The Jewish Religion

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,144 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;145 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).146 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.147 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;148 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 days149 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 enthusiasm150 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,151 kindling Sabbath or Festival lights,152 and inviting strangers153 (‏הכנסת אורחים‎) to our meals. On Sabbaths and Festivals children, even when grown up, come to their parents and ask for their blessing.154 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,155 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. 16.156 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.157

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.158 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).159 Immediately after the operation a name is given to the child.160

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. 16.161

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.162

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.163 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.164

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.165

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 glass166 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 ring167 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 chuppah168 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 declaration169 mentioned above: “Behold, thou art consecrated (betrothed) unto me by this ring according to the Law of Moses and of Israel,”170 whereupon the kethubhah is read in Aramaic171 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.”172 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”).173

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 polygamy174 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.175

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.176 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.177 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.”178 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).179 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;180 to check it by comforting words at this moment is useless (Aboth iv. 18). The mourners,181 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.182 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 obsequies183 of the dead. Friends and relatives follow to the burial-ground; the ‏הלוית המת‎, or attending the dead to their last resting-place,184 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.185

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 mourners186 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.187

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 burning188 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 mitsvah189 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.”190 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.”

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.

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.

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

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.).

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).

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Notes

1 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. ↑ a b

2 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).

3 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.

4 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.

5 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.

6 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.

7 I.e., the word consisting of four letters, yod, hé, vav and hé.

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

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

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

11 See p. 294.

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

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

14 Comp. supra, p. 261.

15 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.

16 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.

17 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.

18 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.)

19 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.)

20 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 (), in order to ensure the right order of the four paragraphs (‏פרשיות‎) which the bayith contains from right to left.

21 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.”

22 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).

23 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.

24 Compare p. 329.

25 See Daily Prayer Book, Morning Service.

26 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.

27 Mishneh-torah III., Zemannim, Hil. Shabbath, ch. xxx. § 1.

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

29 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).

30 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.

31 ‏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.

32 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.

33 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.

34 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).

35 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.

36 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).

37 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.”

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

39 ‏שבת היא מלזעוק ורפואה (ונחמה) קרובה לבוא ושבתו בשלום‎

40 ‏עשה שבתך חול ואל תצטרך לבריות‎ (B. Talm. Shabbath, 18a).

41 Exod. xvi. 13, 14.

42 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).

43 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.

44 ‏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.”

45 Comp. Mishnah Shabbath ii. 16.

46 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.

47 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.

48 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.

49 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.

50 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.

51 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.

52 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.

53 In Hebrew molad, “birth.”

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

55 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.

56 See Mishnah, Megillah iii. 4.

57 Talm. Jerush., Shekalim i. 1.

58 Mishnah, Shekalim i. 1.

59 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.

60 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.

61 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).

62 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.

63 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.

64 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).

65 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.

66 ‏חמץ‎ is both ‏אסור באכילה‎ and ‏אסור בהנאה‎ (Mishnah, Pesachim ii. 1).

67 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).

68 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.

69 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.

70 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.

71 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.

72 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).

73 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).

74 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.

75 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).

76 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).

77 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.

78 See p. 381, note 1.

79 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).

80 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.

81 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.

82 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?”

83 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.

84 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.

85 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.

86 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.

87 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.

88 Comp. Isa. xl. 2.

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

90 Or ‏היום … לעמר שהם …‏‎ (Portug. Ritual).

91 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.

92 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).

93 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.

94 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).

95 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.

96 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).

97 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.

98 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.

99 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.

100 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).

101 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.

102 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).

103 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.”

104 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.

105 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.

106 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.

107 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.

108 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.

109 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.

110 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).

111 ‏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.

112 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.

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

114 Comp. supra, page 183 sqq., on the efficacy of prayer. Comp. page 280 sqq.

115 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.

116 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.”

117 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.

118 See Mishnah, Berachoth iv. 5, 6, and Babyl. Talm., Berachoth 30a.

119 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.

120 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.

121 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.

122 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.

123 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.

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

125 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).

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

127 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.

128 As to the principle expressed in these three berachoth, see supra, p. 170.

129 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.

130 See note 2 on p. 446 sq.

131 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.

132 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.

133 Comp. Babyl. Talm., Berachoth, p. 48b.

134 ‏בריך רחמנא מריה דהאי פיתא‎ or ‏ברוך שאכלנו משלו‎.

135 ‏מתוך שלא לשמה בא לשמה‎.

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

137 See above, page 417.

138 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.

139 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.

140 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).

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

142 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.”

143 ‏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).

144 In accordance with the traditional explanation of the commandment, “Thou shalt not destroy the corners of thy beard” (Lev. xix. 27), a razor is not employed, and shaving is avoided; the hair of the beard and the face is clipped with scissors. This prohibition, like that of “rounding the corners of the head” (ibid.), belongs to a group of precepts which aimed at keeping the Israelites away from the idolatrous customs of their heathen neighbours. The second prohibition has led to the fashion noticeable among Russian and Polish Jews of letting the hair of “the corners of the head” (in Hebrew peoth) grow very long.—In the Mishnah (Kethubhoth vii. 6) it is mentioned as a distinctively “Jewish custom” that married women have their head covered when going out. Many Jewish women observe also this custom within the house.—With these exceptions there is nothing in his dress and appearance that need distinguish the Jew from the Gentile, only that sometimes Jews are more conservative with regard to fashion than their neighbours, and old-fashioned style is then mistaken for “Jewish fashion.”

145 Some people leave on one of the walls of the house a certain piece unpapered and unpainted as a sign of mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. From the same reason, in some congregations, the bridegroom on the wedding-day has ashes strewn on his head. In accordance with Ps. cxxxvii. 6 we remember Jerusalem on various occasions. We recite Ps. cxxxvii. on week-days, and Ps. cxxvi. on Sabbath and Holy-days, after every meal. Again, when we give expression to our sympathy with mourners we pray that God may comfort them together with those who mourn for the destruction of Jerusalem.

146 The above-mentioned exceptions, and the fact that the woman is passive in the marriage ceremony as well as in the case of a divorce, have been erroneously interpreted as evidence of the low estimate in which she is held by the Jewish Law. How the Jews were taught to honour their wives may be gathered from the Jewish marriage document, in which the husband promises “to honour his wife in accordance with the rule in practice among Jews, that every husband honours his wife.” There are, unfortunately, also bad Jews who ill-treat, neglect, or entirely abandon their wives; but these cases are exceptions, and proportionately less numerous than among non-Jews. On the whole, Jewish women are treated by their husbands with love and regard, and the good relations that exist between husband and wife ensure the comfort and happiness of both.

147 To this respect for feminine modesty is due the arrangement made in the Synagogue for female worshippers (see p. 426). It is also the reason why girls have no ceremony corresponding to the celebration of the bar-mitsvah.

148 Women do not like to do needlework on Saturday evening immediately after the close of Sabbath; it was considered a mitsvah to prolong the Sabbath, just as it is a sign of love and esteem if we induce a friend to defer his departure. The saying that only shrouds are to be sewn on Sabbath evening may perhaps be traced to Mishnah, Shabbath xxiii. 4.

149 In order to have warm food on Sabbath without breaking any of the Sabbath laws, the food is put in an oven which is heated in such a manner that the fire continues to burn without requiring to be stirred or rekindled, or in which the heat is otherwise retained. Such food is called chalet, which is probably a French word, corresponding to the Hebrew ‏חמין‎ “warm.”

150 Or ‏חבוב מצוה‎ “love of mitsvah.”

151 See p. 357.

152 See p. 357 sqq.

153 Jews consider it a duty to have guests (‏אורחים‎) at the table on three occasions, viz., the Seder-evening, Purim, and Succoth.

154 The blessing generally consists of the priestly benediction, and the words of Jacob, “God make thee like Ephraim and like Manasseh” (Gen. xlviii. 20); Sarah, Rebeccah, Rachel, and Leah being substituted for Ephraim and Manasseh when females are addressed.

155 A special Service of the day is called ‏יום כפור קטן‎.

156 Friday evening was especially selected for this purpose; the visitors were treated with fruit and sweets; and this secondary element in the custom became in course of time the principal thing. The custom received the name Shalom-zachar, probably from the usual greeting, “Shalom! (“Peace,” corresponding to our “How do you do?”) O male child!”

157 In different countries there were different ways of expressing this sentiment. In some congregations a band (mappah) for the Sepher, with the name and birthday of the child inscribed on it, and ornamented with verses expressive of various good wishes, is presented to the Synagogue.

158 I.e., a person who circumcises.

159 Of those who assist in the mitsvah, the sandek (godfather), who holds the child during the operation, is the most prominent, and is called ‏בעל ברית‎ (“who is in possession of the covenant,” i.e., of the child to be initiated into the covenant). The religious enthusiasm required for the performance of this mitsvah is symbolically represented by “the chair of Elijah” (‏כסא של אליהו‎), upon which the child is placed before the operation; Elijah in Jewish Tradition being the type of religious zeal.

160 The Service for the occasion is included in the Daily Prayer-book, by Rev. S. Singer, p. 304.

161 For the Blessing and Prayers on this occasion, see Prayer-book, p. 308.

162 The chief element in this Service is ‏ברכת הגומל‎, the thanksgiving for the Divine protection enjoyed in the moment of danger. This Blessing is pronounced by (1) those who have crossed the sea, (2) or a desert, (3) or have recovered from a serious illness, (4) or have been released from prison. (Comp. Ps. cvii.)

163 Leviticus was generally taken first.

164 A misinterpretation of the dictum of Rabbi Eliezer, “Whoso teaches his daughter torah, teaches her, as it were, levity” (Mishnah, Sotah iii. 4), led many to believe that the Rabbis did not wish the daughters of Israel to know the Law. The dictum refers to a discussion which immediately precedes on the efficacy of the “bitter waters.” Rabbi Eliezer holds that it is dangerous to the morality of a woman to engage her thoughts with the details of the Law concerning a wife suspected of adultery (Num. v.).

165 The feast in honour of the bar-mitsvah is ‏סעודת מצוה‎ only when it is accompanied by ‏דברי תורה‎ (“Words of the Law”) spoken by him.

166 At festivities a glass was broken in order to remind those present of the transient nature of all earthly things, and thus warn them against excess of joy (Babyl. Talm., Berachoth 31a).—The same is done after the wedding ceremony.

167 In the Talmud the custom of the ring is not mentioned; anything could be used, provided it had the value of a perutah, a small coin, and was the property of the bridegroom. Among Jews the use of the ring is a modern fashion. The ring must not contain any jewel or precious stone, the value of which can in many cases not easily be estimated, and which might therefore lead to misunderstanding and dispute.

168 There are, besides, various explanations of the term chuppah: (1.) The wreath on the head of the bride when led to the marriage ceremony (‏הינומא‎, Mishnah, Kethubhoth ii. 10). (2.) A cover over the head of the bride; in some countries, therefore, instead of erecting a canopy, a talith is held over the bride and bridegroom during the ceremony; in others a separate ceremony of covering the head of the bride takes place before the actual marriage (comp. supra, p. 467, note 1). (3.) A private chamber into which bride and bridegroom retire for breakfast when the ceremony is over.

169 In order to prevent mistakes the minister reads the formula slowly, and the bridegroom repeats it; the minister omits the word ‏לי‎ “unto me,” and the bridegroom inserts the word by himself, or assisted by some one else.

170 “And of Israel” signifies: “According to the Jewish traditional interpretation of the Law of Moses;” these words are added because the rules of kiddushin are not directly mentioned in the Torah.

171 The kethubhah is in its essential elements very old, and dates probably back to the time when the Jews in Palestine spoke Aramaic. The settlement described in this document should be made to correspond with the actual deed of settlement legally executed. On the other hand, even the poorer bridegrooms should be induced to make a real settlement corresponding to the promises made in the kethubhah. The system of life insurance facilitates such a course. Otherwise the kethubhah has no importance.

172 The contents of these Blessings are: (1) Benediction over wine; (2) praise of God as the Creator of the Universe, (3) as the Creator of man, (4) and of woman; (5) prayer for the comfort of Zion, (6) for the rejoicing of the young couple, and (7) for their united happiness.

173 Lit., “Good planet.” The term has entirely lost its original meaning, and denotes simply “hearty congratulation.”

174 In the Torah polygamy is not forbidden, but not encouraged. It was a luxury inaccessible to the multitude, and the king is distinctly told that he must not have many wives (Deut. xvii. 17). The principle of monogamy is implied in many Biblical passages, as, e.g., Gen. ii. 20 sqq.; Mal. ii. 14; Ps. cxxviii. 3; Prov. v. 18 sqq.

175 A woman divorced from her husband by ‏גט‎ or from her brother-in-law by ‏חליצה‎ cannot marry a kohen.

176 In every congregation there is a special society of those who devote themselves to the needs of the sick (‏חברת בקור חולים‎). See above, p. 302.

177 “Many have made confession and have afterwards recovered” are the very words to be addressed to the patient according to the Shulchan-aruch, Jore deah cccxxxviii.

178 See Sefer ha-chayyim, and Daily Prayer-book, p. 314 sqq.

179 See supra, p. 302.

180 Those present exclaim: ‏ברוך דין אמת‎ “Blessed art thou … who art the true Judge.” The same is done by those who are not present on hearing the sad news. Relatives rend also their garments (‏קריעה‎).

181 In Hebrew ‏אוננים‎ and ‏אבלים‎; the former term is applied to the mourners during the time between the death and the interment of their relatives; the latter after the interment during the whole period of mourning.

182 Some consider it a dishonour to the departed to leave the corpse unburied over night, since the Law does not allow even the body of a criminal to be treated in this way. The practice may also have commended itself on sanitary grounds.

183 The shroud is made of white linen. The kittel or sargenes is part of the raiment in which the dead are clothed. It is the custom in some countries that the bride presents the bridegroom with this article on the wedding-day; and it is worn by the husband on New-Year’s Day and on the Day of Atonement, and on the Seder-evening during the Service. Some think that the object of wearing it is to remind us of death, and thus turn our thoughts away from the vanities of earthly life.—The custom has probably its origin in the fact that the white kittel was the festive garment of the day.

184 In Hebrew ‏בית החיים‎ or ‏בית עלמין‎ “the house of life” or “the house of eternity.”

185 The case is known by the name of ‏מת מצוה‎ “the corpse which claims attention as a mitsvah.”

186 The usual formula is, “May the Almighty comfort you together with those who mourn for Zion and Jerusalem.” These words are addressed to the mourners when they return from the grave to the Hall, while passing the line (‏שורה‎) formed by those present, and are repeated during the week of mourning, especially on Friday evening when the mourners enter the Synagogue. When the Service is over, the mourners return home, and partake of a meal prepared for them by friends or neighbours (‏סעודת הבראה‎). In days of old wine was taken on that occasion (Kethubhoth 8b), but this custom, like several others, has dropped into oblivion. In the Grace the section which begins ‏ובנה‎ “And build,” is modified during the week of mourning in order to give expression to the sentiments of the mourners.

187 During the week of mourning the mourners (1) remain at home, with the exception of Sabbath; (2) abstain from work and business; (3) hold the Morning and the Evening Services at home, and add appropriate psalms (such as xvi. and xlix.), prayers, and meditations; (4) sit on the floor or on low chairs; (5) listen to no music, avoid play, and all kinds of amusement, and (6) let the hair grow long.—During the rest of the month—or of the year, in case of mourning for father or mother—the last two observances are followed; the hair is only cut when it has become cumbersome as well as unsightly, and a banquet is only attended when it is a ‏סעודת מצוה‎.

188 A symbol of the soul of the departed, in reference to Prov. xx. 27.

189 The three principal mitsvoth are: Study of the Law (‏תורה‎), Divine Service (‏עבודה‎), and Charity (‏גמלות חסדים‎). As regards the first, a section of the Mishnah is studied daily; as regards the second, the bereaved, during the year of mourning, or on the Jahrzeit, acts as Reader in the Synagogue for the whole or part of the Service; and as regards the third, relief is given to the poor in memoriam.

190 Babyl. Talm., Gittin 14b.