abstain from milk or butter for some time after having partaken of meat.

7. On Page 461—4.

The honey of bees is an apparent exception from the rule that the products of the unclean animals are forbidden. The honey mentioned in the Bible is mostly the juice of fruit, especially of dates; but the honey of bees is also mentioned (Judges xiv. 8). It is assumed that honey does not contain any part of the bee itself, but is merely the juice of the flowers sucked and again discharged by the bees. (See Babyl. Talm., Bechoroth 7b; Maim., Mishneh-torah, Hil. maachaloth asuroth iii. 3.)

Note 8.

In addition to the things enumerated in this chapter as forbidden, there is the prohibition of “wine of libation” (‏יין נסך‎). Everything used in the worship of idols was condemned, and could not serve as food, drink, or any purpose; it was ‏אסור בהנאה‎. Wine was frequently used by heathens in libations to their idols. The wine of a heathen was therefore always suspected of having been employed in idolatrous libations, and was consequently forbidden as ‏יין נסך‎. Since, however, such libations have ceased this prohibition has also lapsed.

It has, however, not lapsed in its entirety. It is only the ‏אסור הנאה‎ that is no longer in force. The prohibition of using wine prepared by non-Jews (‏סתם יין‎) as a beverage still continues. This and similar prohibitions were intended as a barrier against the increase of mixed marriages among the Jews. (Comp. Babyl. Talm., Shabbath 17b.)

VII. JEWISH LIFE.

The first paragraph of the Shulchan-aruch runs thus: “‘I have set the Lord always before me’ is one of the most important principles of our holy Religion;” and, indeed, the more the actions of the Jew conform to this principle, the nearer does he approach the ideal of a true servant of God, who is faithful in the service of his Master, and whose life is the expression of genuine recognition of God’s sovereignty (‏קבלת עול מלכות שמים‎) with unconditional obedience to His Will (‏קבלת עול מצות‎). Neither attendance at Public Service, nor the regular recitation of prayers, nor the study of the Law, nor the performance of certain religious acts, constitute by themselves Jewish Life, but the supreme influence which the Word of God—the Torah—is constantly made to exercise over man’s doings. Every movement of his is regulated by the Law, and wherever he turns he is met by a Divine precept that elevates his heart towards Him who gave us the Law. The very garments he wears, though not different from those of his fellow-men, [173] except by the absence of shaatnez (combination of wool and linen), include the arba kanfoth, “the four-cornered garment,” with tsitsith; his house, the same in every other respect as those of his neighbours, is distinguished by the mezuzah on the doorposts. These distinctive characteristics, however, are not intended to attract the attention of others; they only concern the man himself; they serve him as reminders of God and His Will. Within the house the furniture and the whole arrangement are in accordance with the custom and fashion of the place; [174] there is simplicity or luxury, taste or want of taste, according to the individual character of the occupier. Only the kitchen and the table have a distinctly Jewish aspect; these must be adapted to the requirements of the Dietary Laws. The most striking feature is the double set of kitchen utensils and of vessels for the table, the one set for meat, the other for butter and milk.

In the choice of his occupation, trade, or profession, the Jew, like all his fellow-men, is influenced by his inclination, capabilities, and opportunities; but, in addition to these, there is another important factor that must ultimately determine the choice—his religion; and such occupation as would be likely to compel him to abandon any of the Divine precepts, cannot be chosen. No manner of labour or trade is in itself derogatory; on the contrary, all labour is honourable, unless man degrades it by his conduct, and by the object he aims at achieving by means of it. Thrift, economy, and temperance are essential conditions of success. But success, however desirable, and however sweet when obtained, leads only to the material well-being of man. As to his spiritual well-being, the Jew, though busy with urgent work, will try to find some spare moments in which to turn his attention to “the three things upon which the world is based: Study of the Torah, Divine Service, and Charity” (Aboth i. 2).

Before the work of the day commences, and when it is finished, attention is paid to torah and abhodah. The Service, especially the Morning Service, contains various sections which are not prayers, but rather lessons for study. In addition to these, the Jew, according to his capacity or opportunity, should read the Bible, the Mishnah, and the Talmud. For those who have no opportunity at home, the Beth ha-midrash is open with its library. Synagogue and Beth ha-midrash are the places of spiritual recreation where the Jew refreshes his mind, elevates his heart, and gathers new strength, courage, and hope for the battle of life.

Charity in its various branches, tsedakah and gemiluth chasadim, is a virtue practised by the wealthy and the poor alike. Any heart or house from which this virtue is absent does not deserve to be called Jewish. Some Jews have charity-boxes in their houses, and whenever any member of the family has something to spare or is moved by a special impulse of charity, these boxes receive an addition to their contents. Others imitate the law of maaser (“tithe”), and set aside a tenth part of their earnings and profits for charitable purposes. Hospitality (‏הכנסת אורחים‎) is another method of charity, and it forms one of the ornaments of a true Jewish house. Although societies and public institutions do at present what was formerly considered to be the duty of the members of the community, individual hospitality has by no means become superfluous, and there is ample opportunity for its practice. Hospitality graces especially the lady of the house; it is her duty to provide for the comfort of the guests, and to act according to the rule, “Let the poor be the children of thy house” (Aboth i. 5).

This is one of the privileges possessed by women. According to the principle of division of labour, woman rules supreme in the house: “The King’s daughter is all glorious within” (Ps. xlv. 14); whilst man is more in contact with the outer world, devotes himself to labour, trade, or profession in order to provide the necessities of life for those who are dependent upon him. There are, however, many exceptions to the rule, and there is scarcely any trade or profession in which women have not been engaged. Women were not excluded even from the highest honours. The Jews had their prophetesses, and women were entrusted with judgeship and even with sovereignty. There are instances of women distinguished by learning, experience, wit, and especially by piety. Women of piety (‏נשים צדקניות‎) were never wanting in Israel; and many a scholar owes the success he has attained in the field of learning to the piety of his wife, who willingly undertook her husband’s burdens and cares in trade and business in order to facilitate his devotion to study. No sacrifice is too great for a true Jewish mother to have her children instructed in the Word of God, and nothing adds more to the happiness and pride of the mother than the progress her son has made in the knowledge of the Torah. “What is the great merit of women? They have the merit of making their children attend the school, and of encouraging their husbands to study the Talmud” (Babyl. Talm., Berachoth 17a).

The moral and the intellectual as well as the physical training of the children is in its earliest stages almost exclusively in the hands of the mother. If we add to this the responsibility for having the food prepared according to the requirements of the Dietary Laws, we easily understand the reason why Jewish women are exempt from various religious duties incumbent on the other sex. The rule is this: “Women are exempt from the fulfilment of all precepts which are restricted to a certain time” (Mishnah, Kiddushin i. 7), in order to prevent any collision between these and her principal and most important duties in the house. Thus it happens that there are Jewish women who faithfully cling to the inherited religion, and yet are rare visitors of the Synagogue. On week-days the Synagogue is only in exceptional cases attended by women.

From this reason women are disqualified for forming the quorum (minyan) required for public worship (tefillah batsibbur). This and similar disqualifications are based on the principle of regard for women and their home-duties, and by no means on a belief in their inferiority. Passages in the Talmudical and Midrashic Literature which ascribe to women vanity, levity, and other shortcomings are outweighed by sayings which evidence a sense of high regard for the virtues and accomplishments of women. The following sentences are a few examples; “Woman has been endowed by the Creator with greater intelligence than man” (Babyl. Talm., Niddah 45b). “Who is rich? He who possesses a wife fair in her doings” (ibid., Shabbath 25b). “It was through the merit of pious women that the Israelites were redeemed from Egypt” (ibid., Sotah 11b). [175] Modesty and reservedness (‏צניעות‎) are the distinguishing virtues of Jewish women. The principle, “The daughter of the King is all glorious within,” was applied literally. In the fulfilment of her home-duties the daughter of Israel seeks her happiness and her pride. It used to be opposed to the sense of propriety of Jewish ladies to speak, sing, or act in public. [176] This ‏צניעות‎ was the main cause of the preservation of the sanctity of the Jewish home and the purity of Jewish family life, a treasure and a blessing which ought to be well guarded.

The working days of the week are divided between labour and devotion. Three Services are attended daily either in the Synagogue or at home, and every meal is preceded and followed by prayer. Jewish women have, in addition to the Prayer-book, a small volume of supplications (‏תחנות‎) in the vernacular for every day, every season, and every occasion.

Mondays and Thursdays, on which days a Lesson from the Law is read during the Morning Service, are considered as special days for earnest devotion. There have been pious Jews who fasted the whole or part of these days.—Tuesday is looked upon as a favoured day, because it is distinguished in the account of the Creation (Gen. i. 10, 12) by a repetition of the phrase, “And God saw that it was good.” It is therefore called “the day with double ki-tobh (that it was good).” This circumstance may be the cause of the belief that it is not advisable to begin a new undertaking on Monday or Wednesday; [177] preference should be given to Tuesday. But this belief, although seemingly founded on a Biblical phrase, is contrary to Jewish principles, and is included in the prohibition, “Ye shall not observe times” (Lev. xix. 26), to declare a particular day as lucky or unlucky.

Friday is an important and busy day in a Jewish house. It is not only the circumstance that food is being prepared for two days [178] that causes greater activity, but also the anticipated pleasure at the approach of a beloved guest. The same is the case when a Festival is near. Each Festival has its own particular wants and pleasures. In some houses the activity in preparing for Passover may be noticed a whole month before, although the actual clearing of the chamets is done in a very short time. Before Succoth all hands are busy with preparing and ornamenting the Tabernacle, and selecting esrog and lulabh. It is genuine religious enthusiasm [179] in the fulfilment of Divine duties that inspires this kind of activity, and gives to the house a peculiarly Jewish tone and Jewish atmosphere. We feel in it “the season of our joy” before and during the Three Festivals, and “the season of solemnity and earnest reflection” during the penitential days; grief when the 9th of Ab approaches, and hilarity when Purim is near. Twice a year we are invited by law and custom to give ourselves up to gladness and merriment: on Simchath-torah and on Purim. Although even a certain excess of mirth is considered lawful on the latter occasion, there are but very few that indulge in this license.

All the seasons of rejoicing are also occasions for mitsvoth—charity, and for strengthening the bond of love between husband and wife, between parents and children, and the bond of friendship between man and man. Every erebh shabbath and erebh yom-tobh afford the opportunity of giving challah, [180] kindling Sabbath or Festival lights, [181] and inviting strangers [182] (‏הכנסת אורחים‎) to our meals. On Sabbaths and Festivals children, even when grown up, come to their parents and ask for their blessing. [183] Before Kiddush the husband chants the section of Prov. xxxi. beginning ‏אשת חיל‎, in praise of a good wife. The Shabbath shalom or Good shabbath, Shabhua tobh or Good woch, Good yom tobh, and similar salutations, remind us that we ought to have only good wishes for each other. Sabbath and Festivals afford suitable occasions for home-devotion, in which all the members of the family, males and females, should take part. The meals are preceded and followed by the usual berachoth, but it is customary to add extra psalms and hymns (zemiroth) in honour of the day, and those who are gifted should add to these, or even substitute for them, compositions of their own in any language they like in gloriam Dei. A second kind of home-devotion which ought not to be neglected, but should rather be revived where it is neglected, is the reading of the Scriptures. On Friday evening the pious Jew reads the Sidra twice in the original and once in the Targum; but all should at least read Sidra and Haphtarah in the vernacular.

The moon by its gradual increase in light from its minimum to full-moon, and the subsequent decrease from full-moon to its minimum, has in Agadic and Midrashic Literature frequently served as a symbol of the history of Israel, of his rise and his fall. The last day of the decline, the eve of New-moon, is kept by some as a special day of prayer and fasting, [184] while the first day of the rise, New-moon, is distinguished by Hallel and Musaph. If people, as a symbol of happiness (‏סימן טוב‎), prefer the middle of the month for marriage, their choice is harmless; but if they hold that season as more lucky than the rest of the month, they are guilty of superstition. As at the sight of other natural phenomena, so also has a benediction been fixed on observing the reappearance of the moon in the beginning of the month. For the above-mentioned reason, importance is attached to this berachah, and prayers are added for the redemption of Israel. The berachah, which is generally recited in the open air, is the chief element in the ceremony; the additional prayers and reflections are non-essential.

In the foregoing, Jewish Life has been described as it appears at the various seasons of the year; in the following, it will be given as it appears at the various periods of man’s existence.

The first important moment is, of course, the moment of birth. The father, friends, and relatives are filled with anxiety for the life of both mother and child. Prayers are daily offered up for the safety and recovery of the patient and the well-being of the child. The Twentieth Psalm is sometimes written on a tablet placed in the room where the confinement takes place, probably as a reminder or an invitation for visitors to pray to the Almighty; in this sense the custom is to be commended; but if the tablet is filled with meaningless signs, letters, and words, and is used merely as a charm, the custom should be discontinued, being a superstitious practice. In some parts it has been the custom that during the week preceding the Berith-milah friends visited the house to pray there for the well-being of the child, and boys recited there Biblical passages containing blessings, such as Gen. xlviii. 16. [185] The night before the berith was spent in reading Bible and Talmud, so that the child might from the beginning breathe, as it were, the atmosphere of torah. [186]

On the eighth day the male child is initiated into the covenant of Abraham (Lev. xii. 3). Circumcision is one of “those mitsvoth which the Israelites in times of religious persecution carried out notwithstanding imminent danger to life.” The performance of this Divine precept is therefore made the occasion of much rejoicing. In some congregations the operation, as a sacred act, takes place in the Synagogue after the Morning Service; in others the privacy of the home is preferred. In ancient days mothers circumcised their sons, but now the operation is only entrusted to a person who has been duly trained, and has received from competent judges a certificate of his qualification for the functions of a mohel. [187] Although, according to the Law, any person, otherwise capable of doing it, may do the mitsvah, preference is given, and ought to be given, to a person of genuine piety and of true enthusiasm for our holy Religion, who performs the act in gloriam Dei. Not only the mohel, but all who assist in the act do a mitsvah, and the meal which is prepared for the occasion is a ‏סעודת מצוה‎ (a meal involving a religious act). [188] Immediately after the operation a name is given to the child. [189]

The next important moment in a boy’s life is the “Redemption” (‏פדיון הבן‎) in case of the first-born male child (Exod. xiii. 13, 15), which act is likewise made the occasion of a ‏סעודת מצוה‎. A cohen (descendant of Aaron) receives the redemption-money to the amount of five shekels (or 15s.), according to Num. xviii. 16. [190]

In the case of a female child the naming generally takes place in the Synagogue on a Sabbath, when the father is called up to the Law. In many congregations this takes place when the mother has sufficiently recovered to attend again for the first time the Service in the Synagogue on Sabbath. Those who live at a great distance from the Synagogue pay the first visit to the place of worship on a week-day. A special Service has been arranged for the occasion. [191]

Great care is now taken by the parents for the physical well-being of the child, without entirely ignoring its moral and intellectual development. “At five years the child is fit to be taught Mikra, i.e., reading the Bible” (Aboth v. 21), so the Mishnah teaches. But long before this the child is taught to pray, and to repeat short Biblical passages or prayers in Hebrew. It must, of course, be borne in mind that children are not all alike, and that each child must be taught according to its own capacities and strength. The knowledge must be imparted in such a manner that the child should seek it as a source of pleasure and happiness.

As to the subjects which are to be taught, there is no branch of general knowledge from which Jewish children are debarred by their Religion, nor is there any branch of knowledge that is more Jewish than the rest. Jewish children must learn like other children, as far as possible, that which is considered necessary and useful, as well as that which is conducive to the comfort and happiness of life. But Religion, Scripture, and Hebrew must never be absent from the curriculum of studies of a Jewish child. The instruction in Religion need not occupy much time, for the best teaching of Religion is the good example set by the parents at home and the teacher in the school. The religious training of a child should begin early; the surroundings and associations must teach the child to act nobly, to speak purely, to think charitably, and to love our Religion. “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov. xxii. 6). Early practical training (‏חנוך‎) is also of great importance with regard to the observance of religious precepts. Children should be accustomed to regard with reverence that which is holy, to honour Sabbath and Festivals, and to rejoice in doing what the Almighty has commanded. Twice a year we have special occasion for the fulfilment of this duty, viz., on Simchath-torah and on the Seder-evening.

In teaching our children Hebrew our aim must be to make them understand the holy language, to enable them to read the Word of God in the original, and to pray to the Almighty in the language in which the Prophets and the Psalmists gave utterance to their inspirations, and in which our forefathers addressed the Supreme Being in the Temple.

A special ceremony used to introduce the child into the study of the Bible in the original. [192] Teacher and pupil went to the Synagogue, took a sepher from the Hechal, and the pupil was made to read the first lesson from the sepher. This and similar ceremonies were intended as a means of impressing on the pupil the great importance of studying the Word of God in the original language. After having acquired a sound knowledge of the Bible, the study of other branches of Hebrew literature, of Talmudical and Rabbinical works, is approached.

As a rule, boys devote more time to Hebrew studies than girls, only because girls are considered physically more delicate and not capable of doing so much work as boys. Girls are by no means excluded from acquiring a sound Hebrew knowledge; on the contrary, every encouragement should be given to them, if they are inclined to study Hebrew beyond the first elements. [193]

The boy when thirteen years old is bar-mitsvah (lit., “a son of the commandment”), bound to obey the Law, and responsible for his deeds. On the Sabbath following his thirteenth birthday the boy is called up to the Law; he reads the whole of the Sidra or a section of it, and declares in the blessings which precede and follow the lesson his belief in the Divine origin of the Torah, and his gratitude to God for having given us the Law. [194]

The school-years come gradually to a close, and the practical preparation for life begins. A vocation has to be determined upon. From a moral and religious point of view all kinds of trade, business, and profession are equal. They are honourable or base according as they are carried on in an honourable manner or not. Whatever course is chosen, the moral and religious training must continue with unabated energy. When the school-years are over, when the youth is no longer under the control of the master, and is sometimes left even without the control of the parents, he is exposed to various kinds of temptation, especially through the influence of bad society. The vices against which the youth must guard himself most at this period of life are sensuality, excessive desire for pleasure, gambling, and dishonesty, which bring about his moral, social, and physical ruin. Self-control, acquired through continued religious training, is the best safeguard against these dangers. It is therefore advisable that those who have left the school should continue attending some religious class, or otherwise devote part of their free time to Talmud-torah, to the study of the Torah, and of works relating to it.

“At the age of eighteen years one is fit for marriage” (Aboth, ibid.) is an ancient dictum, but which could never have been meant as an absolute law. For there are other qualifications equally important, and even more essential than age. Maimonides (Mishneh-torah, Hil. Deoth v. 11) says: “Man should first secure a living, then prepare a residence, and after that seek a wife. But fools act otherwise: they marry first, then look out for a house, and at last think of the means of obtaining a livelihood.” (Comp. Deut. xx. 5–7 and xxviii. 30.)

Marriage is called in the Bible “a divine covenant” (Prov. ii. 17), or “the covenant of God.” God is, as it were, made witness of the covenant; in His presence the assurances of mutual love and the promises of mutual fidelity are given by husband and wife (Mal. ii. 14). To break this covenant is therefore not only an offence of the one against the other, but an offence against God.—In addition to this religious basis of marriage, conditions of a more material nature were agreed upon. The maiden has been long of use in the house of her parents, and he who sought the privilege of taking her to his house and making her his wife had to give to the parents “dowry and gift” (‏מהר ומתן‎, Gen. xxxiv. 12). Later on, in the time of the Mishnah, all that the husband promised to his wife was made the subject of a written document (‏כתובה‎), signed by two witnesses. In this document he guarantees to her 200 zus (or half the sum if she is a widow), the value of her outfit and dowry (in Hebrew ‏נדוניא‎), and a certain amount added to the afore-mentioned obligatory sum (‏תוספת כתובה‎). He further promises to honour her, work for her, maintain her, and honestly provide her with everything necessary for her comfort.

The marriage was preceded by the betrothal (‏אירוסין‎ or ‏קידושין‎), the solemn promise on his part to take her after a fixed time to his house as his wife, and on her part to consider herself as his wife and to prepare herself for the marriage. Legally she was already his wife, and infidelity was visited with capital punishment. The interval between the betrothal and marriage used to be twelve months; at present the two events are united in the marriage ceremony, and are only separated from each other by an address or by the reading of the kethubhah. That which is now called betrothal or engagement is merely a preliminary settlement of the conditions of the marriage (‏תנאים‎ “conditions”). The conditions used to be written down, including a fine (‏קנס‎) for breach of promise; the agreement used to be followed by the breaking of a glass [195] and by a feast.

The actual betrothal takes place on the wedding-day, and consists mainly of the following significant words addressed by the bridegroom to his bride: ‏הרי את מקודשת לי בטבעת זו כדת משה וישראל‎ “Behold, thou art consecrated (betrothed) to me by this ring according to the Law of Moses and of Israel.” While saying this he places a gold ring [196] on the second finger of the right hand. This act is preceded by a berachah over wine, read by the celebrant while holding a cup of wine in his hand, and the birchath erusin (“blessing of betrothal”), in which God is praised for the institution of Marriage. Bride and bridegroom, who during the ceremony stand under a canopy (‏חופה‎), taste of the wine.

The canopy or chuppah [197] represents symbolically the future home of the married couple, which they have to guard as a sanctuary, and to render inaccessible to evil deeds, words, and thoughts that would pollute it. The top of the canopy, which is formed of a curtain (‏פרכת‎) of the Hechal, or of a talith, expresses the idea of sanctity.

After the birchath erusin the bridegroom makes the solemn declaration [198] mentioned above: “Behold, thou art consecrated (betrothed) unto me by this ring according to the Law of Moses and of Israel,” [199] whereupon the kethubhah is read in Aramaic [200] or in English, and an address is sometimes given. Then follow the ‏ברכות נשואין‎ (“Blessings of Marriage”), called also after their number ‏שבע ברכות‎ “Seven Blessings.” [201] The ceremony concludes with the breaking of a glass and the mutual congratulations of friends and relatives, expressed in the words Mazzal-tobh (‏מזל טוב‎ “Good luck”). [202]

A banquet (‏סעודת נישואין‎) follows, which is a ‏סעודת מצוה‎. It is introduced by the usual berachah (‏המוציא‎), and followed by Grace and the “Seven Blessings.”

The following are a few of the various customs connected with a Jewish marriage without being essential elements of the marriage ceremony:—

(1.) On the Sabbath previous to the wedding-day the bridegroom, his father, and the father of the bride are called up to the Law, and offerings are made (mi shebberach) in honour of the bride and the bridegroom. In some congregations Gen. xxiv. is read after the Service, on the morning of the wedding-day.

(2.) Bride and bridegroom enter upon a new life; the wedding-day is to them a day of rejoicing, but also a day of great solemnity. It is kept as a day of earnest reflections, of prayer and fasting, till after the ceremony, when the fast is broken and the rejoicing begins. The bridegroom adds in the Minchah amidah the Confession (‏ודוי‎) of the Day of Atonement.

(3.) The good wishes of friends and relatives are variously expressed. Rice, wheat, or similar things are thrown over the bride and the bridegroom as a symbol of abundance and fruitfulness.

(4.) The feast is accompanied by speeches in praise of the bride and bridegroom; it was considered a special merit to speak on such an occasion (‏אגרא דהלולא מילי‎, Babyl. Talm., Berachoth 6b). The bridegroom used to give a discourse (‏דרשה‎) on some Talmudical theme, if he was able to do so. He received presents for it (derashah-presents).

(5.) In the time of the Bible and the Talmud the feasting lasted seven days.—The first day after the wedding used to be distinguished by a fish dinner (‏סעודת דגים‎), in allusion to Gen. xlviii. 16.

In spite of all blessings and good wishes the marriage sometimes proves a failure, husband and wife being a source of trouble and misery the one to the other, instead of being the cause of each other’s happiness. In such a case a divorce may take place, and man and wife separate from each other. Divorce is permitted (Deut. xxiv. 1–4), but not encouraged; it is an evil, but the lesser of two evils. A written document was required (‏ספר כריתות‎, ‏גט‎), and later legislation made the writing and the delivery of the document difficult and protracted, in order to facilitate attempts at reconciliation; the fulfilment of the conditions agreed upon in the kethubhah also tended to render divorce a rare event. The number of cases of divorce among the Jews is therefore comparatively smaller than among other denominations, but still unfortunately far too large, owing to want of foresight and reflection in the choice of a companion for life.

There is a kind of obligatory marriage (‏יבום‎) and or obligatory divorce (‏חליצה‎), viz., with regard to the widow of a deceased brother who has died without issue (Deut. xxv. 5–10). Since the abolition of polygamy [203] by Rabbenu Gershom (eleventh century) the obligatory marriage has almost disappeared, and the obligatory divorce (‏חליצה‎) must take place before the widow can marry again. [204]

We acknowledge the principle laid down in the Talmud, “The law of the country is binding upon us” (‏דינא דמלכותא דינא‎), but only in so far as our civil relations are concerned. With regard to religious questions our own religious code must be obeyed. Marriage laws include two elements—civil relations and religious duties. As regards the former, we abide by the decisions of the civil courts of the country. We must, therefore, not solemnise a marriage which the law of the country would not recognise; we must not religiously dissolve a marriage by ‏גט‎, unless the civil courts of law have already decreed the divorce. On the other hand, we must not content ourselves with civil marriage or civil divorce; religiously, neither civil marriage nor civil divorce can be recognised unless supplemented by marriage or divorce according to religious forms. Furthermore, marriages allowed by the civil law, but prohibited by our religious law—e.g., mixed marriages; that is, marriages between Jews and non-Jews—cannot be recognised before the tribunal of our Religion; such alliances are sinful, and the issue of such alliances must be treated as illegitimate. Those who love their Religion and have the well-being of Judaism at heart will do their utmost to prevent the increase of mixed marriages.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die” (Eccles. iii. 1, 2). Life is a precious gift the Creator has given us; while there is breath in our nostrils we thank Him for it, we pray to Him for its prolongation, do everything in our power to preserve it, and consider its wilful destruction a criminal act. But notwithstanding all this “there is a time to die.” Life and death are equally mysteries to us; we trust in the mercy of Him who has ordained life and death, that both are for our good. Death is, therefore, not to be regarded with dread and horror; it is the transition to another state of life, the real nature of which is unknown to us. But it is our belief that the future life (‏העולם הבא‎) is infinitely superior to the present life (‏העולם הזה‎); hence the saying in the Midrash that the words “exceedingly good” (Gen. i. 31) applied to death. The only fear of death that can reasonably be justified is the fear of departing from this life before we have completed our task, before we have sufficiently strengthened “the breaches of the house” caused by our own dereliction of duty. Our Sages advise, “Return one day before thy death” (Aboth ii. 15); that is, every day, the day of death being concealed from our knowledge. In this manner we constantly prepare ourselves for death without curtailing our enjoyment of life. “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity” (Eccles. xi. 9, 10). When passion overcomes us and evil inclinations invite us to sin, we are told by our Sages to remember the day of death, which may suddenly surprise us before we have been able by repentance to purify ourselves from our transgressions (Babyl. Talm., Berachoth 5a).

When death approaches, and announces itself through man’s illness, we do everything that human knowledge and skill can suggest to preserve and prolong the earthly life with which God has endowed us; in addition, the patient himself and his friends invoke the mercy of God for his recovery. [205] Even when death appears invincible, when “the edge of the sword touches already man’s neck, we do not relinquish our hope in God’s mercy, and continue to pray to the All-merciful.” The patient is asked to prepare himself for the solemn moment, although it may in reality be as yet far off. [206] The preparation consists of prayer, meditation, confession of sin, repentance, and of the profession of our Creed, especially of the Unity of God, in the words, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” [207] To visit the sick, to comfort them by kind words and deeds, to pray with and for the patient, are acts included in the duty of “visiting the sick” (‏בקור הולים‎). [208] In the moment of death those present testify their faith in God by proclaiming the Dominion, the Omnipotence, and the Unity of God in the same way in which we make this declaration at the conclusion of the Day of Atonement. Although Prayer-books contain certain forms of prayer for this purpose, the patient and those present should rather follow the impulse of their heart, and commune with the Almighty in any form their heart suggests.

When life has come to an end friends and relatives give free expression to their grief; [209] to check it by comforting words at this moment is useless (Aboth iv. 18). The mourners, [210] father, mother, son, daughter, brother, and sister, have now to direct all their attention to the deceased relative, in order that nothing be neglected in the last honours shown to him; they are therefore free from all other religious obligations till after the burial. In Palestine and neighbouring countries, where, in consequence of the higher temperature, decomposition of the body begins soon after death, the burial takes place on the same day. [211] In colder climates two or three days elapse between death and burial. The mourners abstain during the interval from wine and meat.

Every act of piety in honour of the deceased is a meritorious religious act, a mitsvah, an act of kindness and truth (‏חסד ואמת‎), and in every congregation there exists a society, called ‏חברא קרישא‎ “holy society,” whose members devote themselves to the fulfilment of these pious duties.

According to the principle that death equalises all, that “the small and great are there” (Job iii. 19), the greatest simplicity and equality is observed in all matters connected with the obsequies [212] of the dead. Friends and relatives follow to the burial-ground; the ‏הלוית המת‎, or attending the dead to their last resting-place, [213] is one of those mitsvoth “the fruits of which a man enjoys in this world, while the stock remains for him for the world to come.”

Burying the dead is a very old custom, to which the Jews adhered firmly at all ages. The custom of the Greeks, who burnt their dead, found no advocates among the Jews. In the Written and the Oral Law only the burying of the dead is mentioned. To leave a human body unburied and unattended was considered by Jews, as by other nations, an insult to the deceased person, and whoever found such a body was bound to take charge of it and to effect its burial. [214]

In the Burial Service we acknowledge the justice of God, and resign ourselves to the Will of the Almighty (‏צדוק הדין‎). When the burial is over our attention is directed to the living; words of comfort are addressed to the mourners [215] who return home and keep ‏שבעה‎ “seven days of mourning.” A certain degree of mourning is then continued till the end of the year by the children of the deceased, and till the end of the month (‏שלשים‎ “thirty days”) by other relatives. [216]

Our regard for the deceased (‏יקרא דשכבי‎) and our sympathies with the mourners (‏יקרא דחיי‎) are expressed in different ways.

The funeral oration (‏הספד‎) occasionally spoken at the grave, or in the house of mourning, or in the Synagogue, generally combines both elements; it contains a eulogy upon the deceased and words of sympathy and exhortation for the living.

The special prayers offered up on such occasions likewise include these two elements: petitions for the well-being of the soul of the deceased, that it may find Divine mercy when appearing before the Supreme Judge, and petitions for the comfort and relief of the mourners. The Kaddish of the Mourners, however, does not contain such prayers, but merely expresses their resignation to the Will of the Almighty, their conviction that He is the only Being that is to be worshipped, and that He alone will be worshipped by all mankind in the days of Messiah, and their wish that the arrival of those days may be hastened.

There are, besides, the following customs, the object of which is to express our regard for the memory of the deceased: (1.) A tombstone (‏מצבה‎) is set up in front of or over the grave with the name of the deceased, the date of his death, and such words of praise as are dictated by the love and the esteem in which the deceased was held by the mourners. (2.) A lamp is kept burning [217] during the week, or the month, or the year of mourning, and on the anniversary of the day of death (Jahrzeit). (3.) By observing the anniversary of the death as a day devoted to earnest reflection, and to meditation on the merits and virtues of the deceased; we keep away from amusements, and say Kaddish in the course of the Services of the day. Some observe the anniversary as a fast-day. (4.) By doing some mitsvah [218] in commemoration of the deceased. (5.) By regarding with respect and piety the wishes of the departed relative or friend, especially those uttered when death was approaching. Our Sages teach: “It is our duty to fulfil the wishes of the departed.” [219] The absence of this inner respect and piety makes all the outward signs of mourning, however conscientiously observed, valueless and illusory.

NOTES.

In addition to the customs already mentioned, there are a few calling for some observation, customs which might seem superstitious, but are not so if properly understood.

When life is extinct the eyes of the deceased are closed, and in some cases also the mouth is kept shut. This is probably done out of regard for the dead, that their face should not present a too ghastly and repulsive appearance. The custom is mentioned in the Mishnah, Shabbath xxiii. 5, and is also alluded to in the words, “And Joseph shall put his hands upon thine eyes” (Gen. xlvi. 4).

From the house in which there was a dead person, and from the houses in its immediate neighbourhood, the water was poured out. According to Num. xix., everything in the house—and, under certain conditions, also in the neighbouring houses—was unclean; the water was poured out, from fear lest it be used in preparing holy food, such as terumah (“heave-offering”). Furthermore, a kohen is not allowed to enter such a house, and the pouring away of the water served as an indication that a dead person was in the house.

An important element in the preparation for the burial is the “cleaning” and robing of the body (‏טהרה‎); the cleansing of the body before it returns to the earth is to be a symbol of the purification of the soul by the mercy of God.

It is customary that those who came into contact with the deceased during his lifetime express regret for any offence they may have committed, knowingly or unknowingly, against him—a good custom, that might serve as an exhortation to us all to be careful in our actions towards our living fellow-men.

Whenever we mention the name of a deceased friend or relative we add, as a mark of respect, ‏עליהן) השלום‎ or ‏עלין (עליה עליהם‎, ‏זכרונו (זכרונה) לברכה‎, ‏זכר צדיק לברכה‎ or ‏נוחו (נוחה) עדן‎ (abbreviated, ‏זצל, ז״ל, ע״ה‎ or ‏נ״ע‎), “Peace be to him (her or them),” “his (or her) memory be for a blessing,” “the memory of the righteous be for a blessing,” or “his (or her) rest be Eden.” Comp. Zunz, Zur Literatur u. Geschichte. Similarly we add to the names of living friends and relatives the wish ‏שיחיה‎ (‏שתחיה‎), or ‏נרו יאיר‎ “May he (or she) live,” or “May his light continue to shine.”

APPENDIX.

I.

THE THIRTEEN PRINCIPLES OF FAITH.

‏אנו מאמין באמונה שלמה‎

‏א—שהבורא יתברך שמו הוא בורא ומנהיג לכל הברואים והוא לבדו עשה ועושה ויעשה לכל המעשים׃‎

‏ב—שהבורא יתברך שמו הוא יחיד ואין יחידות כמוהו בשום פנים והוא לבדו אלהינו היה הוה ויהיה׃‎

‏ג—שהבורא יתברך שמו אינו גוף ולא ישיגוהו משיגי הגוף ואין לו שום דמיון כלל׃‎

‏ד—שהבורא יתברך שמו הוא ראשון והוא אחרון׃‎

‏ה—שהבורא יתברך שמו לו לבדו ראוי להתפלל ואין ראוי להתפלל לזולתו׃‎

‏ו—שכל דברי הנביאים אמת׃‎

‏ז—שנבואת משה רבנו עליו השלום היתה אמתית ושהוא היה אב לנביאים לקודמים לפניו ולבאים אחריו׃‎

‏ח—שכל התורה המצויה עתה בידינו היא הנתונה למשה רבנו עליו השלום׃‎

‏ט—שזאת התורה לא תהי מחלפת ולא תהי תורה אחרת מאד הבורא יתברך שמו׃‎

‏י—שהבורא יתברך שמו יודע כל מעשי בני אדם וכל מחשבותם שנאמר היצר יחד לבם המבין אל כל מעשיהם׃‎

‏יא—שהבורא יתברך שמו גומל טוב לשומרי מצותיו ומעויש לעוברי מצותיו׃‎

‏יב—בביאת המשיח ואף על פי שיתמהמה עם כל זה אחכה־לו בכל יום שיבוא׃‎

‏יג—שתהיה תחית המתים בעת שתעלה רצון מאת הבורא יתברך שמו ויתעלה זכרו לעד ולנצח נצחים׃‎

Note.—‏שתעלה רצון‎ “when it will be decreed,” lit. “when it—the resurrection—will ascend into the will.” Comp. the Talmudical ‏סלקא דעתך‎ “you think,” lit. “it ascends into your mind.”

II.

THE JEWISH CALENDAR.

1. Nisan.—The Sabbath before Passover is called ‏שבת הגדול‎ “the Great Sabbath,” on account of the importance of the approaching festival.

14th: ‏ערב פסח‎ “the Eve of Passover.” Fast of the First-born. 15th to 22nd: ‏פסח‎ “Passover.” 16th: “Beginning of counting the Omer,” ‏ספירת העומר‎ 17th to 20th: ‏חול המועד‎ “Half-holydays.” 23rd: ‏אסרו חג‎ “Farewell to the Festival.”

2. Iyar.—14th: ‏פסח שני‎ “Second Passover” (Num. ix. 9 sqq.).

18th: ‏ל״ג בעומר‎ the 33rd of the Omer. “Scholar’s feast.” ‏שני חמישי ושני‎ Fasts kept by some, on the first Monday, Thursday, and Monday succeeding each other in the beginning of the month, in order to atone for sins they may have committed on the Holydays.

3. Sivan.—3rd, 4th, and 5th: ‏שלשת ימי הגבלה‎ “The three days of bordering” (Exod. xix. 10–12).

5th: ‏ערב שבועות‎ “The eve of the Feast of Weeks.” 6th and 7th: ‏שבועות‎ “Feast of Weeks,” also called “Pentecost.” 8th: ‏אסרו חג‎ “Farewell to the Festival.”

4. Tammuz.—17th: “Fast of Tammuz,” ‏שבעה עשר בתמוז‎

5. Ab.—“Sabbath before the Fast,” ‏שבת חזון‎ (see p. 413)

9th: “Fast of Ab,” ‏תשעה באב‎ “Sabbath after the Fast,” ‏שבת נחמו‎ (ibid.). 15th: ‏חמשה עשר באב‎ “15th of Ab.” Reconciliation of the Benjamites with the other Israelites (Judges xxi.).

6. Ellul.—‏ימי הסליחות‎ “Days of propitiatory prayers,” beginning on the first day of the month according to the Spanish Rite, and according to the German Rite, on the Sunday (or 2nd S.) before ‏ראש השנה‎

29th: ‏ערב ראש השנה‎ “The eve of New-year.”

7. Tishri.—1st and 2nd: “New-year,” ‏ראש השנה‎

3rd: “Fast of Gedaliah,” ‏צום גדליהו‎ 1st to 10th: “The ten penitential days,” ‏עשרת ימי תשובה‎ “The Sabbath after New-year,” ‏שבת שובה‎ (see p. 405). 9th: ‏ערב יום כפור‎ “The eve of the Day of Atonement.” 10th: ‏יום כפור‎ or ‏יום הכפורום‎ “The Day of Atonement.” 14th: ‏ערב סכות‎ “The eve of Sukkoth.” 15th to 21st: ‏סכות‎ “Feast of Tabernacles.” 17th to 21st: ‏חול המועד‎ “Half-holyday.” 21st: ‏הושענא רבא‎ “The Great Hoshana Service.” 22nd and 23rd: ‏שמיני עצרת‎ “Feast of the eighth day.” 23rd: ‏שמחת תורה‎ “Rejoicing of the Law.” 24th: ‏אסרו חג‎ “Farewell to the Festival.” Heshvan.—‏שני המישי ושני‎ “The Fast of ‘Monday, Thursday, and Monday,’ kept by some in the course of the month.”

9. Kislev.—25th to 2nd (or 3rd) of Tebeth: ‏חנוכה‎ “Feast of Dedication.”

10. Tebeth.—10th: ‏עשרה בטבת‎ “The Fast of Tebeth.”

11. Shebhat.—15th: ‏חמשה עשר בשבט‎ “New-year for trees.”

The last Sabbath in the month (or the first of Adar, if on Saturday) is ‏שבת שקלים‎ “The Sabbath of Shekalim.” Exod. xxx. 11–16 is read in addition to the weekly section.

12. Adar.—7th: Anniversary of death of Moses.

Sabbath before Purim, ‏שבת זכור‎ (Deut. xxv. 17–19). 13th: ‏תענית אסתר‎ “Fast of Esther.” 14th: Purim, ‏פורים‎ “The Feast of Lots.” 15th: ‏שושן פורים‎ “Purim of Shushan.” The last Sabbath but one, ‏שבת פרה‎ Num. xix. is read as an extra lesson. The last Sabbath in the month, or the first of Nisan, if on Saturday, is ‏שבת החודש‎ Exod. xii. 1–20 is read as an extra lesson.

[13. Adar Sheni.—‏שושן פורים‎, ‏שבת זכור‎, ‏תענית אסתר‎, ‏פורים שבת פרה‎, and ‏שבת החדש‎ which in an ordinary year are observed in Adar, are in a leap-year kept in Adar Sheni; and ‏שבת שקלים‎ either on the last Sabbath in Adar, or on the first of Adar Sheni, if on Saturday.]

Note.—The 15th of Shebhat is, according to the opinion of the Hillelites (Mishnah, Rosh ha-shanah i. 1), “New-year for the trees;” i.e., in reference to tithes, and to the fruit of the fourth or fifth year (Lev. xix. 24, 25); the fruit that begins to grow on a tree between the 15th of Shebhat of one year and the same date next year is reckoned as the fruit of one year.

Various reasons are given for the distinction of the 15th of Ab: (a.) The punishment decreed against the Israelites in the wilderness in connection with the spies (Num. xiv. 29) was discontinued from the 15th of Ab. (b.) The posts set up by Jeroboam on the borders of his kingdom for the purpose of preventing Israelites from going up to Jerusalem were removed on this date. (c.) The preparation of the wood for the altar was completed on the 15th of Ab. (d.) On this day the Israelites obtained permission to bury the bodies of those killed in the war against Hadrian. (e.) The reconciliation between the Benjamites and the other Israelites took place on the 15th of Ab (Judges xxi. 21 sqq.).

The Mishnah (Taanith iv. 8) states that the 15th of Ab and the Day of Atonement were to the Israelites once days of the greatest national rejoicings for all alike, rich and poor. In memory of these general rejoicings the daughters of Jerusalem wore on these days borrowed white garments, in order that those poor who had none of their own should not feel ashamed. The Mishnah then describes the causes of the rejoicings; namely, the dancings in the vineyards (Judges, l. c.) for the 15th of Ab, and the giving of the Law (i.e., the giving of the second tables, which, according to Tradition, took place on the 10th of Tishri), and the building of the Temple (i.e., the rearing of the Tabernacle, which, according to Tradition, was commanded on the 10th of Tishri for the rejoicings on the Day of Atonement).

III.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION.

Professor Lazarus in his recent work “Die Ethik des Judenthums” made the following observations: “In the continuity of the spirit of our nation we discover the solution of the riddle, which puzzled so many thinkers, viz.: how the small tribe of the Jews managed to outlive great and mighty nations.” This continuity of the spirit has been secured by our religious education. It has been said that education aims at producing in the younger generation the capacity of receiving, preserving and developing the culture we have acquired; this applies pre-eminently to religious education. That such continuity exists in our religious education, is evident from the fact that up to the present day the chief text-book for religious instruction has remained the same:—the Torah, or in a wider sense, the Bible, that everflowing fountain of living waters, not only for us Jews, but for almost all civilised nations. Our duty to preserve this continuity by handing over to the next generation the religious principles inherited from our predecessors is frequently insisted upon in Holy Writ, and emphasized on every occasion. We have in this respect a double duty to perform: Every parent is bound to secure as far as possible the well-being of his children; religious education is indispensable for the children’s well-being. The Torah, the source of our religious education, is besides, our National treasure and inheritance, and every member of our community has as such the duty to guard and protect this treasure, that the rising generation receive it in its integrity. It is therefore not sufficient for any one of us to provide for the religious instruction of his own children, it is his duty to contribute his share towards the maintenance of the public schools or classes established for the religious instruction of the young. The Israelites in the wilderness joyfully received the National treasure, and solemnly declared “the Law which Moses commanded us, has been handed to us as an inheritance,” to be transmitted from generation to generation. These very words form the beginning of the religious education of our children, for as soon as they are able to speak, they are taught to recite and to understand the verse ‏תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהלת יעקב‎ “The Law which Moses commanded us, O congregation of Jacob, is an inheritance.” (Deut. xxxiii. 4.). In accordance with this principle, the Torah, the reading of the Torah in its original language, in the Hebrew, the translation and the understanding of the Torah, must form the basis of Jewish Religious Education, both in private and public instruction. The Torah is the essential element in the curriculum of Jewish Institutions for Religious instruction.

Our Sages therefore teach (Aboth v. 2): “Read the Torah again and again, for everything is in it, and in it thou wilt see everything; and even when thou art old and worn out, remain faithful to it, and from it do not move away, for there is no better measure for thee than the Torah.”

There are other important subjects which Jewish children of both sexes are expected to learn and to know: The principles of Religion, Scripture History, Jewish History and Literature, Geography of Palestine and Hebrew Grammar. None of these subjects should be excluded from the curriculum of a Jewish School. They must be taught, but must be taught in such a way that they help to illustrate the lessons of the Law, and to facilitate its study. It is certainly of great importance that our children should acquire as much knowledge as possible of our History and Literature; of far greater importance, however, is the training of the heart in the faith of God, the inculcation of reverence for the Torah and the creation of a desire to live a pure, good and holy life, based on the fear and love of God. Text-books of Religion, though useful both to teacher and pupil, must by no means supersede the original, the Torah. Where for some cogent reason a minimum of time is spared for religious instruction—as is e.g. the case in many Religion Classes connected with Public Schools and Colleges, special care should be taken that the Torah receive its due attention. The best method must be employed, the best possible teachers must be engaged, who are well trained in the art of teaching, and possess a thorough knowledge of our holy religion and our history. If in addition to these qualifications, the teacher devotes himself to his profession with love and enthusiasm, his words, coming from the heart, will find their way into the heart of the pupil. No time can be spared for metaphysical speculations or for problems of Bible criticism. Besides, “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the things which have been revealed are for us and our children for ever: to do all the words of this Law.” (Deut. xxix. 28). According to the teaching of Aboth, (v. 22) “one moment of victory over sin and temptation in this life surpasses all the blessings of the future life,” and to train our youths in the way leading to such bliss, is the aim and motive of all Religious teaching.

IV.

PRAYER FOR BARMITZVAH.

Prayer which the young Candidate, having previously undergone a religious examination, should recite, when called to the Law, before the Blessing.

‏אֱלֹהַי וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתַי‎

‏בֶּאֱמֶת וּבְתָמִים אֶשָּׂא אֵלֶיךָ אֶת עֵינַי בַּיּוֹם הַגָּדול וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ הַזֶּה לֵאמֹּר׃ הִנֵּה יַלְדוּתִי חָֽלְפָה הָֽלְכָה לָהּ וְאָנֹכִי הָיִיתִי לְאִישׁ׃ עָלַי לִשְׁמֹור אֶת כָּל־חֻקֵּי רְצוֹנֶךָ. וְעָלַי לַעֲנוֹת בְּיוֹם פְּקוּדָתִי כַאֲשֶׁר תִּגְמוֹל לִי כפְרִי מַעֲלָלַי׃ מִיּוֹם הִוָּֽלְדִי בֵן יִשְׂרָאֵל אָנִי. אָמְנָם בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָאתִי שֵׁנִית בַּקָּהָל לָךְ. וְלִפְנֵי כָל־הָעַמִּים אֶתְפָּאֵר עַל שִׁמְךָ אֲשֶׁר נִקְרָא עָלֵינוּ׃‎

‏וְעַתָּה אָבִי שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם שְׁמַע אֶל הַתְּפִלָּה וְאַל הַתְּחִנָּה הַזֹּאת. שְׁלַח עָלַי שִׁפְעַת בִּרְכוֹתֶיךָ. גֶּשֶׁם נְדָבוֹת וּבְרָכוֹת הַנִיף עָלַי. לְמַעַן יָמַי יִשְׂבְּעוּן וְיִרְוְיוּן מִדֶּשֶׁן עֲדָנֶיךָ. הוֹרֵנִי נָא דֶּרֶךְ חֻקֶּיךָ. הַדְרִיכֵנִי בִנֵתִיב מִצֵוֹתֶיךָ תֵּן בְּלִבִּי לֵאַהֲבָה וּלְיִרְאָה אֶת שְׁמֶךָ. הַחֲזֵק בְּיָדִי וְאַל תַּרְפֵּנּי וְלֹא אֶכָּשֵׁל עַל דַרְכִּי אֲשֶׁר אַנֹכִי הוֹלֶךְ עָלֶיהָ הַיּוֹם בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה׃ הַצִּילֵנִי מִיֵּצֶר הָרָע וְתֵּן בִּי כֹחַ לִשְׁמוֹר אֶת תּוֹרָֽתְךָ הַקְּדוֹשָׂה וְאֶת פִּקּוּדֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אוֹתָם הָאָדָם וָחַי בָּהֶם׃ וּבְכָל־יָמַי אֶקְרָא בְּקוֹל גָּדוֹל וְלֹא אֵבוֹשׁ שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְיָ אֶהָד׃‎

IV.

O MY GOD AND GOD OF MY FOREFATHERS!

On this solemn and sacred day, which marketh my passage from boyhood to manhood, I humbly venture to raise my eyes unto Thee, and to declare, with sincerity and truth, that henceforth I will observe all Thy commandments, and undertake and bear the responsibility of all mine actions towards Thee. In my earliest infancy I was brought within Thy sacred covenant with Israel, and to-day I again enter as an active responsible member, the pale of Thine elect congregation, in the midst of which I will never cease to glorify Thy holy name in the face of all nations.

Do Thou, O Heavenly Father, hearken unto this my humble prayer, and vouchsafe unto me Thy gracious blessings, so that my earthly life may be sustained and made happy by Thine ineffable mercies. Teach me the way of Thy statutes, that I may obey them, and faithfully carry out Thine ordinances. Dispose my heart to love Thee and to fear Thy holy name, and grant me Thy support and the strength necessary to avoid the worldly dangers which encompass the path lying before me. Save me from temptation, so that I may with fortitude observe Thy holy Law, and those precepts on which human happiness and eternal life depend. Thus I will every day of my life trustfully and gladly proclaim:

“Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One!”

V.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Religious books for the use of children at home or in school were unknown in olden times. The Torah was taught, and with it every thing else. A great part of the Book of Proverbs and many of the Psalms may have been intended for the education of the young. In the early post-Biblical time we meet with books like The Wisdom of Solomon, The Wisdom of Joshua, son of Sirach, and Sayings of the Fathers, which may have served the same purpose. To these may be added “The Duties of the Heart,” by Bachya ibn Pekuda, “The Examination of the World” (Bechinath Olam), “The Choice of the Pearls,” by Ibn Gabirol, Abraham ibn Ezra’s “Foundation of the Fear of God, and Principle of the Law,” and “The Book of the Righteous,” by Rabbenu Jacob Tam, and “The Moral Lessons” (Toaliyyoth) by Rabbi Levi ben Gerson, and “The Shulhan Aruch” of R. Judah Aryeh di Modena. All these works are excellent books for the instruction of the young. They inculcate religious lessons, and shew the way to a pious life, but they are not text books of religion in the modern sense of the term. This branch of literature began to develop in the last century, with the exception of Abraham Jaghel’s Lekach-tob, which was written in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and was the first Catechism of Jewish Religion. It was composed in the Hebrew Language and subsequently translated into Latin and English. Since last century, however, religious books of all sizes, forms and tendencies have been produced in all countries, especially in Germany. The following list contains such books as are included in the Jews’ College Library:—

ENGLISH—

Albu, I., ‏חק לישראל‎. London, 1860.

Asher, B. H., Initiation of the Youth. London, 1850.

Asher, D., Outlines of Jewish Religion. Manchester, 1845.

Cahen, M., Catechism of Religion. Liverpool, 1890.

Cahun, B., The Thirteen Articles of Faith. English and French. London, 1885.

Cohen, M. R., Principles of Judaism. Sydney, 1855.

Cohen, S. I., Elements of Jewish Faith. Philadelphia, 1813.

Cohen, S. I., Elements of Hebrew and English. London, 1815.

Davidson, M., Moral and Religious Guide. London, 1855.

Early lesson in the Jewish Religion, adopted from the Catechism of Giuseppi Levi. London, 1869.

Festivals of the Lord. London, 1839.

Friedländer, M., Text book of Jewish Religion. London, 1891.

Goodman, T., Faith of Israel. 1835.

Joseph, N., Religion: Natural and Revealed. London, 1879.

Kley, E., Catechism, translated from the German by I. Lutomirski. Oxford, 1842.

Lesser, Isaac, Instruction in the Mosaic Religion. Philadelphia, 1830.

Meldola, R., Way of Faith. London, 1848.

Mendez, A. P., The Law of Moses. London, 1861.

Moss, Ph., Calendar, Hebrew and English. London, 1853.

Van Oven, J., Manual of Judaism. London, 1835.

Picciotto, M. H., Translation of Reggio’s Guide for the Religious Instruction. London, 1855.

IN GERMAN—

Arnhein, A., Leitfaden. Glasgow, 1829.

P. Beer, Handbuch. Prague, 1818.

Ben-Zev, ‏יסודי הדת‎. Wien, 1806.

Bing, A., Hauptlehren des Judenthums. München, 1827.

Bock, M. H., Catechismus. Berlin, 1814.

Brück, M., Ceremonialgebräuche. Breslau, 1857.

Büdinger, A., ‏מורה לתורה‎. Cassel, 1830.

Fassel, H. B., Mosaisch-rabbinische Religionslehre. Gross Kanisza, 1858.

Feilchenfeld, W., Systematisches Lehrbuch der israelitischen Religion. Posen, 1878.

Friedenthal, M. B., ‏עקרי אמונה‎ Prag, 1827.

Funk, B., Die Zehngebote. Breslau, 1816.

Grünbaum, E., Die Sittenlehre des Judenthums. Mannheim, 1867.

Dr. Heinemann, ‏תורת אמונת בית ישראל‎ (Hebrew and German). Cassel, 1812.

Dr. Herxheimer, Glaubens- und Pflichtenlehre. Bernburg, 1843.

Hirsch, R., ‏חורב‎ Israel’s Pflichten. Altona, 1837.

Hochstädter, B., Glaubenslehre. Ems, 1862.

Johlson, J., Leitfaden, ‏אלומי יוסף‎ Pf. a/M. 1839.

Kaufmann D., Catechismus. Pest, 1884.

Kohn, S., Religionslehre. Wien, 1853.

Landau, T., Das Levitenhaus, Häusliche Ritual-Gesetze. Fkft. a/M. 1859.

Lash, G., Die göttlichen Gesetze. Halberstadt, 1857.

Prof. Lazarus, Die Ethik des Judenthums. Berlin, 1898.

Lehrbuch der israelitischen Religion. Stuttgart, 1837.

Leimdoerfer, D., Religionslehre. Nordhausen, 1876.

Loewenheim, Die mosaische Religion. Liesnach, 1864.

Mannheimer, I., Gebetbuch und Religions Unterricht. Darmstadt, 1881.

Mira. H., Leitfaden. Breslau, 1839.

Neuman, M. S., Religionslehre. Pest, 1826.

Philippson, L., Israelitische Religionslehre. Leipzig, 1861.

Philippson, S., Catechismus. Leipzig, 1843.

Plessner, S., Jüdisch-Mosaischer Religions unterricht. Berlin, 1839.

Stein, L., Torah u. Mizwa. Fkft. o/M. 1850.

Stern, M. E., Handbuch zum jüdischen Religions-unterrichte. Wien, 1861.

FRENCH AND ITALIAN—

Bloch, S., La Foi d’Israel. Paris, 1859.

Lambert, L. M., Catéchisme Hebreu, Allemand et Français. Paris, 1837.

Loeb, H., Chemin de la foi. Paris, 1859.

Vogue, L., La guide du croyant Israelite. Metz, 1857.

Castiglioni, I. V., Dottrina Religiosa. Trieste, 1861.

Tremellius, Imm., Dottrina Religiosa. English translation. London, 1818.

Modena, D. Z., Catechism. Reggio, 1825.

JUDAEO-GERMAN—

‏הינוך הילדים‎. Warsaw, 1852.

‏טהנה יששכר‎ Moral lessons, illustrated by tales from Talmud and Midrash. Rödelheim, 1837.

COLLECTIONS OF MORAL SAYINGS—

Maier, J., Sprüche. Texts for Moral Lessons. Tf o/M, 1830.

Steinschneider, M., ‏אמרי בינה‎. Berlin, 1847.

Mocatta, M., Sayings from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. London, 1837.

Josh. Steinberg, ‏משלי יהושע‎. Wilna, 1871.

Edelmann, H., ‏דרך טובים‎. London, 1852.

NOTES

[1] When our great theologians, Saadiah, Bachya, Maimonides, Albo, &c., considered it necessary to write long and abstruse metaphysical essays in order to firmly establish certain truths, it was done rather for the purpose of combating the views of opponent theologians than for the instruction of the multitude, and it may fairly be said that Maimonides has done far greater service to his brethren by the composition of a systematic code of laws than by his philosophical “Guide.” The former, the Mishneh-Torah, never fails to enlighten those who seek in it enlightenment with regard to some religious duty, whilst the “Guide” would scarcely relieve anyone of his perplexities in matters of religious belief. There is a saying in the Talmud Jerus. (Chagigah, ch. i.), “Would that they had forgotten me, and kept my commandments!” or, in other words, “Theologians would do better if they were less eager to investigate into the essence of God and His attributes, and were more anxious to study and to do God’s commandments.” Instead of devoting their chief attention to the knowledge and the practice of the Law, they waste their energy and their time in attempts to solve problems to which the human mind is unequal (S. Plessner, Religions-Unterricht, p. xxxviii.).

[2] Post-biblical authors frequently employ the term ‏אמונה‎ in the sense of religious belief, and ‏תורה‎ in the sense of religious duties; the equivalent for religion is ‏דת‎.

[3] For the Hebrew see Appendix I.

[4] The Hebrew ‏נביא‎ as well as the Greek προφητης “prophet,” signifies “speaker” or “preacher.”

[5] i.e., that the war with the Canaanite tribes was to be carried on as a holy war, in fulfilment of God’s command, and not for the purpose of spoil and plunder.

[6] King Amaziah of Judah challenged Joash, king of Israel, to fight with him. Joash considered this challenge as an arrogance to be compared to the arrogance of the thistle in the above fable.

[7] The faith of Israel in the Omnipotence of God, who can do wonders for the salvation of His people, is figuratively represented as a child, called “The Almighty, &c., deviseth wonders,” &c.

[8] Comp. p. 83.

[9] i.e., he who is truthful in ordinary conversation is also a trustworthy witness in a court of justice; those who are accustomed to say falsehood cannot be trusted in important matters.

[10] It seems that the author copied the dream as Daniel had written it down, but the interpretation was handed down by tradition.

[11] The Israelites. Comp. Exod. xix. 6.—Part of this vision refers to the time of the Maccabees, part to the Messianic period.

[12] Some are of opinion that the term “weeks” is not to be taken literally, but in the sense of “year,” or “a period of seven years.” There is, however, no proof for such interpretation. The many attempts to explain the seventy year-weeks have without exception proved a failure.

[13] See p. 121.

[14] It is, however, possible that ‏דברי‎, lit. “words,” means here “history.”

[15] The Talmud is also called ‏ש״ס‎ (Shass), the initials of ‏ששה סדרים‎.

[16] The word ‏יד‎ is intended to indicate the number 14, the work being divided into 14 books.

[17] According to Rashi, Rabbi Hillel meant to say that the Jews would not be redeemed by any Messiah, but by God Himself. Comp. Haggadah for Seder-evening, “And I will pass through the land of Egypt; I myself, and not an angel.”

[18] Comp. supra, p. 122.

[19] See Essays on the Writings of Ibn Ezra, by M. Friedländer, p. 7 note 1.

[20] The Piel of a verb has frequently this meaning, e.g., ‏קדש‎ “to be holy;” Pi., “to declare as holy;” ‏טהר‎ “to be pure;” Pi., “to declare as pure;” so ‏כלה‎ “to be at an end;” Pi., “to declare as being finished.”

[21] Die Religions-Philosophie der Juden, by S. Hirsch. p. 445 ff.

[22] The phrase ‏עיון תפלה‎ is also used in the sense of “devotion during prayer.”

[23] I.e., the name or God consisting of four letters (‏י‎, ‏ה‎, ‏ו‎ and ‏ה‎). The correct pronunciation of the word not being known, adonai, “Lord,” is substituted for it.

[24] The “second day” (Neh. viii. 13), as a day of devotion and meditation on the Word of God, is probably the Day of Atonement.

[25] It is here assumed that the Torah was not intended to be written in a chronological order, and that this commandment was given after the Blessing of Moses was written.

[26] Maimonides accepts for this verse the Midrashic explanation: nothing of the Torah has remained in heaven for later revelations.

[27] ‏את צמח דוד עבדך‎.

[28] He is probably called Elijah on account of the zeal which he will display in bringing men back to the service of God.

[29] Mishnah Eduyoth viii. 7.

[30] Lit., “The accepting of the yoke of the heaven’s dominion;” “The accepting of the yoke of the precepts.” The expression “yoke” is here by no means derogatory. It simply indicates the duty which in the one case “the dominion of heaven,” and in the other case “the Divine precepts,” impose upon us.

[31] Hebrew titles of books are often fanciful names, which more or less distinctly imply either the nature or contents of the books, or the name of their authors. The Hebrew names for the fourteen books of Mishneh-torah are as follows: (1) ‏מדע‎ “Knowledge;” (2) ‏אהבה‎ “Love;” (3) ‏זמנים‎ “Seasons;” (4) ‏נשים‎ “Women;” (5) ‏קדושה‎ “Sanctification;” (6) ‏הפלאה‎ “Distinction;” (7) ‏זרעים‎ “Seeds;” (8) ‏עבודה‎ “Service;” (9) ‏קרבנות‎ “Sacrifices;” (10) ‏טהרה‎ “Purity;” (11) ‏נזיקין‎ “Damages;” (12) ‏קנין‎ “Acquisition:” (13) ‏משפטים‎ “Disputes;” (14) ‏שופטים‎ “Judges.” Rabbenu Jakob calls his work ‏ארבעה טורים‎ “Four Rows,” a name borrowed from Exod. xxviii. 17. The names of the four parts are: ‏ארח חיים‎ “Path of Life” (Ps. xvi. 11); ‏יורה דעה‎ “Teacher of knowledge” (Isa. xxviii. 9); ‏אבן העזר‎ “Stone of Help” (1 Sam. vii. 12, and Gen. ii. 18), and ‏חשן משפט‎ “Breastplate of Judgment” (Exod. xxviii. 15).

[32] I.e., if a person has no fear of God, he is himself the sole cause of its absence, and he alone is responsible for it.

[33] The words of the Mishnah are ‏בכל מדה ומדה שהוא מודד לך הוי מודה לו מאד‎ The meanings of three roots are combined in this interpretation of the words ‏בכל מאדך‎ viz., ‏מאד‎ “exceedingly,” ‏מודד‎ “measuring,” and ‏מודה‎ “thanking.” The three words are similar in sound.

[34] The term ‏עיון תפלה‎ (lit., “reflecting on prayer”) has two meanings: (1) reflecting on the prayer while uttering it; devotion; in German, Andacht; (2) reflecting on the prayer after having uttered it, while we are waiting for the sure fulfilment of the wishes expressed in it.

[35] In the whole Book of Esther the name of God does not occur even once. It is not mere chance; there are several passages where the mention of the Divine Being is expected, and it is believed that the omission is due to the fear of a subsequent desecration of the book in the hands of the Persians.

[36] I.e., the word consisting of four letters, yod, hé, vav and hé.

[37] E.g., by giving bad advice and transgressing the law, “Thou shalt not put a stumbling block before the blind” (Lev. xix. 14).

[38] Comp. the saying, ‏לא עכברא גמבא אלא חורא‎ “Not the mouse is the thief, but the hole.”

[39] Those who become security for a stranger are blamed (Prov. vi. 1 seq.) as acting rashly, and foolishly endangering their peace and welfare.

[40] See p. 294.

[41] The Hebrew is composed of the names of the three consecutive Sidras, Lev. xvi.–xxiv.

[42] Lit., inquiring, scil., what the condition of the patient is, and what is needed for his recovery.

[43] Comp. supra, p. 261.

[44] The prayer for the head of the State, beginning ‏הנתן תשועה למלכים‎ has its origin in this sense of loyalty towards the State in which we live.

[45] I.e., When the old and experienced counsel to pull down a house, the pulling down is essential to its rebuilding; whilst the counsel of young and inexperienced men to build may imply destructive elements.

[46] There are some exceptions to this rule:—The Reader wears the talith during every Service; in some congregations mourners wear it when they recite kaddish. On the Day of Atonement the whole congregation wear the talith during all the Services. On the Fast of Ab the talith is put on before the Afternoon Service instead of during the Morning Service.

[47] There are two forms of the blessing which accompanies the performance of a Divine precept: the precept is expressed (1) by a noun which is preceded by the preposition ‏עא‎ “concerning;” (2) by the infinitive of a verb preceded by the preposition ‏ל‎ “to,” e.g., “concerning the commandment of tsitsith,” and “to wrap ourselves with a garment provided with tsitsith.” The latter form is used (1) when the blessing is recited before the performance of the mitsvah has commenced; (2) when he who performs the mitsvah is personally commanded to perform it. In all other cases the first form is used. Hence ‏על מצות ציצת‎, because we are, as a rule, not in a fit state for prayer when we put it on, and therefore recite the blessing later on; ‏על מקרא מגלה‎; because he who reads might just as well be one of the listeners. We say ‏להניח תפלין‎ at the commencement of the mitsvah; ‏על מצות תפלין‎ before the second part. (See Babyl. Talm. Pesachim, p. 7.)

[48] The term ‏תפלין‎ reminds us of ‏תפלה‎ “prayer,” and denotes things used during prayer. Originally it had probably the more general signification: ornament or head-ornament; in the Chaldee Version it is the translation of ‏טטפות‎, which denotes “head-ornament.” (Comp. Mishnah Shabbath vi. 1.)

[49] Two sides of the bayith have the shin impressed on them, the right and the left; but in different forms, on the right the letter has three strokes (‏ש‎), on the left it has four strokes (‏ש‎), in order to ensure the right order of the four paragraphs (‏פרשיות‎) which the bayith contains from right to left.

[50] The knot formed by the ‏רצועות‎ of the tefillah shel rosh has the shape of a daleth, that of the tefillah shel yad is like a yod; these two letters added to the shin of the tefillin shel rosh read shaddai, “Almighty.”

[51] In the evening it was but natural that tsitsith and tefillin should be laid aside, as the greater part of the night was devoted to sleep; the rule was therefore generally adopted: “The night is not the proper time for laying tefillin” (‏לילה לאו זמן תפילין‎). The opposite principle, however, “The night is likewise a suitable time for laying tefillin” (‏לילה זמן תפלין‎), had also its advocates among Rabbinical authorities (Babyl. Talm. Menachoth 36b).

[52] With the completion of the thirteenth year a boy becomes of age in reference to the fulfilment of all religious duties. He is then called Bar-mitsvah (lit. “a son of the commandment”), a member of the Jewish community, upon whom devolve all such duties as a Jew has to perform. On the Sabbath following that birthday he is called to the Law, either to read a portion of the Sidra or to listen to its reading, and publicly acknowledge God as the Giver of the Law.

[53] Compare p. 329.

[54] See Daily Prayer Book, Morning Service.

[55] There are, besides, on the back of the scroll, just behind the names of God in the first line three words of a mystic character consisting of the letters following in the alphabet the letters of these divine names. The words have in themselves no meaning, and it may be that their object is simply to indicate from outside where the names of God are written, and to prevent a nail being driven through that part in fixing the mezuzah to the door-post.

[56] Mishneh-torah III., Zemannim, Hil. Shabbath, ch. xxx. § 1.

[57] Maimonides applies these terms to Sabbath; but they apply generally with equal force to the Festivals.

[58] We “remember” also the Sabbath or Festival by naming after it the preceding day, the night following, and in the case of Festivals the day following: the eve of Sabbath or Festival ‏ערב שבת‎, ‏ערב יום טוב‎; the night after Sabbath or Festival, ‏מוצאי שבת‎, ‏מוצאי יום טוב‎; “the day after the Festival,” ‏אסרו חג‎ (lit., “bind the Festival,” with reference to Ps. cxviii. 27).

[59] A similar ceremony takes place before the first meal in the morning. A cup of wine or other spirituous liquor is poured out, some Biblical passages referring to the Sabbath are recited, and the usual blessing is said before partaking of the beverage. The blessing containing the Kiddush is not said, and the ceremony has the name Kiddush or Kiddusha rabba, “great Kiddush,” only on account of its similarity with the evening Kiddush. The passages recited are the following: Exod. xxxi. 16, 17, xx. 8–11; Isa. lviii. 13, 14.

[60] ‏ברוך אתה … בורא פרי הגפן‎ “Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the universe, who hast created the fruit of the vine.” In the absence of wine, or if wine is disliked or injurious to health, the blessing over bread is substituted for that over wine.—The blessings are generally preceded by the word ‏סברי‎ “Is it your pleasure, scil., that I read?” whereby it is simply intended to call the attention of the company to the prayer.

[61] See p. 352, on the difference between the holiness of Sabbath and that of Festivals.—The last two ‏ברכות‎, viz. ‏בורא מאורי האש‎ and ‏המבדיל‎ are added; the second part of the latter is slightly modified in order to suit the transition from Sabbath to Festival.—The Habhdalah on the night following the Day of Atonement consists of three ‏ברכות‎, that over spices being omitted, except if Jom-kippur falls on Sabbath; in that case the Habhdalah includes all the four ‏ברכות‎.

[62] Habhdalah is likewise omitted when Sabbath is closely followed by the Fast of Ab. On Sabbath night, eating and drinking being forbidden, only the one blessing, ‏בורא מאורי האש‎ is recited; that over spices is omitted, and the remaining two blessings are recited on Sunday evening after the fast.

[63] Although the whole of the Day of Atonement is devoted to Divine Service, less time is given to reading from the Law than on Sabbath, in order to leave more time for Prayers, Confessions, and Meditations. Rabbi Akiba, however, was of opinion that seven should be called up to the Law on the Day of Atonement, and six on Sabbath (B. Talm. Megillah 23a).

[64] The distance allowed is called ‏תחום שבת‎ “a Sabbath-journey,” and is 2000 cubits in every direction; it is reckoned from the outskirts of the place in which we live. If, however, a person desires to perform a mitsvah, such as milah, at a place distant about a double Sabbath-journey from his domicile, he may fix before Sabbath his abode for that day half-way between the two places, and then traverse on Sabbath the whole distance from the one place to the other. This change of abode is called erubhe thechumin, “combination of two Sabbath-journeys into one,” by changing the centre from which they are measured.

[65] They are called ‏אבות מלאכות‎ “principal kinds of work,” and are those which directly or indirectly were wanted in the erection of the Tabernacle, and were therefore included in the prohibition of doing any work for this purpose (Exod. xxxi. 15 and xxxv. 2).

There are certain things which cannot be brought under any of these heads, and are nevertheless prohibited, because they frequently lead to a breach of the Sabbath laws; e.g., riding in a carriage or in any kind of conveyance; playing music. These prohibitions are called ‏שבות‎ i.e., acts prohibited on Sabbath and Holy-days by our Sages; or ‏גזרה‎ (lit., “decree”), safeguard against breaking the Law.

Divine precepts, however, ordained for the Sabbath—e.g., sacrifices—or for a certain day, which happens to fall on a Sabbath—e.g., initiation of a male child into the covenant of Abraham on the eighth day of its birth, or saving the life of a fellow-man in case of illness or any other danger—must be performed although they may involve any of the acts otherwise prohibited on the day of rest.

[66] The preparation of food is only permitted on Holy-days if wanted for the same day, except when Sabbath follows immediately after the Holy-day. In that case it is allowable to prepare the food for Sabbath on the Holy-day, provided such preparation has commenced before and need only be continued on the Holy-day. The preparation made for Sabbath before the Holy-day comes in is called erubh tabhshilin, “combination of dishes,” i.e., of the dishes prepared for Sabbath on the eve of the Festival (‏ערב יום טוב‎) and of those prepared on the Festival itself; it is accompanied by a blessing and a declaration of the significance of the erubh. The following is the blessing: ‏ברוך … אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על מצות ערוב‎ “Blessed art thou ... who hast sanctified us by thy commandments, and hast ordained for us the mitsvah of erubh.”

It may here be noted that there are, besides, three kinds of erubh, viz.:—

1. Erubh techumim. See above, page 350.

2. Erubh chatseroth (lit., “combination of the houses in a court”). According to the traditional law, we must not carry anything on Sabbath from a private place (‏רשות היחיד‎) into the street (‏רשות הרבים‎). The former is defined to be a locality belonging to one person or family, and separated from the public by a fence. The Jewish inhabitants of a court or a town closed on all sides combine to form one family, and thus turn the ‏רשות הרבים‎ into ‏רשות היחיד‎. The symbol of such combination consists of some food kept in a room, to which all have access (e.g., the Synagogue). This is the origin and meaning of the Passover-cake (‏מצה‎) which may still be noticed in some of the Continental Synagogues.

3. Erubh par excellence.—An opening left in a fence or wall round a ‏רשות היחיד‎ must at least have some token that indicates the closing of the space; e.g., a wire drawn through the open space from one part of the fence to the other. Such symbol is called erubh, “combination of the various parts of the fence or wall into one.” Such erubh may likewise be noticed in some of the Continental towns. In all these cases the symbol was not introduced for the purpose of permitting the actual transgression of a law, but rather for the purpose of reminding us of what the law forbids us to do; since, in fact, that which becomes permitted through these symbols is even in their absence no direct breach of any of the Sabbath laws.

[67] Comp. the two forms of the prayer ‏השכיבנו‎ in the Evening Service for week-days and for Sabbath, in the Spanish Ritual.

[68] ‏שבת היא מלזעוק ורפואה (ונחמה) קרובה לבוא ושבתו בשלום‎

“To-day is Sabbath and we must not lament, for recovery (comfort) is near to come; now keep Sabbath in peace.”

[69] ‏עשה שבתך חול ואל תצטרך לבריות‎ (B. Talm. Shabbath, 18a).

[70] Exod. xvi. 13, 14.

[71] Another explanation of this custom has been suggested. Bread and wine being before us, it is doubtful which should have the preference for the purpose of Kiddush; the bread is therefore covered, so that no choice is left (Tur Orach Chayyim 271). Bread being the ordinary requisite at our meals, the use of wine for Kiddush is considered more indicative of the distinction of the day. If, however, wine is disliked or injurious, bread is used us its substitute (page 341, note 2).

[72] A peculiar ceremony may here be noticed. Some pass the knife over the bread before the berachah is said. The origin of this custom is this: the rule has been laid down that there should not be a long interval between the berachah and the partaking of the food. The knife and the bread are therefore kept ready, and originally an incision was made into the loaf in order to shorten that interval as much as possible.

[73] ‏ברוך א׳ י׳ א׳ מ׳ ה׳ אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו להפריש חלה‎, “Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who hast sanctified us by thy commandments, and commanded us to separate challah.”

[74] Comp. Mishnah Shabbath ii. 16.

[75] Some kindle the lights first, and then say the blessing whilst their hands are spread out before the lights. The origin of this latter practice is this: It happens sometimes that the housewife is not ready in time for kindling the lights, and lets another do it for her, she reserving to herself the privilege of saying the berachah later on. In that case the holding of the hands before the lights and withdrawing them after the blessing represents symbolically the kindling of the lights. What was originally done in exceptional cases became subsequently the rule.

[76] Calendar is derived from the Latin Calendæ, which signifies the first of the month. The Hebrew term ‏לוח‎, used for “Calendar” or “Almanac,” denotes “table” or “tablet.” In the Talmud. Sod (or Yesod) ha-ibbur is used in the sense of “the theory of the Calendar:” literally, the term denotes the fixing of the additional day to the month or the additional month to the year.

[77] Or more exactly, 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 3⅓ seconds. The technical formula in Hebrew is: ‏כ״ט י״ב תש״צג‎ 29 days, 12​793⁄1080 hours.

[78] In the first month the barley becomes ripe; in the second the whole vegetation of the country stands in its full splendour; in the seventh the hardy fruit, which withstood the heat of the summer, ripens; and in the eighth the first rain of the season comes down.

[79] The meaning of most of these names is uncertain. The two names Elul and Tishri seem to denote “the disappearance” and “the beginning” of the year.

[80] The adjustment is necessary for the right observance of Passover, which must be celebrated in the first month (Exod. xii. 2), the month of Abib (Deut. xvi. 1), that is, in the spring, when in Palestine the corn begins to ripen. Without the periodical insertion of a month, Passover would be celebrated in every succeeding year eleven days earlier than in the previous one, and in course of time at different seasons, contrary to the Law.

[81] The Hebrew term ‏חדש‎ has a double meaning “beginning of the month” and “month;” comp. ‏שבת‎, “day of rest,” and also “week,” or the period that passes between two consecutive Sabbaths.

[82] In Hebrew molad, “birth.”

[83] The molad of Tishri in the year 1 is assumed to have been on Sunday evening between eleven and twelve. (‏בהר״ד‎)

[84] In this tradition the period of the Persian rule in Palestine, which lasted over two centuries, is contracted to thirty-four years. It is possible that the years were counted according to the years of Release (‏שמטה‎) or the years of the Jubilee, and these were probably not kept immediately after the return of the Jews from Babylon.

[85] See Mishnah, Megillah iii. 4.

[86] Talm. Jerush., Shekalim i. 1.

[87] Mishnah, Shekalim i. 1.

[88] According to Tradition, Exod. xii. 2 not only deals with the appointment of Nisan as the first month of the year, but implies also the rules for fixing ‏ראש חדש‎, New-moon, or the first of the month; and this verse, with its traditional interpretation, was therefore considered as the basis of the Jewish Calendar. Hence the prominence given to this section of the Pentateuch by having it read on the 1st of Nisan or on the Sabbath before the 1st of Nisan.

[89] Various reasons are given for this title. According to Tradition, the 10th of Nisan in the year of the Exodus was on Saturday; it was considered a great event, a miracle, in fact, that the Israelites could on that day select a lamb for sacrifice without being molested by their Egyptian masters, who at other times would have stoned them for such daring (Exod. viii. 22). Another reason is this: The Sabbath before any of the chief Festivals was called the great Sabbath on account of the instruction sought and given respecting the importance and the observances of the coming Festival (see Zunz, Ritus. p. 9). This name has only been preserved in the case of the Sabbath before Passover.—It is, however, possible that “the great day,” the predominant idea in the haphtarah of the day, suggested the name.

It is the custom in some congregations to read in the Afternoon-service of Shabbath haggadol part of the Haggadah instead of the Psalms (civ. and cxx.–cxxxiv.).

[90] The word ‏פסח‎ “Passover,” signifies (1) the act of passing over or sparing (Exod. xii. 11); (2) the sacrifice of passover, especially as object to the verb ‏עשה‎ “to make” (ibid. 47, 48); (3) the time when the passover was offered and consumed; i.e., the 14th of Nisan, afternoon and evening (Lev. xxiii. 5; Num. xxviii. 16); (4) the whole of Passover (Mishnah, and in all post-Biblical literature).

The day on which an Israelite brought a sacrifice was a Festival to him and his family; and no work was done on that day. Accordingly on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan, ‏ערב פסח‎, the time fixed for the Passover-offering, no work was done; some abstained from work the whole day (Mishnah, Pesachim iv. 1; comp. also ibid. 5).—It is customary for the first-born to fast the whole or part of ‏ערב פסח‎ (Talm. Jerus. x. 1, and Masecheth Soferim xxi. 3). They might rather be expected to feast in memory of the deliverance of the first-born Israelites in Egypt. But the case is similar to that of Purim. Both the day of danger and the day of victory are celebrated; the one by fasting (fast of Esther), the other by feasting (Purim). So here the 14th of Nisan was for the first-born the day of danger, the following night the season of deliverance. Hence the fasting during the day and the feasting in the evening. The day suggests thoughts like the following: Our forefathers were saved from danger: should we deserve to be saved if danger threatened us? Such reflections may have been the origin of the fast of the first-born on the eve of Passover. Some also fast on this day, or at least abstain on it from a full meal, in order to do honour to the festive meal in the evening and approach it with appetite (‏לתיאבון‎). A similar custom obtains, though not to the same extent, on the eve of Sabbath and of every Festival (Mishnah, Pesachim x. 1).

[91] Within the four days there was ample time for examining the lamb, whether it was really ‏תמים‎, without blemish, and fit both for sacrifice and for human food.—Some suggest that the keeping of the lamb for four days was to be a test of the faith of the Israelites, whether they would obey the Will of God in spite of the dreaded wrath of the Egyptians.

[92] Their faith in God had to be shown by their willingly going forth whither the command of God led them, without taking with them any provision for the journey. The lamb which they had prepared was to be consumed before they left Egypt, and whatever was left had to be burnt. This was probably also the object of the precepts that no bone of the lamb was to be broken, and no part of it was to be carried from one house to another; for the breaking of the bones and the carrying part of the meat about from place to place would facilitate its being stored away for the journey.—Other precepts, which implied haste and readiness, e.g., the roasting it with fire, eating it with loins girded, &c., were to teach the Israelites the lesson that they were to be always ready and willing to do God’s bidding.

[93] An instance of Passover being put off because of the unfitness of the priests to offer up sacrifices is met with in the Second Book of Chronicles (xxx. 2). It seems similar to the rule of Pesach sheni, but is in reality different from it. King Hezekiah did not put off the Passover sacrifice for a month on account of the uncleanness of the priests, but he made the preceding year a leap-year, and the month which would have been the second became the first, whilst the first was counted as the thirteenth of the past year (comp. Mishnah, Pesachim iv. 9).

[94] It is only the fermentation of any of these five kinds of grain that forms ‏חמץ‎. Fermentation of grapes or other fruit constitutes no ‏חמץ‎.

[95] ‏חמץ‎ is both ‏אסור באכילה‎ and ‏אסור בהנאה‎ (Mishnah, Pesachim ii. 1).

[96] It is now the custom to eat ‏חמץ‎ on Erebh Pesach, only during the first third of the day; i.e., till about ten o’clock in the morning (ibid. i. 4).

[97] Ibid. i. 1.—The evening was chosen for this task, because with a taper or lamp the corners and dark recesses can be better searched than by daylight. Besides, in the evening, when every one has finished his day’s work, people are more at ease to do the searching in a thorough manner.

[98] The formula with ‏על‎ is employed here, because we need not do the searching by ourselves; it may be done by a substitute.—Although we only search in the evening, we use the term ‏על ביעור חמץ‎ “concerning the removal or the destruction of the chamets,” because this removal or destruction is the object of the searching.

[99] The declaration, printed usually on the first page of the Haggadah, is made twice: once in the evening after the searching of the chamets, and once in the morning after its removal; with this difference, that in the evening only the chamets that has not been found is disclaimed; in the morning all chamets, if left in the house, is disclaimed, whether it has been noticed in the course of searching or not.

[100] There are different kinds of the process of kasher: (1) by making the articles in question red hot—this applies to the iron oven and other iron vessels; (2) by dipping the vessel in boiling water, or pouring boiling water over it, or letting the water in the vessel boil over. The object of this process is to free the vessel from any chamets it may have absorbed.—Before the process of kasher begins, the vessel must, of course, be thoroughly cleaned.

[101] The four cups of wine are not taken at once; but one serves for Kiddush, as on Sabbath and Holy-days; the second is taken at the conclusion of the first part of the Seder; the third after Grace, it being customary also on ordinary days to take a cup of wine after Grace; the fourth at the conclusion of the second part of the Seder. The four cups are also said to indicate our joy in reference to four elements constituting the redemption, and implied in the four terms: ‏והוצאתי‎, ‏וגאלתי‎, ‏והצלתי‎, and ‏ולקחתי‎, (Exod. vi. 6, 7), liberation from bondage, deliverance from service, redemption from all dependence on Egypt, and appointment as “the people of the Lord.”—These four cups were considered of such importance for the Seder-evening that the poor were provided as of right with wine for the arba kosoth (Mishnah, Pesachim x. 1).—Although the number of the four cups of wine is sanctioned by the reference to the above four expressions of redemption, a fifth cup may, if needed, be interpolated before singing Ps. cxxxvi. (Tosaphoth, Pesachim 117b).

It is customary to pour in an extra cup and keep it ready for any new-comer that might join the company. The cup is called ‏כוס של אליהו‎ “the cup of Elijah,” because his advent may be looked for at any time. Comp. Mal. iii. 23.

[102] Two of them are the “double portion,” ‏לחם משנה‎, of Sabbath and Holy-day. The third represents the ‏לחם עני‎ “bread of poverty,” and is therefore broken into pieces, in order to be distinguished from the others as “bread of poverty.” The bread of poverty is intended to remind us of the bread of poverty or affliction eaten by our forefathers when kept as slaves in Egypt. But les extrèmes se touchent; it is remarkable that this very term ‏לחם עני‎ admits also of the meaning “bread of song,” and has been interpreted to signify the bread eaten at a joyous meal, such as the Israelites in Egypt ate the night of their liberation. It is possible that the author of the opening paragraph of the Haggadah purposely employed the term ‏לחם עניא‎ in this double sense (Pes. 115a).

Among some Israelites it is the custom to style the three unleavened cakes, Cohen, Levi, and Israel. The three matsoth, as a play upon words, are also called mitsvoth, “commandments;” i.e., matsoth employed in fulfilment of the commandment, “In the evening ye shall eat unleavened bread.” These matsoth are distinguished from the rest by being baked especially for this purpose. Some are careful in regard to these matsoth to have every process in their preparation, from the cutting of the wheat to the baking of the matsoth, done for the express purpose of the Seder, and to have the wheat and the flour well guarded from moisture or any foreign admixture. Matsoth prepared in this way are called ‏מצה שמורה‎, “guarded matsoth.” People still more particular have all their unleavened bread for Passover prepared in this way.

[103] The vegetables, that were ordinarily taken as a relish and a means of producing appetite for the meal, have only been introduced here (Pesachim 114b) for the purpose of attracting the attention of the children. According to the custom of those ancient days, the master of the house had before him a table covered with the different dishes required for the meal, and sent portions to every member of the company. When the meal was finished, before Grace, this table was removed. But on the Seder-evening the table was removed immediately after the partaking of a little parsley or other vegetables. The child, accustomed on ordinary evenings to have supper without such an introduction, asks expressly or implicitly why things are different to-night, adding also other questions. Instead of parsley, other vegetables, or even some of the bitter herbs, may be taken. This last act not being an essential element in the Service, and not being obligatory, is not preceded by the berachah, “Blessed art thou ... who hast commanded us, &c.,” but “Blessed art thou ... who hast created the fruit of the earth.”—At present the table is not removed, but the lifting up of the Seder-dish while reciting the first paragraph (‏הא לחמא‎) is the survival of that custom.

[104] Two views are expressed in the Talmud concerning charoseth: (1) it is a medicinal protective against the evil effects of the bitter herbs; (2) it is an essential part of the mitsvah, a symbol and reminder of the bricks and mortar with which the Israelites had to do the work imposed on them by their taskmasters (B. Talm., Pesachim 115b); it may also serve to suggest to us the idea that there is a means of softening the bitterness of oppression, viz., faith in God (Mishnah, Pesachim x. 3).

[105] The bone and the egg are symbols of two dishes that used in the time of the Temple to be on the table: the Passover sacrifice and the festive offering called ‏חגיגה‎; the latter was added when the company was large (ibid. vi. 3, and B. Talm., Pes. 114b).

[106] The eating of anything dipped in water or in any other liquid was usually preceded by the washing of the hands. But as the eating of vegetables at this point is not obligatory, the reader alone washes his hands, but without reciting the blessing, ‏על נטילת ידים‎.

[107] See p. 381, note 1.

[108] Comp. p. 380, note 1. The part laid aside is called afikuman, a name of which many curious etymologies have been suggested. The meaning is clear; it is that which is eaten just before the table is removed (p. 381, note 1), or before the dishes are cleared away: the dessert. The name is therefore a compound of two Chaldaic words, afiku-man, “dish-remover,” i.e., the dessert after which all dishes are removed and the company is ready for Grace (B. T. Pesachim 86a Rashi).

[109] The term is derived from the words of the Pentateuch, ‏והגדת לבנך‎ “And thou shall tell thy son” (Exod. xiii. 8). Hence also the name of the book Haggadah.

[110] The first paragraph is not an invitation sent forth to those whom it cannot reach, but an appeal to those present to join heartily in the Service and the succeeding meal; that none should feel ashamed of his poverty, none elated on account of his possessions; all having been brethren in past troubles, and in the deliverance from them, and all destined alike to share in the glories of the coming redemption.

[111] The questions have been arranged according to their importance; otherwise the third question might have been expected first (see p. 381, note 1). The expression “dipping” (‏טבול‎) used in this question merely signifies “taking some relish,” in distinction from the real and solid meal, and the meaning of the question is, “Why do we to-night partake twice of the vegetables before approaching the actual meal? It indicates a festive supper. What is the reason for this?”

[112] The three different forms correspond perhaps to the three characters or ages of the inquirers: the ignorant, the simple, and the sceptic; whilst the answer to the wise has not been formulated, but depends on his question, and the capacity of the father to instruct him. It is only the general question as to the difference between the Seder-evening and other evenings that is answered in these three forms. Each of these forms was probably followed by the explanation of Pesach, Matsah, and Maror.

[113] The Midrashic comparison of “finger of God” to “His hand” and the multiplication of the number of plagues must not be understood as intended to gratify our feeling of revenge, but merely as a simple and child-like illustration of the greatness of the Divine Power displayed on those occasions.—Rabbi Jehudah, probably from a feeling of tender sympathies with the sufferers, would not mention even the full names of the plagues, but merely indicated them by initial letters.

[114] It seems that in the time of the Talmud the one piece was eaten after the first blessing, and the other after the second. As, therefore, the partaking of matsah has taken place before the second blessing, the formula ‏על אכילת מצה‎ is used (see p. 329, note 2). The same is the case with regard to the blessing before “eating bitter herbs,” as it was not contrary to usage to partake of bitter herbs instead of karpas at the beginning of the Service.

[115] The afikuman has been reserved wrapped in a napkin (reminding of Exod. xii. 34), in order that the meal should finish up with matsah, just as in the time of the Temple it finished up with meat of the Passover-sacrifice.—In the Talmud (Pes. 109a) the rule is given ‏וחוטפין מצה‎ “We make haste to come quickly to the eating of matsah,” before the younger members of the company become drowsy or fall asleep. The words ‏וחוטפין מצה‎ have erroneously been interpreted, “We should snatch away the matsah,” and this interpretation caused the Service to be accompanied by a certain kind of childish amusement: some one of the company stealthily possesses himself of the matsah laid aside for afikuman, and does not surrender it until the master of the house promises him some present—The custom is unseemly and ought to be discouraged.

[116] After Grace a few verses from the Bible (Ps. lxxix. 6, 7, and Lam. iii. 66) have been added, beginning ‏שפך חמתך‎ and containing a prayer for God’s wrath to be poured forth over the godless people who seek the destruction of Israel. The cause of the addition is this: The season of Passover was, in the Middle Ages, a season of constant terror and danger to the Jews, because of the hostilities of their Christian neighbours against them. Helpless and defenceless, the Jews had no other way of meeting their foe than to cry to Him “who is near to all who call upon Him in truth.” The conduct of their neighbours towards them hardly suggested thoughts of love, especially at that moment. For it frequently happened that several families met in one house for the purpose of hearing the Seder-Service. They dispersed after the first part of the Service, took their meals at home, and assembled later in the evening for the second part of the Seder. Sometimes another course was taken. One person read the Service in several houses consecutively for the benefit of those who were not capable of doing so for themselves; then, after having had his meal, he began his circuit again for reading the second part of the Service. The return of the Reader or of the several families was anxiously waited for. The opening of the door before ‏שפך חמתך‎, at present meaningless, had its origin in this circumstance. On returning to the second part of the Service, the guests had too often a sad tale to tell of their experiences in the street, and filled with indignation, they gave expression to their feeling in the above verses. We continue to read these verses now, but in a different spirit. We live in peace with our neighbours, protected by the laws of the country and unmolested in the performance of our religious duties. We have nothing but feelings and thoughts of love for our fellow-men, and in reciting these verses we merely condemn the wickedness of those who seek the destruction of the people of the Lord. Our Christian neighbours may certainly join us in this condemnation.

[117] Comp. Isa. xl. 2.

[118] An omer is, according to Tradition, equal to the space occupied by 43⅙ eggs of ordinary size; it is about half a gallon.

[119] Or ‏היום … לעמר שהם …‏‎ (Portug. Ritual).

[120] As the month of Iyar corresponds to some extent to May, some assert, without foundation, that the Jews hold no weddings this month, because May is held by non-Jews to be an unlucky season for marriages. Jews who refuse to celebrate marriages in May for this reason are guilty of gross superstition.

[121] According to the traditional interpretation of ‏ממחרת השבת‎ “from the morrow after the Sabbath,” the term “Sabbath” signifies “day of rest” or “festival,” and refers to the first day of Passover (comp. Lev. xxiii. 32). The Sadducees, and afterwards the Karaites, contested the correctness of this interpretation, but without success (see Babyl. Talm., Menachoth 65; and Ibn Ezra on Lev. xxiii. 15).

[122] The collection of these passages is called ‏תקון לליל שבועות‎. A similar collection for the seventh night of Tabernacles is called ‏תקון לליל הושענא רבא‎. See p. 398, note 1.

[123] On Sabbath the lulabh is not taken, because it might be necessary to carry it from place to place through the street (‏רשות הרבים‎), and this is forbidden (see Mishnah, Shabbath i. 1 and vii. 2). For the same reason the shofar is not blown on the first day of New-year, if it happens to fall on Saturday. In the Temple, however, there was no occasion for the above apprehension; the lulabh was therefore taken and the shofar was blown on Sabbath (Mishnah, Succah iv. 1, and Rosh ha-shanah iv. 1).

[124] In the Temple willow-branches were placed round the altar, the shofar was blown, and the priests made then a circuit round the altar, with the lulabh in their hands, and singing part of Hallel.—The hoshaanoth refer chiefly to the redemption of Israel and the rebuilding of the Temple.—The circuit round the altar reminds us of the taking of Jericho, and strengthens our hope that in future also the Almighty will be with us, and help us through all difficulties to ultimate victory.

[125] The lulabh alone is mentioned in the blessing, because it is the most prominent, and the other three species seem to be its appendages.—The form ‏על נטילת ‎ is explained by the fact that we generally hold the four species in our hand, and thus commence the mitsvah, before the berachah (see p. 329, note 2).—The three species, palm-branch, myrtle, and willow, are usually bound together by means of leaves of the palm-tree. Some used to add golden bands to these leaves (Mishnah, Succah iii. 8).

[126] Mishnah, Succah iv. 5.—In the Temple the shofar was sounded during the priests’ circuit round the altar. A similar custom exists in the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogues on Hoshaana-rabba.—Tradition attributed great importance to the Morning Service on Hoshaana-rabba, and made it a kind of sequel to the Service on the “Solemn Days,” as if to give another opportunity of repentance to those who had not made full use of the means of grace afforded by the Day of Atonement, before the final sentence (‏גמר חתימה תובה‎) is pronounced. The preceding evening is therefore spent by many in devotional exercises (‏תקון לליל הושענא רבא‎). Comp. p. 394.

It is an old custom to take a few extra twigs of the willow-tree on this day and keep them in one’s hand during the chanting of the hoshaanoth. These branches, when shaken or struck, lose their leaves one after the other; so do the trees from which the branches have been cut, and so also all other trees. But the rain and heat sent by God in due time give them fresh life, and they produce new leaves. A similar experience is ours. The struggle for life reduces our strength and weakens our health; cares and troubles discourage us. But faith in God and trust in His Providence renew our strength; our health improves, our cares and troubles are diminished, and we feel ourselves restored to fresh life.

[127] Lit. “the eighth day, a festival.”—A prayer for rain (‏גשם‎) is inserted in the Musaf-Service, and corresponds to the prayer for dew on the first day of Passover; for fine weather we pray on the first day of the Festival, for rain on the eighth day. From Shemini-atsereth to the Musaf of the first day of Passover the words ‏משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם‎ “Thou causest the wind to blow and the rain to fall,” are inserted in the second paragraph of the Amidah. The words do not contain a direct prayer for rain, but a praise of Him who causes the rain to fall (‏גבורות גשמים‎), whilst the daily direct prayer for rain (‏ותן טל ומטר‎ “Give dew and rain”) begins about two months later,—the time when the pilgrims that had come from distant countries to Jerusalem to the Festival were assumed to have reached their homes.

[128] It has always been considered a special mitsvah and honour to be called to the reading either of the last or of the first section of the Pentateuch. Those on whom this honour is conferred are called respectively ‏חתן תורה‎ “Bridegroom of the Law,” and ‏חתן בראשית‎ “Bridegroom of the first section of the Law.” In the rejoicing with the Law special efforts are made to induce the younger members of the congregation to take part. They are usually invited to join the procession with the scrolls of the Law round the Synagogue, and have also the privilege of being called to the Torah, although they are not yet thirteen years old. This and similar things are done in order to inspire our children with love for the Torah and for the study of the Torah.

[129] Whilst the three Festivals demanded great sacrifices of each individual Israelite—to undertake a pilgrimage to the Temple, and not to appear empty before the Lord—the “Solemn Days” demanded only abstention from work, and on one day also from food. The Sacrificial Service on the Day of Atonement concerned directly the High-Priest and the priests in the Temple, the public at large but indirectly; and if great multitudes assembled in the Temple, it was curiosity rather than duty that brought them there. More importance was therefore attached by chroniclers and historians to the three Festivals and the national gathering in and round the Temple on the Feasts of Pilgrimage than to the Day of Memorial or the Day of Atonement. The Law deemed it necessary to urge on the Israelites the celebration of the former more frequently than that of the latter. When Solomon at the dedication of the Temple celebrated with the Israelites twice seven days, the first seven days probably commenced the 1st of Tishri on the Festival (1 Kings viii. 2), and the second seven days on the 15th of the month; therefore they are reckoned separately (ibid. viii. 65; 2 Chron. vii. 9, 10). Ezra, who read the Law to the Jews on the 1st of Tishri (Neh. viii. 2), which was a Holy-day (ibid. 10), read it also on the second day, which may likewise have been a special day for reading the Law, probably the Day of Atonement, and here they learnt that they were commanded to build booths for the next Festival. They must therefore have heard Leviticus xxiii., which includes the commandment concerning the fasting on the Day of Atonement. It may also be noticed that, although the commandment concerning the Day of Atonement is not mentioned in Exodus, the day is referred to as a well-known institution (Exod. xxx. 10).

[130] The reason Tradition assigns for this observance is as follows: After the giving of the Law Moses ascended Mount Sinai on the 7th of Sivan, and descended on the fortieth day, the 17th of Tammuz, with the tables of testimony. On the 18th he ascended again, and spent forty days in prayer for forgiveness for Israel; and ascended for the third time on the 1st of Elul, and returned on the 10th of Tishri with the Divine message, “I have pardoned in accordance with thy words of prayer.” Cherishing the hope that we may ourselves receive such a heavenly response on the Day of Atonement, we follow the example of Moses, and add these Selichoth or devotional exercises to our daily prayers, while the sound of the shofar aids in awakening us to earnest reflection and true improvement.

There are various names for these additional prayers: ‏תחנונים‎ “Supplications,” and ‏סליחות‎ “Prayers for forgiveness,” the latter being the general name for the early additional Service. Some of them have special names: ‏פתיחה‎ “opening” (i.e., the first prayer); ‏פזמון‎ “psalm,” a hymn sung or recited alternately by the Reader and the congregation; ‏עקדה‎ a composition referring to the binding of Isaac; ‏תחנה‎ “supplication,” generally at the end of the Selichoth. Prominent among these prayers is the recitation of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7) and the “Confession of sins” (‏ודוי‎).

[131] Although Nisan, the month of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, is the first month, and Passover the first of the Festivals of the year, Tishri, though the seventh month, was in many respects the beginning of the year. In the month of Tishri the Jubilee year commenced, the slaves were liberated, and landed property returned to the original owners (comp. Mishnah, Rosh ha-shanah i. 1).

[132] The name does, however, occur in the Mishnah as a term long in use and well known. It is impossible to decide when the name was introduced. The words ‏ראש השנה‎ in Ez. (xl. 1) denote the beginning of the year, including ten days or more, but do not signify “New-year.”

[133] The blowing of the shofar is preceded by the blessing: ‏… ברוך אשר קדשנו … לשמוע קול שופר‎ “Blessed art thou ... who hast sanctified us by thy commandments and hast commanded us to hear the sound of the shofar.” This blessing is followed by ‏שהחינו‎.

[134] According to Saadiah, the shofar reminds us of the following ten things with which it is directly or indirectly connected:—(1) Creation; (2) Our duty to return to God; (3) Revelation on Mount Sinai; (4) The exhortations of the Prophets; (5) Destruction of the Temple; (6) The binding of Isaac for sacrifice; (7) Imminent danger; (8) Day of Judgment; (9) Redemption of Israel; (10) Resurrection.

[135] In some congregations it is the custom to walk in the afternoon of New-year along the banks of a river or the sea-shore, in order to reflect on the purifying effect which water has on the body, and to be reminded that even as the body is purified by water, so ought our souls be purified by repentance and the appeal to the help and mercy of God. An appropriate passage from Micah (vii. 18–20) is recited, and the custom has received its name tashlich from the word ‏ותשליך‎ “and thou wilt cast,” which occurs in the passage.

[136] The confession of sins (‏ודוי‎) as contained in our Prayer-book is made by the whole community collectively; and those who have not themselves committed the sins mentioned in the confession regret that they were unable to prevent them from being committed by others. The form of the confession is therefore in the plural: “We have been guilty,” &c. The words ‏אבל אנחנו חטאנו‎ “Indeed we have sinned,” would suffice for the purpose of confession. But the long lists of various forms of sins in the sections beginning ‏אשמנו‎, ‏על חטא‎ or ‏על חטאים‎ and which are repeatedly recited during the Service, help us to remember our misdoings; what has escaped our attention the first time may be revived in our memory, when we read the confession a second or third time. Especially numerous are the terms denoting sins committed with our tongue; and indeed they are numerous! And where is the person that could say that his tongue has never been employed in falsehood, or slander, or self-praise, or hasty promises, and similar offences? It is necessary that we should reflect over and over again on these vices, and on the way in which to obtain better control over our tongue, and thereby a fuller mastery over the passions of our heart.

[137] The Evening Service is preceded by a formal rescinding of previous vows. Of what kind were the vows which are thus annulled? None of those that were made by a member of the community individually. No one can by means of this formula free himself from the obligation to fulfil what he has promised to his fellow-man. The declaration concerns the whole congregation, and has probably its origin in the customs of former days, when those who refused to join in the communal work, or to submit to the law of the congregation, or shocked by any act of theirs the conscience of their brethren, or abandoned Judaism outwardly, were excommunicated and shut out from all contact with their co-religionists. Such transgressors, abarjanim, when desirous to pray in the Synagogue on the Day of Atonement, were admitted, and all opposition was silenced by the solemn declaration.

That such was the original object of Kol-nidre is sufficiently clear from its surroundings. It is preceded by the following announcement: “In the name of God, and in the name of the congregation, with the sanction of the Court above, and that of the Court below, we declare that it is permitted to pray together with those who have been transgressors (abarjanim).” Kol-nidre is followed by the verse, “And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance” (Num. xv. 26).

The original object of this declaration does not apply at present; but it serves as a reminder of the following principles:—

1. We should always be disposed to forgive those who, in the heat of strife, acting under strong irritation, have offended us.

2. We should be careful with regard to vows, and before making them consider their effect.

3. We should reflect on human weakness, and consider that what we believe to be able to do to-day may prove impossible for us to-morrow. This reflection would remove every thought of pride from our heart and inspire us with humility.

[138] At the conclusion of the Service we once more proclaim the Unity of God (‏שמע ישראל‎), repeat three times the praise of His kingdom, and seven times that He alone is the Almighty. The sound of the shofar announces, as on the occasion of the Revelation on Mount Sinai, the conclusion of the Holy-day.

[139] The idea of introduction is implied in the term minchah, “introduction” (from the root ‏נחה‎ “to lead,” “to conduct”).—Minchah, originally denoting any present or offering, was the special name of flour-offerings, probably because flour or corn was the most common minchah offered by people to their sovereign.—Comp. “I will appease him with the present (minchah) that goeth before me, and afterwards I will see his face” (Gen. xxxii. 21).

[140] ‏תפלה‎ from ‏פלל‎ “to judge,” implies self-examination whether we are worthy of addressing the Most Holy. As to the purifying effect of prayer, see above, p. 183.

[141] This was necessary for two reasons: it served to foster a disposition for devotion and to assist the multitude in their endeavour to give expression to their feelings; it gave also uniformity to the prayers, which is indispensable in public Divine Worship (‏תפלה בצבור‎).—The free effusion of our heart before our Creator is by no means restrained, and is certainly not intended to be excluded by these regulations.

[142] ‏מנהג עוקר הלכה‎ “Custom overrules law,” is a well-known saying that is frequently acted upon (Soferim xiv. 18).

[143] Comp. supra, page 183 sqq., on the efficacy of prayer. Comp. page 280 sqq.

[144] This is one of the three explanations suggested in Babyl. Talm., Berachoth 29b: (1) A burdensome task, of which one desires to get rid; (2) a claim and not a supplication; (3) fixed without any spontaneous addition.

[145] Hence the phrases in the Talmud, “He went down toward the Ark” (tebhah), or simply “He went down” to read the tefillah. It was not so in all places of worship, because another phrase is sometimes used, “He passed toward the tebhah.”

[146] On such occasions a large congregation was expected, coming from the whole neighbourhood, and the Synagogue was considered too small. It is also possible that a prayer-meeting in the open air was intended to attract the indifferent, who did not attend the regular Services in the Synagogue.

[147] See Mishnah, Berachoth iv. 5, 6, and Babyl. Talm., Berachoth 30a.

[148] As our religion demands frequent recitations of berachoth in the course of the day, the custom spread among the Jews of keeping the head always covered. Comp. Babyl. T., Kiddushin 31a; Shulchan aruch, Orach Chayyim ii. 6.

[149] Attempts have been made to modify and to soften down the seemingly harsh words against those who design our ruin; some even wish to have the whole paragraph expunged from the prayer. In these attempts it has been ignored that the prayer is not directed against certain persons or nations; it is a petition for the protection of Israel from the wicked plans of evildoers.

[150] This fact is probably the source of the statement in Midrash Rabboth (Num. xviii.), that the tefillah before the birchath ha-tsadukim was added contained seventeen paragraphs.

[151] In the Temple the priests recited daily the Decalogue, and no objection was raised, because the congregation—priests, Levites, and general worshippers—constantly changed; and secondly, the very Service in the Temple sufficiently proved the existence of other Divine laws.—This ruling applies only to the addition of the Decalogue to the shema, not to its introduction into any other part of the Service.

[152] The priests were classed in twenty-four divisions; they had to perform a week’s active Service in the Temple by turns; the same was the case with the Levites. The Israelites of the district of which it was the turn of the priests and the Levites to serve in the Temple sent a deputation (Maamad) to Jerusalem, who represented them in the Temple; whilst they themselves held special prayer meetings, called Maamadoth.

[153] E.g., the addition of ‏הנותן ליעף כח‎ to, and the omission of ‏שלא עשני בור‎ from, the ‏ברכות השחר‎.

[154] Machzor, lit., “Cycle” of prayers, both the obligatory and the optional, or the ordinary tefilloth and the piyyutim, for the various seasons of the whole year. It is called Machzor Vitry, after its compiler, Simcha of Vitry (about 1100).

[155] As to the importance of minhag in our religious life, see above, p. 420.

[156] According to the Mishnah (Berachoth iv. 1), the time fixed for this Service is the first fourth of the day; but the notions of “early” and “late” are now different from what they were in ancient times. An extension of the time has long been conceded, especially for the Public Service on Sabbaths and Festivals.

[157] As to the principle expressed in these three berachoth, see supra, p. 170.

[158] In the German Ritual for week-days a third berachah, beginning ‏ברוך יי לעולם‎ and concluding ‏ועל כל מעשיו‎, is added. This berachah seems to have been at first a substitute for the Amidah, which was optional in the Maaribh Service. The substitute became in many congregations an integral part of the Maaribh, and was retained even when the Amidah was generally adopted as obligatory. On the eve of Sabbath and Festivals the Amidah was always recited, and there was no need for the substitute. The third berachah is therefore absent from the Maaribh on these evenings.

[159] See note 2 on p. 446 sq.

[160] As to the merits of Public Service, see above, p. 284. Ten male persons of thirteen years and upwards constitute a congregation, ‏צבור‎ (or ‏מנין‎ “number” or “quorum”), and their united devotions form Public Service (‏תפלה בצבור‎), into which the additions enumerated above are introduced.

[161] Before meals we wash our hands, say the blessing, ‏על נטילת ידים‎, and eat a piece of bread after having said the berachah, ‏המוציא‎.—Some wash their hands a second time (‏מים אחרונים‎) before Grace. See Shulchan-aruch, Orach-chayyim clxxxi.

[162] Comp. Babyl. Talm., Berachoth, p. 48b.

[163] ‏בריך רחמנא מריה דהאי פיתא‎ or ‏ברוך שאכלנו משלו‎.

[164] ‏מתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה‎.

[165] The Reader must be ‏שליח צבור‎ the real representative of, and acceptable to the congregants (Shulchan-aruch I. liii. 4).

[166] See above, page 417.

[167] E.g., ‏גשם‎ and ‏טל‎ in the Musaph of the first day of Pesach and the eighth day of Succoth are based on the climatic conditions of Palestine.

[168] Those who fear that the seemingly harsh expressions might imply or suggest ideas and feelings of a baser kind can easily modify them and remove the sting.—Similarly, expressions contrary to our taste and sense of propriety ought to be removed.

[169] I.e., of the new corn. This law of ‏חדש‎ applied to the corn sown during the year preceding the festival of Passover and beginning with the previous Passover (Babyl. Talm., Menachoth 69).

[170] The grafting of two species of trees one upon the other is included in this prohibition.

[171] E.g., “Neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together.” Such mixture is called ‏שעטנז‎, and applies only to the mixture of wool and linen (Deut. xxii. 11). Another commandment belonging to this category is this: “Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together” (ibid. 10). Ibn Ezra, in his Commentary on the Pentateuch (ad locum), suggests the following reason for this commandment, “The Almighty has mercy upon all His creatures; the strength of the ass being inferior to that of the ox, an unfair demand would be made upon the strength of the former when drawing the ploughshares together with the latter.”

[172] ‏טרפה‎ originally designated meat of animals torn by wild beasts, but it is used to designate food, especially meat, forbidden by the Law. All permitted food is called kasher (‏כשר‎).

[173] In accordance with the traditional explanation of the commandment, “Thou shalt not destroy the corners of thy beard” (Lev.