II. OUR DUTIES. (continued 3)

2. They mark the various stages of the harvest; viz., Passover marks the season of the early harvest, Feast of Weeks the second harvest, and the Feast of Tabernacles the ingathering of the fruit.

3. They serve as a means for imparting essential religious truths; viz., Passover embodies the principle of the Existence of God, the Feast of Weeks that of Revelation, and the Feast of Tabernacles that of Divine Providence.

There are in the months Adar and Nisan four Sabbaths distinguished by the circumstance that on them additional sections are read from the Pentateuch and special lessons from the Prophets. Two of them are connected with the celebration of Passover.

2. ‏שבת זכור‎ “Sabbath Remember” is the Sabbath on which the paragraph concerning the enmity of Amalek is read from the Pentateuch (Deut. xxv. 17–19), and the defeat of Amalek by King Saul from the Prophets (I Sam. xv.). The Agagite Haman, one of the principal figures in the history of Purim, is believed to be a descendant of Agag, king of Amalek (ibid. ver. 8). And as the Law commands us to remember the hostilities of Amalek against Israel, it has been found appropriate to read the above sections on the Sabbath before Purim.

3. ‏שבת פרה‎ “The Sabbath of the Red Heifer,” i.e., the Sabbath on which the law concerning the sacrifice of the red heifer and the purification with its ashes is read from the Pentateuch (Num. xix.), and “the future purification of Israel” (Ezek. xxxvi. 17–38) from the Prophets. It is the Sabbath after Purim, or, when the 15th or 16th of Adar falls on Saturday, the second Sabbath after Purim. All Israelites had to come to the Temple, and to offer the Passover-lamb on the 14th of Nisan, and this could not be done by any unclean person. By the reading of the above sections, all are, as it were, reminded to take the necessary steps for their purification, and thus prepare themselves for the celebration of Passover.

‏פסח‎ Passover.

Passover is the first of the Three Feasts, and is kept eight days, from the 15th of Nisan to the 22nd; the four middle days being half-Holy-days, called chol ha-moëd (“the week-days of the festival”).

The Feast has a second name, viz., “feast of unleavened bread,” ‏חג המצות‎, a name derived from the commandment to eat ‏מצה‎ “unleavened bread,” instead of the ordinary ‏חמץ‎ “leavened bread,” during the Festival. The purpose of this commandment is to commemorate the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt as well as the mode of their actual departure. For when the tenth plague, the slaying of the first-born, had visited the Egyptians, they were overcome with fear, and urged the Israelites at once to leave the country. The Israelites therefore left Egypt hurriedly, and had no time for preparing the ordinary “leavened bread,” and baked for themselves unleavened cakes (‏מצות‎) of the dough which they had made.

Passover thus commemorates two distinct moments in the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, viz. (1) the special protection which the Almighty granted them in Egypt, and (2) their departure from the house of bondage.

Two distinct observances, therefore, were ordained for the Feast of Passover, viz. (1) the sacrifice of the Passover-lamb, and (2) the eating of “unleavened bread” and the abstaining from “leavened bread.”

The law forbidding ‏חמץ‎ “leavened bread,” to be kept in the house during Passover is frequently and most emphatically repeated in the Torah. Jews have therefore, as a rule, been very conscientious and zealous in the fulfilment of this Divine command. In accordance with this law, the following observances have been ordained:—

(4.) Although the articles of food that are directly forbidden as chamets are very few, there are a great many things that contain an admixture of chamets, and those “who fear the word of the Lord” use during Passover only those articles of food concerning which there is no doubt whatever that they are perfectly free from chamets. Articles of food for Passover are therefore only bought of persons who can be trusted to hold these observances in respect.

In addition to the commandments of the Passover-offering and the unleavened bread, there is a special duty, mentioned four times in the Pentateuch, for the Israelite to relate to his children the history of the departure from Egypt, and to explain to them the meaning of the several rites connected with the celebration of Passover. This duty is called haggadah, “relating,” and a service has been arranged for the purpose, called Seder, “the Order.” The first two evenings of Passover are therefore called “Seder-evenings,” and the book which contains this Service is generally called Haggadah.

The order of the Service is indicated in most editions of the Haggadah in rhymed Hebrew as follows:—

‏קדש ורחַץ . כרפס יחַץ . מגיד רחַץ . מוציא מצָה.‎

‏שלחן ערֵךְ . מרור כרֵךְ . צפון ברֵךְ . הלל נרצָה׃‎

The following is the explanation of these lines:—

1. ‏קדש‎ Say Kiddush. See above, page 379.

(1.) The first answer begins, ‏עבדים היינו‎, “We were slaves;” and ends, ‏בשעה שיש מצה ומרור מונחים לפניך‎ “When unleavened bread and bitter herbs lie before thee.” Here the reader restricts himself, without any comment, to the one fact that our forefathers were at first slaves in Egypt, and were then delivered, and illustrates the duty of speaking that night more fully concerning the departure from Egypt, by precedent, by the authority of the Mishnah, and by the Midrashic interpretation of the law commanding us to tell our children this event.

(2.) The second form of the answer begins, ‏מתחלה עבדי עבודה זרה היו אבתינו‎ “Our forefathers were at first worshippers of idols,” and ends, ‏מצילנו מידם‎ “delivers us out of their hand.” Here the exodus from Egypt is described as the fulfilment of the promise made by God to Abraham, that his descendants would be delivered out of the hands of their oppressors.

In all these three forms no notice has been taken of the particular questions. Rabban Gamaliel insists that this should be done, and a section is therefore added, containing the explanation why the Passover-offering, the unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs were to be eaten; this, like the three other sections, concludes with the emphatic declaration that we—after so many generations—are still bound to praise and to thank God for the benefits bestowed upon our nation so long ago. Hereupon follows the Hallel, of which the first two paragraphs, containing special reference to the departure from Egypt, are sung before supper; the first part of the Seder-Service concludes with a blessing, in which we praise God for our past deliverance and pray for the approach of our future redemption.

6. ‏רחץ‎ “Washing.” All those who partake of the meal wash their hands, as is ordinarily done before meals.

8. ‏מרור‎ “Bitter herb.” Bitter herbs dipped in charoseth are eaten, after the following blessing has been recited ‏ברוך … אשר קדשנו … על אכילת מרור‎ “Blessed art thou … who hast sanctified us by thy commandments and hast commanded us to eat bitter herbs.”

9. ‏כורך‎ “Combining;” scil., unleavened bread and bitter herbs; these are eaten together, just as formerly, in the time of the Temple, Hillel used to eat together meat of the Passover-offering, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs (Exod. xii. 8; Num. ix. 11).

10. ‏שלחן עורך‎ “Table laid.” The evening meal is taken.

13. ‏הלל‎ “Hallel.”—The rest of Hallel is sung, followed by Ps. cxxxvi., and the whole of ‏נשמת‎ with the concluding blessing.—The fourth cup of wine is then taken, and the usual prayer after the partaking of wine is recited.

The Haggadah contains, besides, several hymns and songs, of which the following are found in the ordinary editions of the work:—

1. ‏ויהי בחצי הלילה‎ “And it was in the middle of the night.” The author reflects on the various marvellous events in our history that happened in the night-time.

2. ‏ואמרתם זבח פסח‎ “And ye shall say, It is a sacrifice of Passover.” A song referring to wonderful events which, according to Tradition, took place on Passover.

3. ‏כי לו נאה‎ “To him praise is seemly.” A praise of God as the only Being worthy to be called King and Ruler.

4. ‏אדיר הוא‎ “He is mighty.” A praise of God, and an expression of hope that He will soon rebuild the Temple.

5. ‏אחד מי יודע‎ “One, who knows?” A popular song enumerating persons and objects in Jewish History and Tradition, as well as in Nature according to numbers up to thirteen, with the object of emphasising the Unity of God.

6. ‏חד גדיא‎ “One kid.” A popular song that illustrates the working of Divine Justice in the history of mankind.

From the bringing of the Omer to “the harvest feast” the days are counted, viz., forty-nine days, and the fiftieth day is the feast of harvest (‏חג הקציר‎), or “the day of the first-fruit offering” (‏יום הבכורים‎).

The celebration of Passover serves to inculcate into our hearts the first principle of our faith: the existence of God, the Supreme Being who rules the whole universe, in whose hand are the destinies of kings and peoples, whose power was recognised by the Egyptians when they were punished for their misdeeds, and whose might was seen by the Israelites when He divided the Red Sea for them, and fulfilled the Divine promise made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The season of Passover, in which we celebrate our liberation from earthly taskmasters, is called ‏זמן חרותנו‎ “The season of our freedom.” The deliverance from Egypt, the first step leading to the fulfilment of the promise, “And I will take you unto me for a people,” has been poetically conceived as the betrothal of Israel to God, and in the Piyyut for Passover ample use has been made of this idea. It has further found expression in the custom of reading the Song of Solomon on the first Sabbath after the first two days of Passover, and by some also on the Seder-evening after the conclusion of the ordinary Service.

The Service is, in general outline, the same as on Sabbath. It consists of Maarib, Shacharith, Musaph, and Minchah. The Morning-Service includes Hallel, the reading of the Law, and Lessons from the Prophets (‏קריאת התורה‎ and ‏הפטרה‎). The following sections, containing description of, or reference to, Passover or to the departure from Egypt, are read consecutively on the eight days: Exod. xii. 21–51, on the Passover celebrated by the Israelites in Egypt; Lev. xxii. 26 to xxiii. 44, on “the seasons of the Lord;” Exod. xiii., xxii. 24 to xxiii. 19, and xxxiv. 1–26: Num. ix. 1–14, on the second Passover; Exod. xiii. 17–xv. 26, the crossing of the Red Sea; Deut. xv. 19 (on Sabbath, xiv. 22) to xvi. 17 contains laws referring to the three Festivals. On Sabbath chol-ha-moëd, Exod. xxxiii. 12 to xxxiv. 26.—In addition to these sections verses from Num. xxviii.–xxix., referring to the sacrifices prescribed for each day of the Festival, are read from a second sefer.

The Lessons from the Prophets are the following:—Josh. v. (preceded in the German Ritual by iii. 5–7), on the first Passover kept by the Israelites in Palestine; 2 Kings xxiii. 1–9 and 21–25, on the Passover celebrated in the days of King Josiah; 2 Sam. xxii., the song of David after deliverance from his enemies, a parallel to the Song of Moses; Isa. x. 32—xii., on the defeat of Sennacherib, and the blessings of the Messianic days. According to Tradition the defeat of Sennacherib took place on Passover; moreover, the celebration of the deliverance from Egypt suggests the reflection on the final Redemption of Israel. The Lesson from the Prophets chosen for Sabbath chol-ha-moëd is taken from Ez. xxxvi. 1–14. The prophet sees in a vision how the dry bones of the dead are awakened to fresh life by the Will and the Spirit of the Lord: a precious lesson for us, designed to strengthen our hope of a revival of every good and noble idea, though for the present it be dormant within us. Nature around us awakening to fresh life in the spring supplies a parallel to the vision of Hezekiel.

The Machzor (lit. Cycle) or Prayer-book for the Holy-days contains numerous additions to the ordinary prayers. They are called Piyyutim, and vary according to the custom and the taste of the congregation. The Piyyut added in the second paragraph of the Musaph-amidah on the first day of Passover is called tal, “dew,” or prayer for dew; the rain season having come to an end, we pray that the vegetation may, during the hot season, be refreshed by the regular descent of the dew. The praise for “sending down rain” in the same paragraph, viz., ‏משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם‎, “Thou causest the wind to blow and the rain to fall,” is discontinued after the shacharith prayer of the first day of Passover. In the Portuguese Ritual the words ‏מוריד הטל‎, “Thou causest the dew to fall,” are introduced instead.

Similarly, there is an additional prayer for rain (‏גשם‎) in the Musaf of Shemini-atsereth. The time chosen for these prayers is in accordance with the meteorological conditions of Palestine. This custom, however, does not exclude the addition of prayers for rain or dew, according to the needs of the country in which we live.

The Days of the Counting of the Omer, ‏ימי הספירה‎

The Feast of Weeks, ‏שבועות‎

The Feast of Weeks, the 6th and the 7th of Sivan, commemorates also an historical event: the Law-giving on Mount Sinai. It is therefore called “the season of the giving of our Law,” ‏זמן מתן תורתנו‎.

As Passover has been poetically called the day of Israel’s betrothal to God, the Feast of Weeks would correspond to the wedding-day, and the counting of the Omer does thus not only connect two harvest-feasts, but represents the longing of the bride for the day of her complete happiness; i.e., the longing of the Israelites for the Divine Revelation, which was to complete the work of their deliverance from Egypt.

The celebration of the Feast of Weeks thus involves the second principle of our faith: ‏תורה מן השמים‎ “The belief in the Divine origin of the Law,” or “Divine Revelation.”

On the first day we read Exod. xix.–xx., the account of the Law-giving on Mount Sinai, and Ez. i., the first vision of the prophet Ezekiel, in which the glory of God is revealed to him. On the second day Deut. xv. 19 (on Sabbath, xiv. 22) to xvi. 17; and Hab. iii., “the prayer of Habakkuk,” in reference to God’s Revelation as the Ruler of the universe.—There is also the custom to read the Book of Ruth, which contains the account of Ruth’s embracing the true faith, and a description of the harvest and the treatment of the poor in the harvest-season.

The Feast of Tabernacles, ‏סכות‎

“The fifteenth day of this seventh month (Tishri) shall be the Feast of Tabernacles (‏סכות‎) for seven days unto the Lord” (Lev. xxiii. 34). The name has its explanation in the commandment, “Ye shall dwell in booths seven days” (ibid. 42); “that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (ver. 43). We are thus commanded to commemorate the travelling of the Israelites through the wilderness. They dwelt in tents, that gave them shelter to some extent; but without the Divine protection this shelter would have proved insufficient. Of this twofold shelter and protection we are reminded by the tabernacle in which the Law commands us to dwell during the Festival.

In fulfilment of this commandment we make booths (‏סכות‎). The chief difference between a booth and an ordinary house consists in the mode and in the material employed for roofing the two structures. For the succah must not be covered with fixed boards and beams or with canvas, but with detached branches of trees, plants, flowers, and leaves, in such a manner that the covering is not quite impenetrable to wind and rain, or starlight. During the Festival the succah is our dwelling-house, in which we take our meals, study, receive our friends, and, if possible, enjoy rest and sleep. If, on account of the severity of the climate, the constant dwelling in the succah threatens to prove injurious to our health, we content ourselves with taking our meals in the succah. Before each meal we recite the blessing ‏ברוך … אשר קדשנו … לישב בסוכה‎ “Blessed art thou … who hast sanctified us by thy commandments and hast commanded us to dwell in the booth.” The first time we are in the succah we add the blessing, ‏שהחינו‎ (p. 358).

The Festival is, secondly, called “the Feast of Ingathering,” ‏חג האסיף‎. The produce of the fields and gardens have been gathered in, and the people rejoice before the Lord in gratitude for the blessings which He has granted to them. “And ye shall take unto you on the first day the fruit of the goodly tree, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick-leaved trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days” (Lev. xxiii. 40). In accordance with the traditional interpretation of this verse, we take four kinds of plants (‏ארבעה מינין‎), viz., ‏אתרוג‎ “the citron;” ‏לולב‎, “a branch of the palm-tree;” ‏הדסים‎, three “myrtle branches;” and ‏ערבות‎, two “branches of the willow.” According to a Midrashic interpretation, they represent four different types of plants, that which has a pleasant fragrance and a beautiful form (esrog); the beautiful in form, but without fragrance (lulabh); that which smells pleasantly, but is inferior in form (hadassim); and that which has neither a goodly form nor an agreeable fragrance (arabhoth), as if to say that we are thankful to God for all that He has given us, although to our mind some of these seem imperfect in comparison with others.

The nine days of the Festival are called ‏זמן שמחתנו‎ “The season of our rejoicing,” and it is the third principle of our faith, the belief in Divine Providence, that this Festival impresses on our hearts. On the one hand, we have the rejoicing and the four species of plants as proofs and tokens of Divine blessing; and, on the other hand, the succah is a symbol of human frailties and imperfections. Thus, in all our rejoicings we should remember that our abode on earth is not permanent, and that all earthly happiness is like the plants that easily fade away. In order to impress this idea on our mind, we read the book of Koheleth on Sabbath chol-ha-moëd or on Shemini-atsereth.

The Lessons from the Prophets are the following: Zech. xiv., prophecy on the future of Israel and on the punishment of those who would not come to Jerusalem to celebrate there the Succoth Festival; 1 Kings viii. 2–21, on the opening of the new Temple; on Sabbath chol-ha-moëd, Ez. xxxviii. 18 to xxxix. 16, on the war with Gog; 1 Kings viii. 22–66, prayer of Solomon on the eighth day of the services for the consecration of the Temple; Jos. i., accession of Joshua to the leadership of Israel.

Solemn Days, ‏ימים נוראים‎

‏ראש השנה‎ New-year.

We greet and congratulate each other on New-year, using the phrase, ‏לשנה טובה תכתב‎—or ‏לש׳ ט׳ תכחבי, תכתבו, תכתבנה‎ according as a male, a female, several males, or several females are addressed—“May you be inscribed for a happy year.” It is a figurative expression, borrowed from the writing and signing of decrees by earthly judges.

The name “Memorial of blowing the shofar” indicates that we are to remember some historical event suggested by the sound of the shofar. We are reminded of the period when the Israelites, encamped round Mount Sinai, on hearing the Divine message, “Ye shall be my peculiar people,” “a kingdom of priests,” and “a holy nation,” joyfully replied, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exod. xix. 8). The shofar thus awakens us to greater watchfulness and activity in the purification and sanctification of our heart.

The third name, “Day of Memorial,” seems to be a modification of the second; but it has a more general meaning. The second name, that reminds us of our duty as God’s peculiar people, suggests also the idea that God, who declared us to be His people, watches over us; that what we do, we do in His presence. He perceives, notes, and remembers all our deeds, words, and thoughts. When, therefore, we appeal to the goodness of Him, who remembers all His creatures and provides for the wants of every one of them, we must not forget that He is also just. This idea, again, suggests the fourth name, ‏יום הדין‎ “Day of Judgment,” the day on which we are judged according to our deeds, both our merits and our shortcomings being taken into account.

The essential elements in our Service are the three sections in the Amidah of Musaf: ‏מלכיות‎, ‏זכרונות‎ and ‏שופרות‎. They chiefly refer to the three fundamental principles of our religion: (1) Existence of God, a Being that is King of the universe; (2) Divine Justice, and (3) Revelation. Ten passages are quoted from the Bible in support of each of these principles.

Tradition has fixed the 1st of Tishri as the date of several events in the history of Israel, e.g., the birth of Isaac, the binding of Isaac (‏עקדה‎), and the birth of Samuel (B. T. Rosh ha-shanah 10b). Hence Gen. xxi. and xxii. are read on the two days of New-year, in addition to the paragraph on the sacrifices of the Festival (Num. xxix. 1–6).

The Sabbath between New-year and the Day of Atonement is called ‏שבת שובה‎ because the haphtarah, taken from Hosea (xiv. 1 seq.), commences with the word ‏שובה‎ and is an exhortation of Israel to return to God.

‏יום כפור‎ “Day of Atonement.”

The tenth day of the seventh month, Tishri, is the most important of all the Holy-days. It is the Day of Atonement, on which “God will forgive you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord” (Lev. xvi. 30).

“Ye shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict yourselves: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath” (Lev. xxiii. 31, 32).

The Day of Atonement is therefore a day of resting, fasting, prayer, and spiritual improvement.

It is a day of rest, and the prohibition of work is the same as on the ordinary Sabbath.

The fasting begins the 9th of Tishri—‏ערב יום כפור‎—about sunset, and lasts till the beginning of night on the following day. The phrase, ‏ועניתם את נפשתיכם‎ “Ye shall afflict yourselves,” is explained by Tradition to signify the total abstinence from all kinds of food and the gratification of other bodily desires (Mishnah, Yoma viii. 1). The reason of this commandment may be the following: The principal source of sin is the gratification of our bodily appetites; ‏תשובה‎ “return” to the right way must therefore include the earnest attempt to control, and when necessary to suppress, such appetites. Fasting is such an attempt. But it must be borne in mind that fasting is only one of the duties we have to fulfil on the Day of Atonement, and that the other duties are equally essential.

‏תשובה‎ “return,” is the principal object of the celebration of the Day of Atonement; it implies the following four steps:—

1. Consciousness of sin, ‏ידיעת החטא‎. We must again and again examine ourselves and try to discover our failings; our actions and our words must pass in review, and we must remember that, however good we may be, no man is righteous upon earth “that doeth good and sinneth not” (Eccles. vii. 20).

3. Regret, ‏חרטה‎. Having discovered and confessed our sin, we should feel pain and remorse, alike for the evil we have done and for the good we have left undone.

4. Amendment, ‏עזיבת החטא‎. The regret should be followed by a firm resolve to abandon the way of evil, and not to sin again, even if occasion be given for a repetition of the sinful act.

There are five Services on the Day of Atonement:

In the Morning Service we read Lev. xvi., and Num. xxix. 7–11, on the sacrifices on the Day of Atonement; in the Afternoon Service, Lev. xviii., on forbidden marriages. The Lessons from the Prophets are: in the morning, Isa. lvii. 14–lviii. 14, on our duties on the fast-day; in the afternoon, the Book of Jonah, illustrating the effect of sincere repentance, and Micah vii. 18–20, on Israel’s repentance.

Historical Feasts and Fasts.

Besides the Festivals commanded in the Torah, we celebrate also in the course of the year anniversaries of certain days both of joy and of sorrow. Of the former kind are ‏חנוכה‎ and ‏פורים‎; of the latter, the 9th of Ab and four other fasts.

‏חנוכה‎ Feast of Dedication.

On the 25th of Kislev we begin to celebrate eight days of ‏חנוכה‎ or Dedication, in commemoration of the victories of the Maccabees over Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria. Antiochus had attempted to force the Jews to idolatry, and to make them abandon the worship of the true God. The Jews, led by the Maccabees, resisted, and, armed with faith in God, gained the victory over large armies of the enemy. The Temple, which had been defiled by the heathen soldiers, was again purified, and the Service of God re-established. For lighting the continual lamp (‏נר תמיד‎) pure oil was wanted, that had not been touched by the heathen. Only a small cruse of pure oil was found, which was believed to be sufficient for one night; but it sufficed for eight days, by which time a fresh supply could be procured.

The Feast of Dedication commemorates the victory of the faithful over the faithless, of the true religion over idolatry, of light over darkness, and is celebrated—

(1.) By lighting ‏חנוכה‎ lights, one on the first evening, and adding one light each successive evening, so that on the eighth evening eight lights are kindled.

(2.) By giving expression to our feeling of gratitude in psalms (‏הלל‎) and prayers of thanks (‏על הנסים‎).

In the Morning Service a few verses from Num. vii., on the dedication of the Altar, are read. On Sabbath Chanuccah, Zechariah’s vision, Zech. ii. 10 to iii. 7, including the vision of the golden candlestick, is read as haphtarah; and if there happen to be a second Sabbath Chanuccah, 1 Kings vii. 40–50, a description of the various vessels and ornaments in the Temple of Solomon is read on that Sabbath.

Note 1.—The ‏חנוכה‎ lights remind us, in the first place, of the reopening of the Temple and the resumption of the regular Temple Service. But they are also intended to remind us of the light of our holy faith, which Antiochus Epiphanes attempted in vain to extinguish. For it shed forth its light again, and shone brighter and brighter every successive day. We thus learn that when our religion is imperilled, firmness against temptation or force is sure to lead to success and victory.

2. Before lighting the Chanuccah lights the following blessings are said: ‏ברוך … אשר קדשנו … להדליק נר של חנוכה‎ “Blessed art thou … who hast sanctified us by thy commandments and hast commanded us to kindle the lights of Chanuccah.” ‏ברוך … שעשה נסים לאבותינו בימים ההם בזמן הזה‎ “Blessed art thou … who wroughtest miracles for our fathers in days of old at this season.” On the first night ‏שהחינו‎ is added.

‏פורים‎ Purim.

‏פורים‎ or “Feast of Lots,” is celebrated on the 14th and the 15th of Adar (second Adar in a leap-year), in commemoration of the defeat of Haman’s wicked plans. Haman was chief minister to Ahasuerus, king of Persia, and planned to kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire, but the Almighty frustrated his designs through the agency of Mordecai and his cousin Esther. The Feast is called Purim, that is, “lots,” because Haman had cast lots in order to discover the day most favourable to his plans.

We celebrate Purim—

(1.) By reading twice, once during the Evening Service and once during the Morning Service, the Book of Esther (‏מגלת אסתר‎), which contains the history of Haman’s plans and their frustration. The reading is preceded by the following blessing: ‏ברוך … אשר קדשנו … על מקרא מגלה‎ “Blessed art thou … who hast sanctified us by thy commandments and hast commanded us to read the Megillah.” ‏ברוך … שעשה נסים לאבותינו בימים ההם בזמן הזה‎ “Blessed art thou … who wroughtest miracles for our fathers in days of old at this season,” and ‏שהחינו‎.

(2.) By giving presents to our friends (‏משלוח מנות‎) and gifts to the poor (‏מתנות לאביונים‎).

(3.) By a festive meal (‏סעודת פורים‎). Comp. Esth. ix. During the Morning Service the account of the war with Amalek is read from Exod. xvii. 8–16.

The 15th of Adar is called Shushan Purim, because the Jews in Shushan continued to fight against the enemy on the 14th of Adar, and kept Purim on the 15th. The 13th of Adar, being the day appointed for the slaughter of the Jews, is now kept as a fast-day, and is called ‏תענית אסתר‎ “the Fast of Esther.”

The Four Fasts.

There are four days kept as fast-days in commemoration of events connected with the fall of Jerusalem. They are called in the Bible (Zech. viii. 19) “the fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth.” These days are the anniversaries of the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem (10th of Tebeth), of the breach made in the wall (17th of Tammuz), of the destruction of the Temple (9th of Ab), and of the murder of Gedaliah (3rd of Tishri). The 9th of Ab is kept as a day of fasting and mourning for the destruction of the Temple. According to Tradition, both the first and the second Temple were destroyed on the same day.

The Lesson from the Pentateuch read in the Morning and in the Afternoon Services on the fast-days is Exod. xxxii. 11–14 and xxxiv. 1–10. On the 9th of Ab this section is read in the afternoon only; the Morning Lesson being Deut. iv. 25–40 and Jer. viii. 13 to ix. 23; in the Afternoon Service on all fasts Isa. lv. 6 to lvi. 8 is read as haphtarah.

Note 1.—These fasts begin with daybreak, except the fast of the 9th of Ab, which commences with the previous evening and lasts twenty-four hours, and is in all respects like that of the Day of Atonement. During the day the Lamentations of Jeremiah, various elegies called ‏קינות‎, “Lamentations,” and the Book of Job are read. On the Fast of Ab, as a sign of mourning, talith and tefillin are not worn during the Morning Service. They are, however, put on for the Afternoon Service.

2. The Sabbath preceding the Fast of Ab is called ‏שבת חזון‎, and the Sabbath following, ‏שבת נחמו‎ because the Haphtaroth on these Sabbaths (ch. i. and ch. xl. of Isaiah) begin respectively with the words ‏חזון‎ and ‏נחמו‎; the one containing rebukes and threats, the other a message of comfort.

Besides these historical fasts, there are voluntary fasts observed by some as an expression of deep-felt piety; e.g., the three fasts of ‏שני חמישי ושני‎ of Monday, Thursday, and Monday, kept after the festive seasons of Passover and Tabernacles, in imitation of Job, who after the days of feasting sanctified his sons, and brought special sacrifices (Job i.). To this class of fasts may be reckoned the day before New-moon, called ‏יום כפור קטן‎ on which in some congregations the Afternoon Service is enlarged by propitiatory prayers.

V. Divine Worship, ‏עבודה‎.

In the Midrash the following legend is related: When, at the conclusion of the seventh day, the sun had set and darkness had spread over the earth, Adam was afraid that the world was now coming to an end. But the Almighty caused him to find two stones, by means of which he produced light. On seeing this Adam was full of joy, and although he had himself produced the spark, he felt that it was to his Creator and Master that thanks were due, and gave expression to his feelings in the words, “Blessed art Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who createst the light of the fire.”

Thus the legend traces the beginning of Divine Worship to the first man; and, in fact, the desire to commune with the Creator and to give outward expression to the inner feeling of reverence and allegiance is so general that it seems to be part of man’s nature.

In a different way this feeling was expressed by the sons of Adam, by Cain and Abel. They brought presents to the Lord, probably accompanied by words of praise and prayer. No essential difference is noticed by us in the offerings of the two brothers; each of them brought what seemed best in his eyes. And yet the offering of Cain was rejected, whilst that of Abel was received favourably. An important lesson it is that Scripture teaches here at the very threshold of the history of sacrifices. It is this: The value of an offering does not lie in its outward appearance, in that which is open to man’s judgment, but in something that is known to the Omniscient alone, in the heart of him who approaches his Creator with a gift, in the motives which prompt him to do so, and in the feelings which accompany that act. From these beginnings the two forms of Divine Worship, Sacrifice and Prayer, gradually developed.

Sacrifice (‏מנחה‎, ‏קרבן‎).

There were two kinds of sacrifices: bloodless sacrifices, minchah and nesech, “flour-offering” and “drink-offering,” and blood sacrifices: animal-offerings. But no difference is discernible between these two kinds with regard to their importance, sanctity, and efficiency. As a rule, the animal-offering was supplemented by minchah and nesech. The treatment of sacrifices varied according as they were intended to express the feeling of reverence, rejoicing, gratitude, or repentance, and special rules had to be observed in each case, the various kinds of sacrifice being ‏עולה‎ “burnt-offering,” or ‏שלמים‎ “peace-offering,” or ‏תודה‎ “thanksgiving,” or ‏חטאת‎ “sin-offering,” or ‏אשם‎ “guilt-offering.” The Law further fixed the place, the time, and the method of sacrificing, and appointed also the persons who alone were allowed to attend to this function, so that no strange element, no idolatrous or superstitious customs, could be introduced into the sacrificial service ordained by the Law.

Great stress is laid on the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifice upon the altar. “The blood,” the Law says, “is the soul of all flesh; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for the soul” (Lev. xvii. 11). We are thus reminded that, in so far as the animal life is concerned, “the pre-eminence of man over the beast is nought,” and yet the Creator gave us the right to shed the blood of animals in order to save our life. Why? Because man has a higher mission to fulfil; he has been created in the image of God.

These and similar reflections were suggested by the different elements constituting the sacrificial rite. With the destruction of the Temple sacrifices ceased; with the Restoration of Israel and the Rebuilding of the Temple the Sacrificial Service will likewise be resumed. (Comp. Mal. iii. 4). There are persons who believe that the Sacrificial Service, implying much of anthropomorphism, could not have been intended to be permanent, and that it was only a concession made to the fashion and the low degree of culture of the age. Those who reject sacrifices on this account must also reject prayer, which is likewise based on a certain degree of anthropomorphism, though less strikingly than sacrifice. If the law concerning offerings were only intended for a certain age, such limitation would have been indicated in the Law. In the absence of such indication we have no right to criticise the Word of God, and to think that we are too advanced in culture to obey the Divine commands, It has been further argued that, according to Maimonides and his followers, the laws concerning sacrifices only served as a means of counteracting the idolatrous tendencies of the age. But Maimonides never went so far as to contend that these laws have served their purpose, and are now null and void. Even those laws which have been enacted by human authority remain in force till they are repealed in a regular and legal manner. But what human being can claim a right to abolish laws given by the Almighty? Whether any of the laws of the Torah will ever be abrogated we do not know, but we are sure that, in case of such abrogation taking place, it will be done by a revelation as convincing as that on Mount Sinai.

On the other hand, the revival of the Sacrificial Service must likewise be sanctioned by the divine voice of a prophet. The mere acquisition of the Temple Mount or of all Palestine by Jews, by war, or political combinations, or purchase, would not justify the revival. It is only the return of the Jews to Palestine, and the rebuilding of the Temple by Divine command and by Divine intervention, that will be followed by the restoration of the Sacrificial Service. And however contrary the slaughter of animals, the sprinkling of their blood, and the burning of their flesh be to our taste, we ought to look forward with eagerness and pleasure for the revival of the full Temple Service as an event that will enable us to do the Will of the Almighty revealed in the Torah. Instead of modelling the Divine laws according to our liking, we ought rather to regulate the latter according to the teaching of Scripture, and suppress it when contrary to the express Will of God. We therefore give expression to our hope “for the restoration of the Temple with its ancient Service” in frequent and fervent prayers, and in accordance with the exhortation of Hosea (xiv. 2) we read each day during the Service Scriptural passages referring to the sacrifice of the day.

“Sacrifices have been condemned by prophets and psalmists”! But in the passages which seem antagonistic to sacrifices only those sacrifices are referred to which are brought in a wrong spirit or from bad motives. (Comp. 1 Sam. xv. 22; Isa. i. 11–13, xliii. 24, lxvi. 2; Jer. vii. 21; Hosea vi. 6; Amos v. 25; Ps. l. 8.)

Prayer is the general name for that form of Divine Worship which is expressed in words; it has a wider scope than sacrifices, for it is not limited to a special place, or to a certain time, or to one privileged family. It is accessible to all, in all places and at all times. All alike are addressed by the Psalmist, “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord” (Ps. cl. 6).

There is no direct commandment in the Torah concerning prayer; it is rather assumed as a matter of course, and as inseparable from our belief in God. According to Tradition (Sifre on Deut. xi. 13), the exhortation to serve God with all the heart implies the duty of prayer. “What duty depends on the heart? It is the duty of prayer.” (Comp. Maim. Mishneh-torah, Hilchoth Tefillah i. 1.) The following are a few of the general rules laid down by our Sages with regard to Prayer:—

“Better little with devotion (‏כונה‎) than much without devotion” (Shulchan-aruch, Orach Chayyim i. 4).

“During prayer bear in mind before whom you stand” (Babyl. T., Berachoth 28b).

“The value of the words uttered with the lips is determined by the devotion of the heart” (Babyl. T., Berachoth 15b).

What is devotion? The concentration of all our attention upon the words we utter, the banishment of all foreign thoughts from the mind, and the consciousness that we stand in the presence of the Almighty, whom it is our duty to love, fear, and obey. A prayer uttered in this frame of mind is called “a prayer without lips of deceit” (Ps. xvii. 1). Comp. Maim., l. c., iv. 15.

Equally indifferent with regard to the value of prayer are its length and its form. The Bible offers examples for all kinds and lengths of prayer. If one wishes to pray in a few words, he need only follow the example of Moses, who in the moment of anguish uttered nothing beyond the words, “O God, heal her now” (Num. xii. 13). If one prefers a long prayer, he may also take Moses as a guide, who prayed forty days for the forgiveness of the Israelites after they had made the golden calf (Deut. ix. 18, 25). Both prayers were equally efficacious. Miriam was healed, and the Israelites obtained pardon. With regard to the form, we have in the Bible prayers in prose and in poetry; some uttered in simple speech, others in song; some with musical accompaniment, some without it. All of them seem to have been at first the response to a momentary impulse, but were afterwards repeated on similar occasions in the original or in a modified form.

This we know for certain, that whenever and wherever we respond to an inner impulse by the utterance of a prayer, God is near us, for “He is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth” (Ps. cxlv. 18); that we and the place on which we stand are hallowed by the Divine Presence. Places once hallowed by such devotion, whether of our own or of our fellow-men, we like to visit again and again for the same purpose. The spot of Jacob’s first communion with God thus became “the house of God;” and even during the period when there was one central Sanctuary for the Sacrificial Service in Israel, at Gilgal, Mizpah, Shiloh, and later in Jerusalem, there were houses of God throughout the country for devotion unaccompanied by sacrifices. These were “the meeting-places of God” (Ps. lxxiv. 8), in which the Israelites assembled to meet their Creator. Such houses of God were established wherever Jews settled; their main purpose was united devotion; but they served also many other purposes—in fact, every holy, good, and noble cause. The house of God was the Assembly-house, Synagogue (‏בית הכנסת‎), in which the affairs of the community (‏צרכי צבור‎) were settled; the young had there their school, adults came there for religious instruction, and found there opportunity for the study of the Law, and the poor and stranger received there support and hospitality.

In most Synagogues there is a continual lamp (‏נר תמיד‎) burning. It is a Biblical institution, but only designed for the Sanctuary; its presence in the Synagogue is of comparatively modern date. The ner tamid of the Sanctuary, however, is explained to be a lamp burning “from evening to morning” (Exod. xxvii. 21). A golden candlestick standing in the Sanctuary against the south side, with its seven branches arranged from east to west, served this purpose. According to Tradition it was the second branch, counting from east to west, which really burnt continually; but this was not considered as implied in the term ner tamid, which only meant “a continual lamp” in the sense of a lamp that burns regularly every night.

The ner tamid in the Synagogue, which burns continually day and night, is not mentioned by any of the earlier Rabbinical authors. It has been introduced as a symbol representing our conviction that from the Synagogue shall continually come forth the light of instruction, the light of comfort and blessing, and the light of love and peace.

In the Synagogue women are separated from men. There was also in the Temple an ‏עזרת נשים‎ “court of the women,” distinguished from the ‏עזרת אנשים‎ “court of the men,” to which women had no access. During the Feast of Tabernacles, when the great rejoicings in the Temple attracted a large assembly, special care was taken (‏תקון גדול היה שם‎) that the separation of the sexes should be maintained (Mishnah, Succah v. 2; and Talm. B., Succah 51b). This precedent has been followed in the Synagogue, and has been accepted as law up to this day.

Reservedness and modesty (‏צניעות‎) have always been the pride and ornament of Jewish women, both in their homes and in the Synagogue; hence also their taking a silent part in the public devotion is an honour to them, and by no means derogatory.

Before we proceed to describe the details of our ritual, we mention one important point in which the present Synagogal Service differs from the ancient Service in the Temple. From what we are told in the Scriptures and in the Talmud, we learn that instrumental music was an essential element in the Service, and that King David and his successors paid great attention to it, whilst, with a few exceptions, it is almost entirely absent from our Synagogues. The principal reason why instrumental music is excluded from the Synagogue is its prohibition on Sabbaths and Holy-days by Rabbinical law (Babyl. T., Erubin 104a). This prohibition, like many other enactments, did not apply to the Temple Service; for the sacrificial laws had to be obeyed, irrespective of the fact that they involved acts which, if performed apart from the Temple Service, would constitute a breach of the Sabbath laws. Apart from the Temple Service the Sabbath laws remained in full force for the priests as well as for the general public.

There were also other considerations that helped to keep instrumental music out of the Synagogue Service. Its absence, though not directly a sign of mourning, served to preserve the memory of the destruction of the Temple, and to strengthen our longing for its restoration. It is also urged that the introduction of instrumental music into the Service would not satisfy any real want of Jewish worshippers, but would merely be a concession to the desire to assimilate our Divine Service to that of our non-Jewish neighbours, contrary to the prohibition of chukkoth haggoyim contained in the words, “Ye shall not walk in their statutes” (Lev. xviii. 3), i.e., in the statutes of the Gentiles. But, on the other hand, it has been argued that the feeling once expressed by the nation in the words “This is my God, and I will worship him in a beautiful manner” (Exod. xv. 2), still animates us. It is said that it is our duty to make our Service as beautiful and as attractive as possible. This argument deserves consideration, and might even outweigh some of the above-mentioned arguments against the introduction of music into our Service, if we were sure of the result of such introduction. But this is by no means the case, for the experiment, where tried, has not been successful if judged by the most practical test. The number of worshippers has not been increased, and discontent has not been removed. Whether the devotion of the worshippers has been improved, refined, or intensified by music is a question that cannot be answered with certainty. Even if the answer were satisfactory, it could only apply to the introduction of instrumental music into our Service on week-days, on Friday evening before the commencement of Sabbath, but not on Sabbaths and Holy-days.

The Ritual.

In the Bible there is no indication of a fixed ritual; there are, however, a few instances of forms of prayer prescribed for certain occasions. There is the priests’ blessing (Num. vi. 24–26); the thanksgiving on bringing the first-fruit offering to the Temple (Deut. xxvi. 3–10); prayer on distributing the tithes which accumulated in three years (ibid. 13–15). David (Ps. lv. 18) says, “Evening, and morning, and at noonday do I pray;” Daniel “kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Dan. vi. 11); but nothing is said about the form and the contents of these prayers. The Mishnah first speaks of certain fixed forms of prayer: the “Eighteen” (‏שמונה עשרה‎), the reading of Shema (‏קריאת שמע‎), and Benedictions (‏ברכות‎). The composition of the tefillah, “Prayer” par excellence, is attributed to the Men of the Great Synagogue (‏אנשי כנסת הגדולה‎), but only in its outlines. The number of the paragraphs, the theme of each paragraph, and the formula by which it is concluded may then have been fixed, the rest being left to be filled up by each supplicant according to his capacity. It was but natural that prayers uttered repeatedly by men eminent for their piety should be eagerly copied by others, and gradually become, to some extent at least, fixed forms of prayer. The tefillah, however, in the time of the Mishnah was by no means identical with the tefillah of the Men of the Great Synagogue. The destruction of the Temple necessitated several changes; e.g., the prayers for the welfare of Jerusalem, for the prosperity of Israel and of the Holy Land, and for the acceptance of the Service in the Temple were altered in accordance with the new state of affairs.

The Benedictions which precede and follow the reading of shema were fixed in the time of the Mishnah as regards number, order, and form; but the contents were left unsettled for some time (Mishnah, Berachoth i. 4); in the Gemara their wording is still a subject for discussion. The same can be said with regard to the relative order of shema and tefillah. For the Evening Service the tefillah seems to have generally been considered as optional. As to Benedictions in general, their obligatory character is assumed in the Mishnah as admitted by all, and only their form seems to have been fixed by the regulations mentioned in Berachoth vi.–ix.

The Mishnah (Megillah iii. 4–iv. 10) includes a number of regulations concerning the reading of the Law, the Prophets, and the Book of Esther. Detailed rules were laid down for the reader and the translator (methurgeman), pointing out which passages should be omitted in the translation, and which should be omitted even in the original. It seems that there was a regular, consecutive reading, which was interrupted on extraordinary days by the reading of passages referring to these days.

The ritual which was adopted for the priests in the Temple was an abridged form of the ritual then in general use. It was as follows: They commenced with a benediction—the first of those which precede the shema (‏יוצר אור‎); then they read the Decalogue, shema (the three paragraphs), and three further benedictions, ‏אמת ויציב‎, ‏עבודה‎ (corresponding to ‏רצה‎ in our prayer), and the blessing of the priests (Mishnah, Tamid v. 1).

Prayers at Fixed Times.

Although we constantly enjoy the blessings of God, the very breath we breathe being the gift of our Heavenly Father, yet certain seasons of the day, of the week, of the month, and of the year have been selected as especially fit for reminding us of God’s kindness, and predisposing our heart to devotion. Thus in the day, morning, noon and evening have been fixed for prayer; in the week, Sabbath; in the month, New-moon; in the year, the Festivals.

The two most essential elements in these Services are: (1) the Reading of Shema (‏קריאת שמע‎), in the Maaribh and the Shacharith; (2) the Tefillah or Amidah, common to all the Services.

1. The Reading of Shema.

In obedience to the precept, “Thou shalt speak of them,” i.e., of “the words which I command thee this day—when thou liest down and when thou risest up,” three sections of the Law are read daily in the morning and in the evening, viz., (1) Deut. vi. 4–9, beginning ‏שמע‎ “Hear;” (2) Ibid. xi. 13–21, beginning ‏והיה אם שמע תשמעו‎ “And it shall be if ye will diligently hearken;” (3) Num. xv. 37–41, beginning ‏ויאמר יי‎ “And the Lord said.” The first section teaches the Unity of God, and our duty to love this One God with all our heart, to make His Word the subject of our constant meditation, and to instil it into the heart of the young.—The second section contains the lesson of reward and punishment: that our success depends on our obedience to the Will of God. This important truth must constantly be kept before our eyes and before the eyes of our children.—The third section contains the commandment of tsitsith, the object of which is to remind us of God’s precepts: “Ye shall see it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray, that you remember and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”

2. The Tefillah or Amidah.

The Tefillah, “Prayer” par excellence, is called Amidah (lit., “standing”), because the worshipper stands during the time he offers it up. It is also called Shemoneh-esreh, “Eighteen,” because it contains on most occasions eighteen (or nineteen, comp. p. 431) paragraphs, each concluding with a benediction.

The first three paragraphs contain praise of God’s goodness to us, the descendants of the pious patriarchs (1), His omnipotence (2), and His holiness (3).

The next thirteen paragraphs are petitions for our individual and national well-being. For our individual well-being (4–9), namely, for reason and wisdom (4), assistance in our endeavour to return to God (5), forgiveness of our sins (6), deliverance from trouble (7), from illness (8), and from want (9).—For our national well-being (10–15), namely, for the gathering of those who are scattered (10), under good leaders (11), protected from the evil designs of our foes (12), for the support of the faithful (13), the rebuilding of Jerusalem (14), and the advent of Messiah (15). The sixteenth paragraph is a prayer that our petition may be accepted.—The last three paragraphs include a petition for the re-establishment of Divine Service in the Temple of Jerusalem (17), thanksgiving (18), and prayer for peace and prosperity (19). When the prayer is finished we express the wish that our lips, from which prayer to God has come forth, may not be defiled by unworthy language.

On Sabbaths, Holy-days, and in every Musaph the thirteen middle paragraphs are replaced by one in which reference is made to the characteristic feature of the day; in the Musaph of New-year three berachoth (p. 404) are substituted for the thirteen middle berachoth of the ordinary tefillah. The thirteen paragraphs have been eliminated in order that we should not be reminded on Sabbath and Holy-days of our failings, wants, and troubles; that those seasons should be marked by a happier and more cheerful mood than ordinary days (supra, p. 354).

Each of the above Services ends with a prayer called after its initial word alenu, “It is our duty.” In this prayer we thank God that we have the privilege of proclaiming His Unity, and express our hope to see the worship of the One God adopted by all mankind. It is omitted between two Services following closely the one upon the other.

In addition to the above, the Service contains the following parts:—

(1.) ‏ברכות השחר‎ “Blessings of the Morning,” forming the first part of the Morning Service. It contains benedictions, reflections, and prayers suggested by the change from night to day, from sleep to wakefulness, from rest to activity.

(2.) Psalms.—Our Service contains various groups of psalms: chief among them the mizmorim or pesuke dezimrah (“songs” or “verses of song”), and shir shel yom (“song of the day”), in the Morning Service. The former include Ps. cxlv. to cl., some other psalms, and the song of Moses (Exod. xv.). The latter correspond to the songs of the Levites in the Temple, and consist of Ps. xxiv. (for Sunday), xlviii. (for Monday), lxxxii. (for Tuesday), xciv. (for Wednesday), lxxxi. (for Thursday), xciii. (for Friday), and xcii. (for Saturday).—The repetition of Ps. cxlv. three times a day, twice during Shacharith and once during Minchah, is an old minhag (Babyl. Talm., Berachoth, p. 4b).

(3.) Supplications (‏תחנונים‎) added in the Morning and the Afternoon Services after the tefillah.

(4.) Readings from the Bible and Post-Biblical Sacred Literature, such as Num. vi. 22 sqq. (priests’ blessing); Gen. xxii. (binding of Isaac); Exod. xvi. (manna); Mishnah, Peah i. 1, and Babyl. T., Shabbath 127a, in the earlier part of the Morning Service; and words of comfort (beginning ‏ובא לציון‎) from the Prophets after the “Supplications.” Originally an exposition of the Written and the Oral Law followed the “Supplications,” and concluded with Messianic prophecies, recited in Hebrew and in the Chaldee Version.

(5.) Biblical and Post-Biblical passages referring to the Sacrificial Service, in the Morning and the Afternoon Services.

In addition to the above Services, read either in the Synagogue or privately at home, there is a special prayer read by us before retiring to rest. The chief element in it is the first section of shema; hence the name ‏קריאת שמע שעל המטה‎ “Reading of shema before going to bed.” Some psalms and supplications are generally added.

The following points mark off the Public Service from the various forms of private prayer:—

(1.) Kaddish, “Sanctification,” a prayer for the universal sanctification of God’s name, which will distinguish the age of Messiah. In the second part of the Kaddish we pray for the Messianic peace, and in the last sentence express our hope that it may soon be granted.

Formerly the Kaddish concluded the Service; at present it is recited at the end of the Service in its full form (‏קדיש שלם‎ “the whole Kaddish”); the first half (‏חצי קדיש‎ “half-Kaddish”) has its place at the end of a section of the Service—e.g., after the ‏פסוקי דזמרה‎ in the Morning Service; a third form is recited by mourners after ‏עלינו‎ and after special hymns or psalms; it is the whole Kaddish with the omission of the sentence beginning ‏תתקבל‎. It is called ‏קדיש יתום‎ “Kaddish of the orphan,” and is intended to express the mourner’s faith in God and his resignation to His Will.—Sometimes a special Kaddish, called Kaddish dirabbanan, is recited after the reading of some Talmudic or Midrashic passages. It is the same as Kaddish shalem, except that the sentence beginning ‏תתקבל‎ is replaced by a prayer for the welfare of the scholars, the Rabbis, and their pupils.

(2.) Repetition of the tefillah by the Reader, with the addition of Kedushah before the third paragraph, and the Priests’ Blessing before the last paragraph, of the tefillah. The Kedushah, “Proclamation of the Holiness of God,” is based on the visions of Isa. vi. and of Ezek. iii., with citation of three verses, Isa. vi. 3, Ezek. iii. 12, and Ps. cxlvi. 10, in which the Holiness, Glory, and Kingdom of God are proclaimed.

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

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

Occasional Prayers—Benedictions, ‏ברכות‎.

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

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

Notes.

1. On Page 424 sqq.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. On Page 439.

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

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

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

3. On Page 442 (2).

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

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

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

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

4. On Page 442 (3).

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

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

5. On Page 420.

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

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

6. On Page 420.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. On Page 424.

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

VI. The Dietary Laws.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notes.

1. On Page 459—1a.

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

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

2. On Page 459—1c.

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

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

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

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

3. On Page 459—1d.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. On Page 459—1c.

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

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

5. On Page 460—3b.

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