mE JEWISH CHILD W. M. FELDMAN 7f ^ F3h (JJotncU Httioccaitg ffiibrarg JItttaca, Ken Hark BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME ®J^ THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE IS9I Digitized by Microsoft® Cornell University Library HQ 507.F31 The Jewish childiits history, folklore, 3 1924 021 846 740 All books are subject to recall after two weeks. Olin/Kroch Library DATE DUE r^fc-»'.4^^i#^ a,.Sia«8»— ».tJtl© u 1 il tfcMiiArr .,iMiii4jf\m m ^^^^^«^ jjffiiiwOT W* ow ^i '^mf M* A 1 1/^^^^^^ ■"■ WTO' GAYLORD PRINTED IN U.S.A. Digitized by Microsoft® y y Plate I; — The Sabbath-Eve Examination of the Yodng Jewish Scholar. (See p. 280.) Frontispiece Digitized by Microsoft® THE JEWISH CHILD ITS HISTORY, FOLKLORE, BIOLOGY, & SOCIOLOGY BY W. M. FELDMAN, M.B., B.S.Lond. ASSISTANT-PHYSICIAN TO, AND LECTURER ON CHILD PHYSIOLOGY AT, THE INFANTS' HOSPITAL,, WESTMINSTER J LECTURER AND EXAMINER IN GENERAL AND INFANT HYGIENE (LATE LECTURER IN MIDWIFERY) TO THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL, ETC. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SIR JAMES CRICHTON-BROWNE M.D., D.Sc, LL.D., F.R.S. WITH 2 PLATES AND 19 ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON BAILLI^RE, TINDALL AND COX 8 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN 1917 [Ail rights reserved] Digitized by-^iikosoft© 3?/55"1 Printed in Great Britain ^' Digitized by Microsoft® ■-<"'; . \'. AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO MY SON VIVIAN ON HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY Digitized by Microsoft® This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation witli Cornell University Libraries, 2007. You may use and print this copy in limited quantity for your personal purposes, but may not distribute or provide access to it (or modified or partial versions of it) for revenue-generating or other commercial purposes. Digitized by Microsoft® PREFACE This volume represents the first attempt in English, and, as far as I am aware, in any other language, to give an exclusive, comprehensive, but at the same time reliable, first-hand account of all the phases and aspects of Jewish child life. But whilst this book is ency- clopsedic in scope, and no pains have been spared to present a complete and fairly detailed panoramic view of the subject, it was not my aim to deal with my theme exhaustively. Any such attempt would have meant extending almost every chapter to the size of a book. I believe, however, that I have not omitted any facts which have an important bearing on the subject. The scholar or serious student who wishes to pursue the subject in greater detail will find in the numerous references plenty of signposts to show him the way. For the benefit of those who possess a knowledge of Hebrew or Talmudics, I have added an appendix, giving, in the form of a short index, the original of some of the more interesting Eabbinical statements or sayings referred to in the body of the book. In order to make the subject interesting reading, I have here and there interspersed a few pithy sayings or relevant anecdotes culled from Eabbinic literature. Most of these are not only instructive in themselves, but help one to appreciate the important points which they vii Digitized by Microsoft® viii Preface are meant to illustrate, in the same way as, to use a Midrashic simile, the humble torch serves one to find the precious jewel. It will be noticed that, in dealing with the several epochs which constitute the life-cycle of the Jewish child, I have not started from the moment of birth, which is only one of the turning-points in the cycle; nor even have I set out from the moment of conception. To have done that would have meant the omission of the very important so-called germinal stage, the stage when, to borrow Ballantyne's phraseology, the child still has a dual existence inside the germ cells of its parents. I have therefore started from this dual ante- conceptional stage, and passed in review every phase from that stage onwards until the child itself becomes capable of becoming a parent. The phases considered may be put into the following tabular form: (1) Antenatal epoch : (a) Anteconceptional or germinal stage. (b) Conceptional. (c) Post-conceptional. (a) Embryonic. (y8) Foetal. (2) Natal epoch. (3) Post-natal epoch : {a) Infancy. (6) Childhood. (c) Puberty = anteconceptional stage of next generation. In describing each phase, I have begun from the earliest recorded period— viz., the Biblical— and traced Digitized by Microsoft® Preface ix it right througli the Talmudic, Midrashic and medieval periods up to the present day. I described what was known or believed about every phase in the life-cycle, from the biological, sociological, and legendary stand- points, in the classical Jewish literature, and, without any bias either way, compared such knowledge with that of contemporary non-Jewish writers of each period. To render such comparison more instructive, I have added a biographical index giving the dates at which these Jewish and non-Jewish famous philosophers flourished. I^have also compared such knowledge with that of the present day. I have further compared and contrasted the physical andfbiological characters of the modern Jewish child with those of its non-Jewish confrere. Modifying'Wunderbar's classification, one may divide Jewish biological science into the following periods : 1. Biblical, from the time of Abraham to that of Ezra {i.e., 2000 to 450 B.C.). 2. Pre-Talmudic, from the time of Ezra to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (450 B.C. to 70 c.e.). This period includes the time of Ben Sirah and that of the Essenes, and finishes with that of Thudas the physician (see Biographical Index). 3. Talmudic, from the time of Thudas to the conclusion of the Babylonian Talmud {i.e., 70 to 500 c.e.). 4. Midrashic, sixth to ninth centuries c.e. 5. Medieval, embracing the period of Maimonides and Ibn Ezra (see Biographical Index) and later Jewish writers. It is obvious that the accomplishment of such a task necessitated somewhat varied and extensive reading. Moreover, to make the account reliable it was necessary Digitized by Microsoft® X Preface to go to the original sources of information. This was no easy task considering the many hundreds — I might almost say thousands — of references that had to be examined and studied. If I add the fact that the book was planned, compiled, and written, during the very few odd moments snatched from a somewhat busy pro- fessional life, I believe that the kindly critic will take it as a suflScient excuse for any of the minor imperfections which he may find in this work. I have to thank the following authorities for having kindly read the manuscript, for the encouragement they gave me, as well as for the suggestions they were good enough to make. First and foremost I wish to pay a tribute of respect to the memory of that great savant, the late Sir Lauder Brunton, M.D., D.Sc, F.R.C.P., F.R.S., etc. In spite of his failing strength, he took an enthusiastic interest in the work, and went out of his way to give me every help and encouragement. The other gentlemen who read the book and gave me useful and pertinent suggestions are Major F. W. Mott, M.D., LL.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.; Captain Charles Singer, M.D.; a,nd Sir James Crichton-Browne, M.D., D.Sc, F.R.S. The Chief Rabbi has also been good enough to find time to turn over its pages and give me his valuable criticism. I thank them all, but I wish to express my special debt of gratitude to Sir James Crichton-Browne for the very flattering Introduction with which he was kind enough to favour me. I am also indebted to that eminent teratologist. Dr. J. W. Ballantyne, for the loan of Fig. 1 ; to Captain Redclifie N. Salaman, M.D., for the loan of the photographs reproduced on Plate II., as well as for his reading and criticizing those portions of the book which deal with his investigations ; and to Mr. Henry Snowman, Digitized by Microsoft® Preface xi B.A., for reading a portion of the proofs. Dr. Kelynack also read the first few chapters and encouraged me to go on with the work. Lastly, it gives me great pleasure to record my very great indebtedness to that eminent Rabbinical scholar, my friend Rabbi A. Hyman. Not only have I derived considerable help from his classical Hebrew Biographies of the Rabbis, as well as from his other important con- tributions to Rabbinic literature, especially his Index to the Agadas in the Talmud, Midrash, etc. ; but he was also so extremely kind as to verify all the Talmudical and other Rabbinical references throughout the book. To any ordinary scholar, this would have meant many weeks of hard work; but such is Mr. Hyman's erudition that he accomplished the task in as many days. While I believe that all the Rabbinical quotations have been correctly translated, the translations are not necessarily verbatim ones, exrcept in the case of the parts that really matter. In any case, it is only right to state that the full responsibility for the translation and interpretation of these quotations must rest on myself alone. W. M. FELDMAN. 875, FiNCHLEY Egad, GoLDERS Green, N.W. 2. Digitized by Microsoft® LIST OF WORKS FREQUENTLY CONSULTED m ADDITION TO NUMEROUS OTHER BOOKS AND PERIODICALS IN HEBREW AND MODERN LANGUAGES, MENTIONED IN THE TEXT, WHICH HAVE ONLY BEEN OCCASIONALLY REFERRED TO. Old AND New Testasient. Talmud (Babylonian and Palestinian or Jerushalmi), with the usual commentaries — viz., Rashi, Tosafoth, Rambam, etc. In the footnotes, the Palestinian Talmud is indicated by the prefix " Jer." or " J.," standing for Jerushalmi. MiDEASH Rabba, Tanchuma, etc. — ^Midrash Rabba is indicated by the letter R. Thus, Exod. R. stands for Midrash Rabba to Exodus. Jewish Encyclopedia: OzAE Israel (being practically a Hebrew edition of the Jewish Encyclopaedia). Shulchan Aettch. I. Abbahams : Jewish Life in the Middle Ages. M. Fishbeeg: The Jews. M. GrCnwald : Hygiene der Juden. A. Hyman: Works mentioned in the Preface. J. Jacobs: Jewish Statistics. A. RuppiN : The Jews of To-Day. J. Peetjss: Bibl. talmud. Medizin. A. H: Sayce: The Races of the Old Testament. D. Schapiro: Obstetrique des Anciens Hebreux. Rev. B. Spiers: School System of the Talmud. Wunderbae: Bibl. talmud. Medizin. xn Digitized by Microsoft® CONTENTS tSQUS Peefacb - - - - ^ - - vii List of Works frequently consulted - - - xii Introbuction by Sir James Crichton-Browne - - xxiii Errata --.-... ^xvi PART I GENERAL SURVEY CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Preparation for the child — Ideal to have healthy, beautiful, and clever children — What were the characteristics of beauty ? — Height, shape of head, complexion, etc. — ^Factors which influence the subsequent career of the child: Heredity; place of birth ; astral influences ; circumstances in connection with begetting; maternal influences during pregnancy and lactation; ethnological factors ; dreams— Relative values of boys and girls ----- i-jg CHAPTER II HEREDITY AND EUGENICS Biblical and Talmudical views about heredity — Inheritance of mental, physical, and pathological characters — Love and marriage — Influence of alcohol on ofispring — Disparity of age — Correlation coefficient for height between parents and children — Matchmaking — ^Dowry, free board and residence to young couple — Causes of sterility — Cure of sterility — Impotence: Varieties of; treatment — The in- heritance of acquired characters — Telegony — ^Nature versus nurture — ^Eugenics — Factors considered before arranging a marriage : (a) Good birth ; (6) physical health and good appearance; (c) financial position - 20-45 xiii Digitized by Microsoft® PAQBS xiv Contents CHAPTEE III JEWISH GENETICS STUDIED BY MODERN METHODP Consanguinity of marriage — Has it any deleterious effects fer se on the offspring ? — Theoretical and statistical considera- tions—Conclusions — Jewish heredity and Mendelism — Redcliffe Salaman's investigations and conclusions — Jewish physiognomy a Mendelian recessive character — Congenital deaf-mutism a recessive character — ^Eye colour a Men- delian character - . . , . . 46-54 CHAPTEE IV MADtRIAOK IN GENEBAL Marriage versus celibacy — ^Marriage age — Child marriage — Social effects of marriage of defectives — ^Marriage statistics — ^Marriages made in heaven — Sacredness of promise of marriage — ^Long engagements discouraged — ^Influence of wife on husband — ^Marriage should be for love alone^- Character of women — ^Manners and customs associated with marriage — Domestic life of husband and wife — ^Adoption 55-73 CHAPTEE V THE PBOHIBITED DEGEEES OF MAEEIAGE Biological discussioiH-Levirate — Chalitzah - - - 74-79 CHAPTER VI INTEEMAREIAGE, AND PUEITY OF DESCENT OF JEWISH CHILD What do we mean by the term " Jewish child "? — ^Historical survey of intermarriage between Jews and Gentiles from Biblical times to present day — ^Analysis of effects of such intermarriages on racial purity of the Jewish child: (1) Racial characters of intermarrying peoples; (2) extent of intermarriage ; (3) the fertility of mixed marriages; (4) alleged prepotency of Jewish blood and Mendelism; (5) how many hybrid children remain within the Jewish fold ?^DisouB8ion of these points — Summary — Balance of evidence in favour of racial purity of Jewish child - 80-98 Digitized by Microsoft® Contents xv PAET II ANTE-NATAL OONSIDEEATIONS CHAPTER VII PREGNANCY PASES Physiology of pregnancy from Rabbinical and contemporary points of view — Circumstances favourable to conception — Fecundatio absque consuetudine viri — Prevention of con- ception — Signs and symptoms of pregnancy: Amenorrbcea; longings; fcetal movements; changes in physical appear- ance of woman — ^Diagnosis of pregnancy from woman's gait — Diagnosis of sex of foetus — ^Diagnosis of multiple pregnancy — Duration of pregnancy — Protracted and diminished periods of gestation — Signs of recent delivery in a woman ------ 99-112 CHAPTER VIII HYGIENE OP PREGNANCY Care of mother — ^Protection from injury, fright, bad news, bad smells — Efiect of mental impressions on pregnancy — TAet and alcohol — ^Fatigue, etc. — ^Religious and legal privileges of pregnant woman ----- 113-119 CHAPTER IX EMBRYOLOGY Rabbinical views compared with those of Hippocrates and Aristotle — Preformation versus epigenesis — Scatulation theory — ^Parts of body contributed by father, mother, and God — ^Appearance of a forty-days embryo — Amniotic sac and liquor anmii — ^Date of appearance of sexual organs —Views of Hippocrates and Aristotle — Experimental em- bryology — Organic functions of foetus — Formation of monstrosities: Sympodia, cyclops, monopsia, double-headed monsters, Siamese twins, etc. — Hermaphroditism : (a) Androginos; (&) Tumtum — Teratogenesis — Attitude of faetus inside uterus — Superfecundation and superfoetation — ^Embryology of twins — Dissimilar and identical twins — Determination of sex — Talmudlc and other contemporary views compared with modern opinion - - 120-144: Digitized by Microsoft® xvi Contents CHAPTER X PHILOSOPHICAL SPECULATIONS ABOUT THE EMBRYO Body and soul — ^AU souls created during first six days of creation pai;K!i of world — Leibnitz's scatulation theory of souls — ^Angels protecting the embryo — Knowledge acquired by embryo — Platonic view— Both Talmudic speculation and Plato's view probably originate from Egyptian myth — Crying at birth — ^Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Hora — Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — Explanation of flexed position of foetus — Wonders and mysteries of f oetal^development — Microcosmic theory — Helplessness of new-born baby ... 145-152 PART III BIETH AND EAELY INFANCY CHAPTER XI THE BIBTH OF THE CHILD Obstetric considerations — Labour paina — Greater with female children — Causes of pains, and remedies— Mechanism of labour— Abnormal presentations: Breech and transverse — Position of woman during labour — " Birth stool " — Role of midwife — Difficult labour — Death during labour — Obstetric operations — Embryotomy — Csesarean section — Indications for operation — Sterilization — Vagitus uterinus — Superstitions and customs in connection with the birth of a child — Talmudic compared with Syriac astrology and with mediaeval folklore — ^Demonology — Lilith and other pixies — Ceremonies — Privileges of first-born son — Identifi- cation of first-born ..... 153-I72 CHAPTER XII THE INPANT AND ITS MOTHER The infant — Viability — Baby's immediate care — Resuscitation of stillborn— Cutting of cord — Bathing — Sprinkling with salt — Swaddling-clothes — Rubbing with oil — ^Manipulation of head — -Asube yenuka — ^Breast feeding — Care of mother during lying-in and lactation — Lactation of very great importance — Circumstances affecting the quality of the Digitized by Microsoft® Contents xvii PAGES milk — Origin of milk — Diet of nursing mother — Wet-nurse —Purification of mother — Privileges of puerperal woman — Weaning — Diet after weaning — ^Mode of carrying a baby — Evil-eye— The child's sleep— Cots— Growth of child— Lul- labies — Congenital malformations — Playing with children — Illegitimate children ----- 173-202 CHAPTER XIII RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES IN CONNECTION WITH A BABY Circumcision — Ceremony — Contra-indications to operation — Who does the operation? — Origin of rite — Evidence afiorded by Egyptian monuments and mummies — Objects of opera- tion — ^Difierent views — Beneficial eSects as proved by statistics — Technique of operation — Opposition to opera- tion - 203-217 CHAPTER XIV NAMING THE CHILD, AND OTHEB CEREMONIES When is name given 1 — Choice of name — Origin of Jewish names — Classification of foreign names — Meaning of names — ' Verse name" — ^Redemption of first-born — -Baptism ,218-228 PART IV CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH CHAPTER XV GENERAL SURVEY Seven ages of man, Rabbinical and Shakespearian — ^Protection of child from injujy by animals — Learning to walk — " Go- carts " — The fontanelle; teething — Sacredness of life of child — Chalakah — School age — Care of growing child — Domestic life of a child at the present day — Barmitzvah — Confirmation of girls — Puberty — Signs of puberty — Menstruation appears earb'er in Jewish girls — Statistics — Physiology and pathology of menstruation — Causes of menstruation, etc. — ^Difierentiating tests for difierent kinds of blood — Identification of blood-stains — Chastity - 229-246 b Digitized by Microsoft® xviii Contents CHAPTER XVI RELATION BETWEEN PAEENTS AND CHILDREN PAQIS Duties of a father and mother — ^Maintenance — The duties of children to parents ----- 247-252 CHAPTER XVII PERSONAL CLEANLINESS AND HYGIENE Hygiene of skin — Baths — Order of washing the body — Washing after attending the calls of nature — Care of hair, ears, nose, eyes, teeth and mouth, nails — Dress — General hygiene: Sunshine; fresh air; food, quantity and quality — Attention to calls of nature — ^Exercise — Cheerful disposition — Sleep —Physiology of S-leep ... - 253-274 CHAPTER XVIII GENERAL EDUCATION Value of education — Sacrifices made by parents to secure good education for their children — School hygiene — Construction of school building — Open-air schools— School management — School discipline — School curriculum — Education of girls — Child study — Qualifications of a teacher — ^Methods of instruction — Corporal punishment — Textbooks — Respect in which teachers were held — Mental gymnastics — Aids to memory — ^Education in Middle Ages — Education of modem Jewish child — Statistics .... 275-314 CHAPTER XIX SOME OF THE MATHEMATICAL PROBLEMS OF THE TALMUD Surds — Value of tt — Relation between areas of square and inscribed and circumscribed circles — Calculation of heights and depths — Various other problems - - 315-331 CHAPTER XX MORAL EDUCATION The abuse of the tongue — Acquisition of knowledge — Patience — Pride— Kindness — Truth — Unselfishness — Independence and self-reliance — Love of work — Honesty — Optimism — Greed — Mutual responsibility — Consideration for feeling of others — Bad habits — Power of observation — Kindness to animals — General discipline - . . . 332-356 Digitized by Microsoft® Contents xix CHAPTEE XXI THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION OF CHILDEEN ^ PASES Athletics and physical exercises in Biblical times — Hunting, wrestling, running, archery, swimming — ^Athletics in time of Antiochus Epiphanes and Talmudical times — Circuses, swimming, juggling, lifting weights, ball-playing, etc. — Athletics in Jliddle Ages and modern times - - 357-361 CHAPTER XXII THE CHILD IN JEWISH LAW The foetus in criminal and civil law — Primogeniture — ^Age of majority — Three stages in legal life of a girl: (a) Ketanah ; (&) na'arah; (c) bogereth — Transaction of minors — Testi- mony — Adult stage, with its accompanying legal and religious responsibilities - - . . 362-367 CHAPTEE XXIII THE PATHOLOGY OF THE JEWISH CHILD Difficulty of rearing children — Common ailments of children in Talmudical times — Causes of disease: (a) God's punish- ment; (6) certain kinds of waters; (c) blood; {d) thermal agencies; (e) infection; (f) evil-eye; {g) heredity — General treatment — Vis medicatrix natures — Change of name — Isolation and disinfection — Other therapeutic means and surgical treatment — The use of vaccines and sera from the Jewish point of view — Some of the diseases of childhood — Ascara — Tonsillitis — Scurvy, smallpox, etc. — Their pre- vention and treatment — The morbidity of the modern Jewish child — Statistics — General discussion — ^Eelative fre- quency and mortality- - - . . 368-387 CHAPTEE XXIV THE CARE OF AFFLICTED CHILDBEN Blind, deaf-mutes, and epileptics, in ancient and modern times — Relative frequency — Care of orphans - - 388-401 Digitized by Microsoft® XX Contents CHAPTEE XXV THE BIOSTATIC AND PHYSICAL CHAEACTEBS OF THE MODEEN JEWISH CHILD PASES Vital statistics — Birth and death rates — Statistical discussions — Stillbirths — ^Plural births — Sex at birth, etc. — ^Anthropo- metric characters — Height, weight, and chest measure- ments — Cephalic index — Complexion — Mental ability — Physiognomy — The fate of the Jewish child - - 402-418 APPENDIX I BiOGEAPHiCAL Index . - - - 419-422 APPENDIX II Index of Rabbinical Quotations - - 423-440 General Index ----- 441-453 Digitized by Microsoft® LIST OF PLATES AND ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE I. THE SABBATH-EVE EXAMINATION OF THE YOUNG JEWISH SCHOLAE ----- Frontis'piece II. SHOWING THE RESULT OF THE MATING OP JEWS WITH HYBRIDS - - . - - Tp face f. 54 *■"•'' PAGB 1. PHOTOGRAPH OF A CHALDEAN TERATOLOGICAL TABLET OVER 4,000 YEARS OLD - - - - - 131 2. HABDALAH SERVICE- ----- 233 3. INSTRUCTION IN THE METHOD OF " LAYING T^PHILLIN " - 235 4. EVALUATION OP ^2 " " " " - 316 5. EVALUATION OF VSOOO (TALMUDIC METHOD) - - 317 6. EVALUATION OF V^OOO (EASHI's METHOD) - - 318 7. RELATION BETWEEN SQUARES AND CIRCLES - - - 321 8. ANOTHER METHOD OF FINDING -^2 - - - 321 9. 10. 1 ll.J PROOF OF RELATION BETWEEN AREA OF SQUARE AND CIRCLE (method OF THE TOSAFISTS) 322, 323 12. TALMUDIC TRIGONOMETRIC METHOD OF DETERMINATION OF DEPTH OF A VALLEY ----- 324 13. DETERMINATION OP HEIGHT OF A TREE - - - 325 14. PROBLEM ON MAXIMA AND MINIMA (CASE I.) - - 326 15. PROBLEM ON MAXIMA AND MINIMA (CASE II.) - - 328 16. ^ r 17. 18. 19. OTHER GEOMETRICAL PROBLEMS - xxi Digitized by Microsoft® 329 329 330 331 Digitized by Microsoft® INTKODUCTION Dr Feldman's book on the Jewish Child is a work of unique scholarship, of deep scientific insight, of perfect lucidity, and of great literary charm. Learned in all the learnings of the Hebrews, and well versed in modern biology, Dr. Feldman has produced what might be called a medley. But it is a medley instructive and entertaining, showing how Rabbinical and Talmudic precepts anticipated many of the hygienic teachings of to-day, and linking Oriental imagery with statistics and mathematical analysis. It is an historical excur- sion varied and picturesque, and a philosophical treatise at once simple and profound. It contains, no doubt, drawn from the records of the past, a good deal of archaic physiology, doubtful anthropology, and ethics, not in accord with existing notions; but it contains also a sound exposition of the most recent developments of these subjects. With a not unnatural bias, Dr. Feldman is perhaps inclined to attach too much significance to Eabbinical writings, reading into them more wisdom than they warrant; but at the same time he brings to light a remarkable body of evidence of their subtle knowledge of human nature and of their practical sagacity, and in doing so he regales us with pungent proverbs, pretty fables, quaint metaphors, and touches of humour. xxiii Digitized by Microsoft® xxiv Introduction Dealing with subjects like marriage and eugenics, heredity, racial purity and genetics, it is inevitable that Dr. Feldman should sometimes fail to carry his reader with him. He gives a full and admirable state- ment of the Mendelian theory, but his conclusion in connection with it, founded on an investigation by Dr. Salaman, that the Jewish type of face is a recessive character, will not, perhaps, obtain general assent. The numbers included in Dr. Salaman's inquiry are too few to justify any safe conclusion, and the decision as to whether a physiognomy was Jewish or Gentile must have been in many cases difficult and doubtful. The Rabbis are not always agreed amongst them- selves, so Dr. Feldman may be excused if he is some- times betrayed into inconsistency. He emphasizes the fact that the Rabbis, two thousand years ago, arrived at a conclusion essentially the same as that which living biologists have adopted — the conclusion that, whilst environment may have some slight effect in influencing the welfare of the child, its influence is small compared with that of heredity. It is Nature, he argues, and not nurture, that counts. But all the subsequent chapters of his book are devoted to insisting on the potent effects of a well-ordered environment on the Jewish chUd. He shows how nurture, according to Jewish methods, from the antenatal period up to puberty, confers, and always has conferred, signal advantages on the Jewish child, and may be instrumental in building up a vigorous and well-balanced constitution. And it is this part of his work that will attract most attention, and that is calcu- lated to make it useful. The people of this country cannot hope to share in the prepotency that Dr. Feldman claims for his race ; but they can profit by the experience Digitized by Microsoft® Introduction xxv of that race, and in part imitate the regimen that has, it is alleged, for ages helped that race to rear exception- ally healthy, beautiful, and clever children. At a time when the saving of infant life has become a matter of such vital importance, special interest attaches to Dr. Feldman's study of embryology, of the hygiene of pregnancy, of obstetrics, and of nursing. In connection with each of these subjects he records judi- cious foresight and salutary ordinances, of a minuteness and stringency, however, that would not be tolerated now, mixed up with fantastic speculations and illumiua- tive metaphors. He discloses the inner meanings of ceremonial observances and the practical bearings of the symbolical. On the relations between parents and children, and on education (physical, intellectual, and moral), Dr. Feldman has much to say that imparts freshness to these somewhat threadbare themes, and he makes it clear that Hillel was the forerunner of Montessori. He is eminently suggestive, richly allusive, keenly introspective. He has made a novel and notable contribution to pedagogics and pediatrics, and no one concerned with these subjects, or with ethnology, or with physiology in its legendary aspects, can henceforth afiord to ignore his researches. Dr. Feldman's book is not only readable, but fascinat- ing, except where it deals with coefficients, and will, I feel sure, command a large circle of readers. JAMES CRICHTON-BEOWNE. Digitized by Microsoft® ERRATA Note. — Whenever there is a discrepancy between a reference as given in the Footnotes and in Appendix II., the latter is to be taken as the correct one. Abboth, Abaye, Nidah should be spelt throughout Aboth, Ahbaye, Niddah. P. 46, heading: Bechoroth 76 should be Bechoroth 86. P. 49, 1.11: 393 should be 327. P. 54, 1. 29 : " bye colour " should be " eye colour." P. 54, 1. 30: 393 should be 396 and 397. P. 59: The Zohar was most probably written by Moses de Leon in the thirteenth century, and not by Isaac the Blind, as given in the note. P. 85, footnote 4: Rasenproblem should be Eassenproblem. P. 92, footnote 2: Bechoroth 76 should be Bechoroth 86. P. 98, 1. 9: p. 8 should be p. 81. P. Ill, footnote 1 should come as footnote 1 on p. 112; and footnotes 2, 3, 4, and 5 should be numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. P. 112, footnote 1 should come as footnote 5 on p. 111. P. 133, footnote 3: Bechoroth 5a should be Bechoroth 8a. P. 133, footnote 4: Bechoroth 76 should be Bechoroth 86. P. 135 : Quotation 5 is possible of another interpretation, as follows: Dttring the first three months the embryo is in the true pelvis, during the second three months in the false pelvis, and during the last three months in the upper part of the abdomen. P. 137, 1. 22: fostus papyra^eus should be ? foetus fafyraceus. P. 191, footnote 9 should read Chulin 10a and 6 and 496; foot- note 10 should read Baba Bathra 986. P. 192, 1. 24: 369 shouU be 370. P. 383: I have not been able to verify the statement attributed to Schwartz regarding the mortality of Jews from smallpox in the seventeenth century. Digitized b^Wcrosoft® THE JEWISH CHILD PART I GENERAL SURVEY CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION " The Eabbis have philosophized as follows : From the verse in Num. X. 36, ' Eeturn, Lord, to the myriads of thousands of Israel,' one may infer that the Divine Presence does not rest on less than two myriads of thousands of Israel. Hence, if there is one less than that number, and there be one man through whose negligence that one is not forthcoming, it surely follows that such a man causes the Divine Presence to be removed from Israel " (Yebamoth 636 and 64a). The possession of a child, especially of a male child, was, and still is, considered by the Jews as the greatest blessing God could bestow upon man. " Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord," says the Psalmist.^ It is therefore no wonder that many references to the care of children occur in the earliest as well as the later Jewish writings. Preparation for the Child. Out of 613 precepts which every Jew is enjoined to obey, that of reproduction is the most important. When, according to the Bible, God created man and ^ Ps. cxxvii. 3. 1 Digitized by Microsoft® 2 The Jewish Child [chap. woman, the first blessing that He gave them was, " Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. "^ The Talmud mentions that in the ideal future a woman will give birth to one child daily. ^ The principal object of marriage is, therefore, propagatioij of species,'' and he who does not fulfil this injunction is considered by Eabbi Eliezer " as one who com- mits murder."'* Some Eabbis are still more exacting, and even require a certain minimum number of children before considering that the object of marriage has been achieved. Thus, according to some it is essential that there should be at least one male and one female child born, and according to the School of Shammai® the necessary minimum is at least two children of each sex. " Children," says the Talmud, " are a bond of union between husband and wife."^ Sterility was considered the greatest curse, and he who had no children was, like the blind, the pauper, and the leper, considered the same as a dead man.^ Eachel, when she had no children, said to Jacob, " Give me children, or else I die;"® and when she gave birth to a son she said, "God has gathered in my shame. "^ "He who leaves children," says the Talmud; " is never considered as dead." The Rabbis infer this from the expressions used in the Bible to describe the deaths of David and Joab. The former, who left children, is described as " sUft with his fathers "^°; whilst the latter, who died childless, is spoken of as having died}^ According to the Shulchan Aruch (the collective name of a book in four volumes — Eben Haezer, Choshen Hamishpat, Yore Deah, and 1 Gen. i. 28. ^ Kallah R. ii. and Sabbath 30&. 2 SotaH 12a. * Yebam. 63&. » Ihid., 62a. « Keth. 50a. ' Nedarim 646. 8 (jen. xxx. 1. » Gen. XXX. 2, 3. " 1 Kings ii. 10. " Baba Bathra 116a. Digitized by Microsoft® I.] Introduction 3 Orach. Chayim, written by Joseph Karo in the six- teenth century), which is the authoritative religious law book of the Jews, " Marital relations should not be carried out with the object of satisfying one's animal passions, but with the idea of establishing a family which should serve God and be useful to man- kind."-^ Every connection which has not for its object the propagation of species is like adultery, says the Talmud,^ and hence according to Josephus^ the Essenes (a small ascetic Jewish sect in the time of Jesus) abstained from intercourse during pregnancy. Whilst among the Mohammedans the acme of pleasure in the world to come is of a purely sensual nature, the ideal of future bliss as pictured in the Talmud is for the righteous to sit with crowns on their heads, enjoying the bright- ness of the Divine Presence ; for there is no such a thing in heaven as eating, drinking, or sexual indulgence.^ The begetting of children is a duty which must not be neglected, even if one has reason to believe that the resulting offspring are not likely to be desirable acquisi- tions to society. In other words, the aim is to be to produce a " maximum," though not necessarily an " optimum " number of children. When Kiag Heze- kiah was sick the prophet Isaiah came to visit him, and informed him that he was about to die and not to live;^ this, the Talmud interprets, means that he was to die in this world, and not live in the next, because * Eben Haezer xxv. 2; see also Sotali 12a. 2 Yebam. 616. ^ " Jewist War," ii., ch. viii. 13. * Berachotli 17a. Sir Oliver Lodge, in his receatly published spiritualistic book " Baymond, or Life and Death," alleges that his dead son told him that the feeling of love between men and women in the spiritual world is of a different quality, and that " there don't seem to be any children born here. " ^ Isa. xxiviii. Digitized by Microsoft® 4 The Jewish Child [chap. lie did not fulfil the commandment of procreation. When Hezekiah excused himself by saying that by the aid of the Holy Spirit he could see that his issue would be unworthy, Isaiah replied that it was not his business to fathom God's mysteries, and that he should have done what was his duty. Hezekiah then begged that he might recover and be allowed to marry the prophet's daughter, so that in virtue of his own, as well as of the prophet's, privilege he might still have worthy children. The prophet refused, and said that he could not alter the decree, when Hezekiah cut him short, and said, " Do thou leave me, for I have it from my ancestors' house that ' even when a drawn sword lies upon one's neck, he should not despair.' "-^ Hezekiah recovered, and at the age of forty-two had a son (King Menasseh) born unto him, who did not follow in his father's foot- steps, but gave himself up to heathen worship.^ The Talmud also relates that, when Pharaoh issued the decree that all male children born to Jews should be thrown into the river,^ Amram, the father of Moses, said that it was useless to beget children, and therefore divorced his wife. Everybody followed his example and did the same. His daughter then said to him, " Father, thy decree is harsher even than Pharaoh's, since Pharaoh's decree applies only to male children, whilst thine includes both male and female; Pharaoh's decree only applies to this world, but thine applies to this world as well as the next." Amram then took his wife back, and all Israelites followed his example.^ This endeavour " to spread a layer of human proto- plasm of the greatest thickness over the earth " (to ^ Berachotli 10a. 2 2 Kings xxi. ^ Exod. i. 22. * Sotah 12o. Digitized by Microsoft® I-] Introduction 6 borrow a metaphor from Bateson) was the exact opposite of the Platonic idea, as expressed in the " Eepublic " (460). Plato fixes the number of the State at 8,000, and to attain this end the number of marriages is restricted. Good-looking Children. But it was not considered enough merely to have children. It was the ideal of the Jews at that time to perpetuate a race of healthy, beautiful, and clever men and women, and, as we shall see later, they formulated certain rules and principles which aimed at the realizatioH of that ideal. That their efforts were crowned with success is seen from the statement that " in the eyes of the Chasdean women the Jewish youths put the sun to shame with their beauty,"^ and that the good looks of the Jewish children excited the envy of the Komans ^ (see p. 10). Jews were great lovers of the beauty of Nature as a whole, but especially so of beautiful men and women. It was said by them with pride that ten measures of beauty came down into the world; nine of these went to Jerusalem, and one to the rest of the world.^ It was also said that, as a reward for their kindness to exiles, Grod made the people of Bari (a place in Palestine which, according to some authorities, is the present Caucasus, and according to others a province in Phoenicia)* better- looking than any other people in the world.^ On seeing a beautiful person, animal, or plant, or on 1 Sanhedrin 926. = Gittin 58a. ^ Kiddushin 49&. *'See A. S. Hersciiberg's article in He'Atid (Hebraische Zeitsclirift fiir Literatur und Wissensohaft des Judentums), vol. iv., and the criticism thereon by Professor Krauss. ^ Pesikta R. xxviii. (quoted by Herschberg, loc. cit.). Digitized by Microsoft® 6 The Jewish Child [chap. smelling something pleasant, it is a duty to ofier a benediction.^ That the Jews were great lovers of knowledge and wisdom will be sufficiently evident from a reference to the chapters on Education. The High Priest had to be better-looking than the others.^ The same was the rule amongst the Greeks.^ The mem- bers of the Sanhedrin had to be men of wisdom and good appearance.^ But learning took precedence over priest- hood/ and even a bastard who was learned was con- sidered more highly than an ignorant high priest.® What were the Characteristics of Beauty ? The factors which constituted beauty were the foUowing^: 1. Height and Vigour. — Good height was one of the first requisites of good appearance. The Talmud says that " God is pleased with tall people/ and that the Divine Presence does not rest on persons except they be either clever, strong, or rich."® The members of the Sanhedrin were very tall,^ and the height of the Levites is estimated by some, almost certainly erroneously, as 10 cubits, which is approxi- mately equivalent to 15 feet !^° But height much above the ordinary was considered as much of a defect as height much below the average, and he who saw either one or the other had to pronounce the benediction: "Blessed be He who creates people ^ Beractoth 436 and 58&, Eosli Hasianah. 11a, and Abodah Zara 20&. 2 Yoma 18a. ^ See Hermann Weiss, " Kostiimkunde," Stuttgart, 1860, vol. i., pp. 786, 787. * Sanhedrin 17a. ^ Abboth vi. 45. " Horiotb 13a. ' Bechorotb 456. ^ gabbatb 92a. » lUd. i" Ihid. Digitized by Microsoft® !•] Introduction 7 out of tlie ordinary."^ Hence two very tall or very short persons should not marry, lest their offspring's stature be abnormaP (see p. 9). Medium height was the most beautiful, and there is abundant evidence to show that the average height of a Jew in the times of the Talmud was between 5 feet 6 inches and 6 feet. Thus, according to Eashi's Commentary to Sabbath 92a, the height of the Levites up to their shoulders was 3 cubits. But since anthropometric measurements show that the total height of a person equals five-fourths of his shoulder height, therefore the height of Levites must have been J^ cubits =-1/ X 17| ins. =5 ft. 6| ins. Other evidence that the shoulder height of an average person was 3 cubits is found in the question of ritual baths, whose minimum capacity in order to afford maxi- mum immersion, exclusive of the head, is one whose dimensions are — length, 1 cubit; breadth, 1 cubit; depth, 3 cubits. (The capacity of such a bath is 40 saah.)^ Further, the Talmud lays down a law that any person who builds a wall in front of somebody else's window must take care that the wall should be at least 4 cubits lower than the window, in order that he may not be able to look through the window from the top of the wall.'* This gives the maximum height of a person (up to his eyes) as under 4 cubits, or 5 feet 11 inches (which would make his total height less than 6 feet 2 inches). Also, the family graves in Palestine were 4 cubits long,^ which means that the ordinary height of a person was less than 4 cubits — i.e., less than 5 feet * Jer. Berachotli ix. ^ Bechoroth 456. ' Pessachim 108a. * Baba Bathra 226. ^ Ihid., 1006. Digitized by Microsoft® 8 The Jewish Child [chap. 11 inches. The average height of modern Jews is about 165 cm. (5 ft. 6 ins.), which is about 3 cm. (or a little more than 1 inch) less than that of the non-Jewish population among which they live. According to a Talmudical statement, there is a growing tendency for the height to diminish with the progress of ages. Thus, there is a statement to the efiect that " Abba Saul was tall for his generation, but R. Tarphan only reached his shoulder; R. Tarphan was tall for his generation, but R. Meir only reached his shoulder; R. Meir was tall in his generation, but Rabbi only reached his shoulder; Rabbi was tall in his genera- tion, and R. Chiya only reached his shoulder; R. Chiya was tall in his generation, and Rav only reached his shoulder; Rav was tall in his generation, and R. Judah only reached his shoulder; R. Judah was tall in his generation, and Ada only reached his shoulder."^ It is obvious that the statement cannot be taken literally; for if we did, then it would follow that Ada was only (|) ^ — i.e., approximately one-fifth of the height of Abba Saul, which is of course absurd. What is meant by the statement is that, as Pliny remarked, each genera- tion is of smaller average height than that of the pre- ceding one.^ It has been suggested that the above say- ing applies to the mental greatness rather than the height of the Rabbis mentioned; but it seems to me that such an explanation is ruled out by the fact that the word mentioned is aruch, which means long, and not the ambiguous one gadol, which may mean either big or great. The Rabbis were very fond of making exaggerated statements, which, however, have to be taken figuratively (see p. 10; also Education, p. 281). ^ Nidah 246 and 25a. = Pliny, vii. 16. Digitized by Microsoft® I-] Introduction 9 2. Shape of the Head. — Several references to the shape of the head show that roundness was considered ugly. A man enumerating the ugly features of his wife men- tioned roundness of the head as one of them^ (see p. 12). Again, a man wanting to make fun of Hillel, who was a Babylonian, asked him why the Babylonians had round heads. ^ (A different version of the same story states that the man asked Hillel why the Babylonians had long heads.)® (See p. 16.) 3. Complexion. — Another item of beauty was a mean between blonde and brunette complexion. Thus, R. Ishmael said that the children of Israel are neither dark nor blonde, but something between the two.^ (Indeed, according to some, the nam-e Shem, one of the sons of Noah, from which the word Semitic is derived, contains the Assyrian root sama, which means olive- coloured.)^ Hence dark people and red people were not suitable for the priesthood,^ and because they liked to perpetuate that Jewish type they advised against the marriage of two very dark or light complexioned people;?'' Blue eyes were another mark of beauty. The same applied to dark^ curly® hair. This is seen from the following anecdote: Simeon the righteous (who was a Cohenite) said : " I never partook of the trespass ofiering of a Nazarite^° except once. A Nazarite once came from the south; he had beautiful eyes, a handsome face, and his hair was curly. I said to him : ' My son, why didst thou vow to become a Nazarite, which will necessitate the cutting of thy beautiful locks V and he answered: 1 Nedarim 666. ^ Sabbath 31a. ^ Abb. d. E. Natban xv. * Negaim ii. 1. 5 Sayce, A. H., " Tlie Races of the Old Testament," London, 1891, p. 41. '^ Becboroth 45&. '' Ihid. ^ Gen. R. xcviii. ° Num. R. xviii. ^° See Num. vi. Digitized by Microsoft® 10 The Jewish Child chap. ' I was my father's shepherd, and one day, as I was draw- ing water from the well, I saw in it the reflection of my face. I became so conceited that my evil spirit began to urge me on to give myself up to sin which would deprive me of the world to come; but I prevailed upon it, and said: " I swear by the Almighty God that I shall shave off my hair and sacrifice it to the Lord." ' I then kissed him on his head, and said : ' My son, may there be many such Kazarites in Israel.' "-^ A rubicund or rosy face,^ nice teeth, nice nose, and nice calf muscles, were other features of beauty. The Midrash, in describing a handsome young man, says of him that he was tall, had nice teeth, black hair, and a nice nose.^ If the nose is bigger than that of an average person of the same size, by the width of the little finger, it is a defect.^ " He who wishes to have an idea of the scintillating beauty of E. Yochanan," says the Talmud, " should take a cup of refined silver, fill it with the pips of a red pomegranate, surround it with a bouquet of red roses, and place it between the sun and the shade. Such a radiant sight slightly resembles in beauty that of R. Yochanan's face." He had, however, no beard, and "because of this defect," continues the Talmud, "his beauty did not approach that of R. Kahana, who had a portion only of the beauty of R. Abahu, who had a portion only of the beauty of the Patriarch Jacob, who had a portion of the beauty of Adam."® This is probably a hyperbolical expression of the belief that ^ Nedarim 96 and Gittin 58&. 2 Gittin 58a. ^ -^^^_ -^ ^^-^^^ * Bechoroth 44a andEashi, ai he. Maimonides, ad Zoc, says that the correct size of the nose is the length of one's own little finger. ^ Baba Metzia 84a. Digitized by Microsoft® !•] Introduction 11 succeeding generations go on diminishing in good looks (compare p. 8). Again, it is related that the son and daughter of E. Ishmael ben Elisha were taken prisoners by two different persons. The latter afterwards met, and each said to the other that he had a slave that was unequalled in beauty, and arranged a marriage between them in order that they might share the offspring. The brother and sister met in prison, and fell upon each other's neck and wept until they died.^ Of R. Ishmael the High Priest it was said that he was so wonderfully beautiful that, when he died as a martyr, the Emperor's daughter had the skin of his face removed and preserved by means of various balsams, and that this is still to be seen in the Museum at Eome.^ Further, the Talmud makes the following statement : " In former times the foremost Eomans were in the habit of having paintings of beautiful faces over their beds in order that by looking at them tempore coe undi they might beget beautiful children; but from now onwards {i.e., since the destruction of the Temple) they cause Jewish youths to be tied to their beds instead "^ (so radiant was their beauty). (See p. 177.) But the greatest value was attached to beauty in women. It was said that the matriarchs were sterile in order that they might preserve their beautiful figures and retain their husbands' affection.^ Amongst the requisites of beauty in a woman, E. Ishmael the son of E. Jose enumerates a beautiful head, beautiful hair, eyes, ears, nose, lips, neck, waist, and 1 Gittin 58a. ^ Aboda Zarah 116, Raslii. ^ Gittin 58a. * See Midrash to Canticles ii. 14, and Yebamott Sib. Digitized by Microsoft® 12 The Jewish Child [ohap. feet, as well as a beautiful name.^ Thus, Esther means the star Venus. ^ (See Names, Chapter XIV.) The following cynical anecdote is recorded in the Talmud: A man wanted to separate from his wife on account of her ugliness. When the pair presented them- selves before K. Ishmael the son of R. Jose, the husband remarked that if only his wife had one becoming feature he would be willing to continue living with her. The following dialogue then ensued between the Rabbi and the husband: " Has she perhaps a nice head ?" asked the Rabbi. " It is round," was the trite answer. " What about her hair ?" " They are like flax." " And her eyes ?" asked the Rabbi next. " They are chroni- cally inflamed." " And how about her ears ?" " Oh, they are long and overhanging." " Perhaps her nose is of a nice shape ?" "It is big and chronically ob- structed." "Her lips?" "They are thick." "Her neck ?" " Very short." " Has she perhaps a nice figure ?" " She is very stout." " Has she nice feet ?" " They are as broad as the feet of a goose." " Has she by any chance a nice name ? " asked the perplexed Rabbi. " Her name is Lachluchith " (which means a mixture), was the unfortunate husband's answer. " Then," said the Rabbi, " such a cacophonous name is most suitable for a woman with such a mixture of defects. She has therefore one becoming feature, and you cannot separate from her."^ As regards complexion, blonde was the ideal, as also was good height,^ well-developed bosom,^ smooth hairless 1 Nedarim 66&. 2 Megillali 13a. ^ Nedarim 666 and Easti, ad loc. * Nedarim ix. 10. ^ Canticles E. iv. 12. See also EasM to Taanith 24& and Nidah 20&, where the name of Shebur Malka's mother (Iphra Hurmiz) is explained as meaning a woman with beautiful breasts. Digitized by Microsoft® I.J Introduction 13 skin (and hence depilatory means were employed),^ and sweet voice. ^ In the Arabian Nights story, The Weaver who became a Leech, the quack recognized a patient as a Jewess by her rosy cheeks, blue eyes, and tall stature. Beauty was so much appreciated in women that, when E. Simeon b. Gamliel saw an exceptionally beau- tiful woman from the top of a house, he exclaimed, " How great are Thy actions, Lord !" (Ps. civ.); and it is told of R. Akiba that when he saw the beau- tiful wife of the Eoman general Turnus Eufus, he spat out, smiled, and wept. He spat because she came from a putrefying drop; he smiled because he foresaw that she would one day embrace the Jewish faith and become his wife; and he wept that such a handsome creature would one day have to be buried in the ground.^ There is abundant evidence to show that the Pales- tinians and Babylonians appreciated beauty in women from two difierent standpoints. The former admir-ed it in the purely artistic or aesthetic sense, whilst the latter regarded it more from a sensual point of view.* To such an extent was the sense of beauty developed in them that, when R. Simeon b. Eliezer saw an ugly man, he insulted him.^ (See also p. 346.) The pretty girls used to sing in the parks, "Pay attention to beauty, for women are meant to be an ornament."® Before a bride they used to sing in Palestine, " Neither painted nor powdered, and yet beautiful. "'' There were four extraordinarily beautiful women. They were Sarah, Eahab, Abigail, and Esther. Esther ^ Sabbath 80&, Pessachim 4:3a, and other places. 2 Nida 366. ' Aboda Zarah 20a. * See Herschberg's article in He'Atid, vol. iv., pp. 6-14, ^ Taanith 20a. « lUd., 31a. ^ Kethuboth 17a. Digitized by Microsoft® 14 The Jewish Child [chap. was like the myrtle tree, neither tall nor short, but medium sized. According to those who believe that she was also as green as a myrtle, she is not to be included, and Vashti is to take her place.-"- Compared with Sarah, every one was like an ape.^ When Sarah was in a river, she appeared to Abraham like the sun shining in all his glory.^ According to an agada (a legend), R. Mana complained before R. Itzchak b. Eliashib that his wife Hannah was not to his liking because she was plain-looking, and the Rabbi prayed and she became good-looking." Factors which influence the Subsequent Career of the Child.^ 1. Heredity. — Thus, the father endows the child with beauty and power® (see, further. Chapter II.). 2. Geographical Influences. — There are some places where people grow up strong, others where they grow up weak, others where they are nice, and others, again, where they are ugly.'' " The atmosphere of Palestine," says the Talmud, " makes its inhabitants wise."^ (See p. 5.) The Midrash® mentions a certain village K'phar dichraya {i.e., "boy village") where women gave birth to boys only, so that whoever wanted a male child moved into it, and any resident who wanted a female chUd moved out of it. 1 Megillali 136 and 15a. = Ba,ba Battra 58a. ^ Tanchuma Vayera. * Taanith 236. 5 See A. S. Herschberg in He'Atid, op. cit., vol. v., Berlin, 1912, PP- 1-52. 8 Edyoth ii. 9. ^ Num. R. ii. s g^ba Batbra 1586. ^ Lamentations R. ii, 4 ; cf. also Gittin 57a. Digitized by Microsoft® I-] Introduction 15 3. Astral Influences — e.g., one born under Jupiter will be righteous and benevolent^ (see, further, p. 164 et seq.). 4. Circumstances in Connection with the Begetting of the Child.—" A woman," says the Talmud, " who dur- ing sexual congress thinks of some other man is like a canvas upon which an artist has painted the picture of a king. When he was about to paint the face, the king died, and another was declared ruler. The artist was then in a quandary: should he complete his picture to represent the dead or the new monarch ? So it is in her case. God had already created the embryo in the form of its father, and when she thought of the other man the colours became mixed."^ For reasons of that nature marriage was discouraged between a divorced man and a divorcee, for in such a union " there are four different thoughts on the marriage-bed."^ This may be an allusion to the phenomenon of telegony (which is stUl believed by some biologists), according to which a female who had been in the past impregnated by a particular male may, when impregnated long afterwards by another male, give birth to an offspring resembling the first male (see further p. 40). Children begotten during the day will be red.^ Those begotten by candlelight will be epileptic.^ It is said that a woman was once asked why her children were so beautiful, and she answered because her husband was exceedingly modest in his relations with her, which he did not carry out either at the beginning of the night or in the early morning, but in the middle of the night.* Coitus after a debilitating operation like venesection * Sabbath 156a. ^ Jer. Taanith, Lev. E. xxiii. * Pessachimll2a; compare Goethe, " Walilverwandtsc]ia.ft," part i., ch. 2. * Berachoth 596. ^ Pessacbim 112& and Kallah R. i. ° Nedarim 20&. Digitized by Microsoft® 16 The Jewish Child [chap. will give rise to a wasting child, if the operation was per- formed on the father only; if both father and mother had venesection done immediately before, the child will be scrofulous Q)aal rathon — i.e., afflicted with a chronic catarrh of the mucous membranes).^ Intercourse during a period of impurity of the mother will give rise to skin disease in the child. ^ According to others, such a child will be ill-mannered. The Talmud narrates a story about two boys who passed an old man. One of the lads took ofi his hat (which in those times vv-as considered a sign of disrespect) ; the other had his head covered. From this disrespectful behaviour on the part of the first boy one Rabbi inferred that he was illegitimate, and another that he was begotten during a period of impurity of the mother, whilst E. Akiba said that he was both. On inquiring it was found that E. Akiba's theory was right.^ Coitus in unnatural posi- tions is dangerous both for parents and child,* and, according to Maimonides, marital relations during domestic estrangement have a bad effect on the char- acter of the offspring." 5. Feeding of Mother, and Other External Influences, during Pregnancy and Lactation. — See p. 113 et seq. 6. Ethnological Factors — e.g., Babylonians have round heads because their midwives are not experienced enough; Tarmodeans have oval eyes because they live in a sandy climate; and Africans have broad feet be- cause they live in marshy lands.^ A camel has a short tail because if it were long it would catch among the thorns which are found on the fields whereon it grazes. 1 Kethuboth 776 and Nidah 17a. ^ Kallah R. i., Lev. E xv. 5 and Yalkut, Ecclesiastes, 971. 3 Kallali ii. * Gittin 70a. ^ Issur6 Biah. xxi. 12. "= Sabbath 31a. See p. 336 below. Digitized by Microsoft® I.] Introduction 17 An ox has a long tail that it may drive away the fleas which molest it in the pools where it grazes.-"- 7. Effect of Dreams on Offspring. — The ancient Jews, like all ancient races, had a strong belief in dreams. Although K. Meir said that dreams signify neither good nor eviP — for, as was said in the name of Kav, dreams are due to indigestion, and hence fasting will destroy dreams^ — and Ben Sirah said that only fools attach any importance to dreams,^ yet R. Chisda said that a dream that has not been interpreted is like a letter that has not been read.® An anonymous Rabbi said that, if one sees a vine-tree in his dream, his wife will not abort; he who sees in his dream a cock can hope to have male children.^ Relative Values of Boys and Girls. A male child is considered of much greater importance than a female child. Rabbi said: " The world cannot exist without men and women, yet happy is he whose children are males, and woe to him whose children are females."'' Another saying is: "A boy is born to the world; he brings -with him a loaf of bread in his hand, but a girl brings nothing."* R. Chisda, however, said that if the first child is a daughter it is a good sign for the children that will follow, because the evil eye is not evoked.® The Midrash^" infers it from Gen. vi. 1: " And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto 1 Sabbath llh. ' Gittin 52a. ^ Sabbath 11a. * Sirah xxxi. 1. = Berachoth 556. * Berachoth 57a. ' Pessachin 65a, Kiddushin 82&, and Baba Bathra 166. 8 Nidah 316. ^ Baba Bathra Ula. i° Gen. R. xxvi. 2 Digitized by Microsoft® 18 The Jewish Child [chap. them." The reason that a boy is considered so highly is that at the parents' death he recites in synagogue a prayer (kaddish) for their souls three times a day for eleven months. A boy is therefore called occasion- ally a kaddish, after the prayer which he has to recite. If somebody dies childless, it is the custom to hire a stranger to recite the kaddish. The Talmud tells a fable about a Rabbi who met a ghost carrying a heavy load of wood. When questioned, the ghost replied that he was sentenced to collect wood which was used for burning him every day as a punish- ment for a serious sin which he committed in his life- time. " How long is your punishment going to last ?" asked the Rabbi, and the ghost answered : " When I came here my wife was pregnant, and I know she gave birth to a boy; as soon as my son is able to say, ' Blessed be the Lord ! ' my punishment in hell will cease, and I shall be transferred to paradise." The Rabbi sought out the boy, taught him to repeat that blessing, and on the self- same night the father appeared to the Rabbi to thank him for having been the means of procuring for him rest of body and of mind.-"^ The Talmud says : " Whoever leaves a son after him studying the Torah is considered as if he never died."^ " A daughter," says the Talmud,^ quoting Ben Sirah, " is a doubtful boon to her father, and a constant source of worry. When she is very young, one has to fear lest she be seduced; when she becomes of age, lest she does not get married; and when married, lest she has no children." It is said that when the daughter of R. Gamliel was married, she asked her father to give her his blessing, 1 Kallah ii. ^ g^ba Bathra 116a. ^ See Sanhedrin 1006. Digitized by Microsoft® I.] Introduction 19 and he said: " May you never return here." When she gave birth to a son, she again asked him to bless her, and he said: " May you never cease to say, ' Woe is me.' " The bewildered daughter then asked him why he cursed her on each occasion on which she asked him to bless her, and he replied that both times he really prayed for her. " When you got married, I prayed that you might be so happy as never to return to my house; and now that your child is born, I hope that he may live, so that you may be constantly worrying about him, saying, ' Woe is me ! my son has not eaten or drunk or gone to the house of worship."-^ It is also narrated of two great Rabbis who, on being requested by the son of R. Simeon ben Yochai to bless him, delivered themselves as follows: "May you sow and not reap; may you bring in but not bring out.'' The youth protested before his father, and said : " They need not have blessed me, but they also should not have cursed me." But his father explained that their words were really blessings : " ' May you sow and not reap ' means: may you have children, but not lose them."^ ^ Gen. E. xxvi. 4. ^ Moed Katan 9a and 6. Amongst the sect known as Chasidim {i.e., an ultra orthodox minority who adopt the Sephardic ritual in prayer and whose rabbi is believed by them to be endowed with special power to work miracles), it is even now the custom for the rabbi to give a blessing disguised in the form of a curse. A notable example is E. Aaron of Karlin, who lived in the middle of the last century. (See Solomon Feinerman, " On the Origin of the Chasidic Anecdotes," Hashiloah, xxi., 1909, p. 437.) Digitized by Microsoft® CHAPTER II HEREDITY AND EUGENICS " The sheep will follow one another. A daughter acts as acts her mother " (Kethuboth QZa).^ A. Heredity. The Inheritance of Physical and Mental Qualities. — Although the scientific study of heredity — i.e., the genetic relation between successive generations — is altogether a modern one, yet the question of the resemblances and difierences between children and their parents is a subject which has been in all ages one on which the great minds of the world have deeply pon- dered. The Biblical views of the influences which mould man and his destiny were that it was due to the immediate action of the Creator's will. The sins of the father were visited even to the third and fourth generation,^ and Paul asks the question, " Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour ?"^ The Rabbis of the Talmud recognized, however, that the theory of the Divine direct causal immanence in man's lot is not altogether tenable. " Marry the daughter of a man of character," says a Talmudical proverb, " for as the tree so is the fruit. "^ 1 See I.Myers, " Gems from the Talmud," p. 31. ^ Exod. xx. 5. ^ Eom. ix. 21 ; compare also the Piyut for the Evening Service of the Day of Atonement: " Like clay in the hand of the potter." * Pessachim 49a and b. 20 Digitized by Microsoft® OSAP. n.] Heredity and Eugenics 21 It is true that, according to the Talmud, marriages are made in heaven, and " forty days before a child is born its mate is decided upon,"^ yet in choosing a wife, says the Talmud in another place, one should see that there is no epilepsy or other hereditary taint in her family;^ for, as the Shulchan Axuch continues, one must beware lest similar illnesses occur in the offspring.^ The inheritance of mechanical dexterity is hinted in Gen. iv. 20-22 and Judg. xix. 22 (A.V.). It is advised that a man should marry into a good family,* for " a girl with a good genealogical tree, even if she be poor or an orphan, is worthy to become the wife of a king."^ " Who is rich ?" asks the Talmud else- where. " He whose wife's actions are comely," is the answer.^ It is recommended that " one should sell all one possesses in order to marry the daughter of a learned man; for the merits of the father endow the child with beauty, power, riches, wisdom, and old age. ' ''' The apple does not fall far from the tree; the daughter of a learned man will have clever children, that of an ignoramus will have stupid children. If one cannot find the daughter of a learned man, one should look for the daughter of a prominent communal worker; and if that is impos- sible, the daughter of a teacher of children. But on no account should one marry the daughter of an ignoramus, for that is an abomination, and it is not permissible to partake of the wedding banquet of such a union.* ' Sanhedrin 22a and Moed Katan 18&. 2 YebamotlL 64&. ' Eben Haezer ii.; see further Deut. xxviii. 59, 60, and 2 Kings V. 27. * Baba Bathra 109&. = Num. R. i. 5. ^ Sabbatb 256. '' Pesaachim 49a and h. ^ Ihid., b. Digitized by Microsoft® 22 The Jewish Child [chap. R. Berachia said' that " if one sees that knowledge dies out in his offspring, one should marry his son to the daughter of a learned man." This is based on Job xiv. 7-9 : " For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again. . . . Though the root thereof wax old in the earth . . . yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant." Again, R. Parnach said^ in the name of R. Jochanan that everyone who is himself a learned man, and his first and second generations are learned, may be sure that knowledge will never die out from among his descendants, because " the Torah will always return to its own residence." On the other hand, the Talmud asks a question, " Why is it not the rule that learned men have learned children?" and R. Joseph replies: " That it should not be said that the Torah is an heirloom to them." R. Shisha the son of Idi says: " In order that they should not be proud "; and Mar Zutra says: "Because they are proud" (therefore they are punished).^ For a learned man to marry the daughter of an ignoramus and vice versa is like planting a vine-tree among thorns.^ The statement in Zech. iii. 3, that " Joshua was clothed with filthy garments," is inter- preted by the Talmud to mean " that he did not prevent the marriage of his sons with unsuitable wives " — i.e., wives not fit for priestly families.^ "If," says Euripides (Fr. 9 [Meleanger]), " one were to yoke good with bad, no good ofispring would be born; but if both parents are good, they will bear noble children."® ^ Pessachim 4:9a and 6. ^ Baba Metzir, 85a. ^ Nedarim 81a. * Pessachim 496. « Sanhedrin 93a. " Quoted by Allen G. Eoper, " Ancient Eugenics," Oxford, 1913, p. 36. Digitized by Microsoft® II.] Heredity and Eugenics 23 Elijah kisses and God loves a man that marries a suitable wife; but he who marries an unsuitable wife is hated by God, and Elijah is angry with him, saying, " Woe to him who wastes his seed, who degrades his family."^ A curious custom prevailed in the time of the Talmud in cases of unworthy marriages, the offender having been publicly ostracized. " If a member of a family married a wife that was unworthy of him, the other members of the family used to smash a barrelful of fruit in the middle of the street, and exclaim : ' Listen, ye children of Israel: Our brother so-and-so has married an unworthy wife, and we fear lest his offspring mingle with ours. Come ye, therefore, and take an ex- ample for generations to come, that his offspring may never mix with ours.' "^ The story is told that a son of Rabbi was about to be married to a daughter of R. Chiya. When the marriage settlement was being prepared, the bride died. It was suggested that there must have been something wrong with. the match, and they therefore started to investigate the respective pedigrees of the bride and bridegroom, when they discovered that Rabbi was descended from Abital, the wife of King David; whilst R. Chiya was descended from Shimei, the brother of David, and was therefore not of royal descent.^ It was enjoined upon a man, who chose a wife, to inquire into the character of her brothers, for the character of the children is like that of their maternal uncles.^ This is inferred from Exod. vi. 23, where it is not considered sufl&cient to say that Aaron married the daughter of Aminadab, but it is also emphasized ^ Kiddushin 70a and h, and Derech Bretz R. i. 3. 2 Kethuboth 28&. ^ Ihid. 626. * Baba Bathra 110a. Digitized by Microsoft® 24 The Jewish Child [chap. that she was a sister of Nachshon. The influence of heredity on mental and moral characters was also known to the Greek philosophers. Theognis^ says thafc " No education can make the bad man good: no iEscu- lapius can cure the moral taint. Just as roses and hyacinths do not spring from squills, so from a slave woman no free child can be born. The fierceness of the Antigone of Sophocles was inherited from her father." On the other hand, the Midrash Tanchuma says: " What environment can do, heredity cannot do."^ While there is no controversy at the present time as to the inheritance of physical character, there is a certain amount of disagreement as regards mental inheritance. Some even go as far as to deny its existence altogether,^ but recent research gives fairly conclusive evidence that mental capacities are transmitted by heredity.* As an example of the influence of heredity on ofispring E. Eliezer mentions Moses, who married a daughter of Jethro and had a son Jonathan, and Aaron, who married a daughter of Aminadab and had a son Phineas.^ Descent, however, was known not to be everything, since many spiritual heroes of Jews sprang from proselyte stock or were themselves proselytes. Thus, David was a descendant of Kuth ; Hiram, the artist called in by Solo- mon to assist in the building of the Temple, came on his father's side from a non- Jewish stock;® Shemaiah and Abtalion, the predecessors of Hillel the Elder, ^ Theognis, 432, 471, and 537, quoted by Roper, of. cit., p. 34. ^ Taachuma Vayetze 13. ^ Archdall Raid, " Sociological Papers," vol. iii., pp. 92, 93. * See Cyril Burt, " The Interitance of Mental Characters," Eugenics Review, July, 1912, pp. 168-200 ; also Professor C. Spearman, " The Heredity of Abilities," ibid., October, 1914, pp. 219-237. = Baba Bathra 109&. « 1 Kings vii. 14. Digitized by Microsoft® n.] Heredity and Eugenics 25 were, according to tradition, proselytes. Onkelos (the famous translator of the Bible into Aramaic), R. Akiba, and R. Meir, were all proselytes. On the other hand, Terah worshipped images, and Abraham his son was righteous; Hezekiah was righteous, whilst his father Ahaz was wicked.^ Hence a famous Rabbi of the twelfth century, R. Judah (Chasid) ben Samuel, emphatically said that " the offspring of a Jew who married a G-entile wife, but who was a modest, kind-hearted, and charitable woman, must be preferred to the children of a Jewess by birth, who does not possess the same good qualities."^ Sophocles^ also calls attention to the fact that " some- times a noble offspring does not spring from well-born parents, nor an evU child from useless parents." Thomas Fuller in his " Scripture Observations," No. viii., says (with reference to the genealogy of Jesus as given in the first chapter of Matthew) : " Lord, I find the genealogy of my Saviour strangely checkered with four remarkable changes in four im- mediate generations : " 1. Roboam begat Abia; that is, a bad father begat a bad son. " 2. Abia begat Asa ; that is, a bad father a good son. "3. Asa begat Josaphat; that is, a good father a good son. " 4. Josaphat begat Joram; that is, a good father a bad son.* " I see. Lord, from hence that my father's piety ^ Num. R. xix. 33. See also S. Schectter, " Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology," oil. xii., London, 1909. ^ Safer Chaaidism 377, quoted by I. Abrahams in " Jewish Life in the Middle Ages," London, 1896, p. 207. ■■' Soph., " Tyro Fr." 583, quoted by Allen G. Eoper, op. cit., p. 33. * See Matt. i. 7-8. Digitized by Microsoft® 26 The Jewish Child [chap. cannot be entailed; that is bad news for me. But I see also that actual impiety is not always hereditary; that is good news for my son."'' [See also Ezek. xviii. 5-20, where a most virtuous father may beget an utterly vicious son, and vice versa.'] Pinchas Elias^ explains such a phenomenon as follows : The quality of the future offspring depends on the thoughts of the father tempore coeundi. If the object of the intercourse was to satisfy animal passion only, then the child will not be a good one; if, however, its object was propagation of species, then the resulting offspring wiU be good (compare p. 3). Hence he reasons as follows : An average individual may have good or bad children according as the thoughts were proper or improper. On the other hand, wicked or immoral people, who probably engage in promiscuous intercourse for the purpose of satisfying their animal passion, but make use of their wives for the sole object of establish- ing a family, may therefore beget very worthy children. For personal reasons, however (so that the wife may look up to her husband), one should go down a step to choose a wife.^ The following anecdote is of interest in this connection: It is narrated of King Solomon, who was such a clever linguist that he could even understand the language of birds, that he once overheard a bird addressing its mate as follows : " Do you see King ' Cf. Berachotli 7a. 2 Sefer Ha'Berith, Bobrin, 1804, p. 736, col. 2. ' Yebamotli 63a. The Rev. I. Myers translates the Talmudic saying in rhyme as follows: " Step down in life And take a wife; One step ascend And choose a friend." Gems from the Talmud, p. 43. Digitized by Microsoft® II'] Heredity and Eugenics 27 Solomon over there ? With one stroke of my wings I can crush every bone in his body, and with another stroke I can overturn his palace from turret to founda- tion-stone." The mate regarded her valorous husband with proud mien, but Solomon summoned the boastful bird and reprimanded him for his absurd braggadocio. The bird, winking at the King, begged his Majesty's pardon. " Of course," said he, " I was only fooling my wife, who believes everything I tell her." And the little bird flew away to his admiring mate.'' When a father wishes to dispose of his daughter's hand, he must be careful not to marry her to an ignora- mus ; for he who marries his daughter to an ignorant man is as if he throws her in front of a lion.^ If a worthy wife was not found by parents for their son in their own land, he went abroad for the purpose. " Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the , daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me ? "^ And Isaac said to Jacob, " Go to Padan-aram . . . and take thee a wifefrom thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother."^ " You may make haste," says the Talmud, " to buy property, but you must pause and consider before taking a wife,"^ the prototype of the modern proverb, " Marry in haste, and repent at leisure." For the sake of the ^ See Abram Isaacs, " Stories from the Eabbis," London, 1893, p. 115. 2 Pessachim 496. ' Gen. xxvii. 46. * Gen. xxviii. 2. 5 Yebamotb 63a. " To buy some land, run a mile; To take a wife, pause a while." I. Myers, loc. cit., p. 85. Digitized by Microsoft® 28 The Jewish Child [chap. future children, each marriage should be one of true and real affection; for " he who niarries for money. shall ha ve^ worthless children,"^ and, according to Maimonides, the begetting of children during domestic estrangement has a bad effect on the character of the offspring.^ He further says: " A. psychical harmony between husband and wife is the foundation of good progeny."^ R. Akiba is responsible for the saying that, if a man finds another woman better-looking than his wife, he should divorce her,* since it is a proof that he does not love her any more.^ If a wife refuses to cohabit with her husband because she dislikes him, then he is compelled to divorce her,^ because, as Maimonides comments, " the wife is not a prisoner of war who must give herself to one she despises."'' In any case, no connection is to be had without the wife's consent.^ Mohammed's teaching is the exact opposite. " Your wife," he says in the Koran, " is your property, to do with her what you please." The Talmud discourages the marriage of the physically unfit, for it says that " children begotten during a state of debility are born weakly. ' '^ On the other hand, Rabbi Jochanan said that " Rav had no need to spend money on meat, because he came from a family of strong men."^° Influence of Alcohol on Offspring.— That alcoholism in the parents was believed to have a deleterious efiect on the offspring is seen from the following: It is said that R. Bibi anointed and massaged every limb of his 1 Kiddushin 70a. ^ iggure Biah xxi. 12. ^ Ihid. * Gittin 90a. ^ See A. Hyman, " Toldoth Tannaim Ve Amoraim," London, 1910, vol. iii., p. 1001. « Yebamoth 63&. ^ Hilctoch. Ishutli xiv. 8. 8 Erubin 100&. ^ Gittin 70a. " Chulin 84a. Digitized by Microsoft® n.] Heredity and Eugenics 29 daughter, and lie received for her 400 zuzim (about £12) from a suitor. Upon this R. Nachman commented that E. Bibi m virtue of his drinking palm wine required that his daughter should adopt artificial means for beautifying herself, but our daughters do not require it, because we are abstainers.-^ Again, the Talmud says that " children begotten during a state of inebriety are mentally deficient."^ Marked Differences in Age between the contracting parties were distinctly discouraged. R. Eliezer said that he who marries his young daughter to an old man encourages her to live an immoral life.® A woman, says a proverb, prefers a poor young man to a wealthy old man.* Hesiod, Sappho, and Theognis, were also aware of the evUs of disparity of age.® Similarity of stature between man and woman was also regarded with dis- favour. Thus, " two very tall or very short persons should not marry, lest their children be abnormally tall or short";® and, indeed, it has been recently shown that the coefficient of correlation for height between parents and children is 0-5.'' [The correlation coefficient is a figure indicating the degree of correspondence between two series of measure- ments under consideration. It is so constructed that, when the two series are strictly proportional to each other, it takes its maximum value of +1- As the correspondence between the two series becomes ^ Sabbatli806; also Moed Katon 96. 2 Kallah E. i. ; also Nedarim 206. ' Sanliedrin 76a and 6; Yebamoth 44a. * Yalkut, Ruth, 610. ^ See Roper, op. cit., pp. 33 and 35. * Bechoroth 456. 7 See Cyril Burt, loc. ciU, p. 169. Digitized by Microsoft® 30 The Jewish Child [chap. less and less close, the coefficient continually diminishes, and on their being wholly independent of each other it goes down to 0. When the measurements in the one series even tend in the reverse direction to that of the other series, the coefficient takes a minus value, with an extreme limit of - 1. Thus, supposing every son were of the same height as his father, the coefficient of correlation for height between father and son would be +1-00. If a son re- sembled his father in height no more than any other person taken at random, the coefficient of correlation would be 0. If every son were as short as his father was tall, the coefficient would be -1-00. On actually measuring the stature of some 4,886 pairs of sons and fathers, the degree of resemblance between them has been calculated to be 0-50. This means that on the average the sons deviate from the mean height of the population by about half as much as the fathers.] Complexion was another character which was regarded as hereditary. " A man and a woman of very light com- plexion should not marry, lest the offspring suffer from albinism (a condition characterized by absence of pig- ment in all parts of the body). Also two people of very dark complexion should not marry, lest their children be abnormally dark."^ It is now an established fact that two albino parents have only albino children.^ " Two imbeciles," says the Talmud, " must not marry,"^ and modern statistical inquiries have proved such marriages to result only in imbecile offspring.* ' Bechoroth ASb. 2 See C. B. Davenport, " Eugenics," New York, 1910, p. 13. ^ Yebamoth 1126. * Davenport, loc. cit., p. 14. Digitized by Microsoft® II.] Heredity and Eugenics 31 Deaf-mutism. — As regards deaf -mutism, it would seem that the Rabbis made no distinction between congenital deafness and that which is adventitious, having stated in general terms that two deaf-mutes may marry .^ Modern statistics have given the following results : In 3,078 marriages, with 6,782 children, there were — (1) Where both parents were congenitally or adventi- tiously deaf: 8-458 per cent, of deaf children. (2) Where both parents were congenitally deaf: 25-931 per cent, of deaf children. (3) Where both parents were adventitiously deaf: 2-326 per cent, of deaf children. (4) Where one parent was congenitally deaf, and the other hearing: 11-932 per cent, of deaf children. (5) Where one parent was adventitiously deaf, and the other hearing: 2-244 per cent, of deaf children.^ These figures therefore show that, whilst the Rabbis were right in supposing that adventitious deafness was not inherited, seeing that in Class (3) we have only a small percentage of deaf children (2-3 per cent.), not more than would be expected in an average population, they were ^vrong in not making any distinction between this form of deafness and the congenital variety which is distinctly hereditary .^ (See Chapter XXIV., p. 392.) Beauty in a woman was a highly commendable attri- bute. " Happy is the man who has a beautiful wife: the length of his days are doubled."^ Again, " A woman with beautiful eyes," said a Rabbi, " needs no further ^ Yebamotli 1126. ^ E. A. Fay, quoted by Arthur Thomson in his article " Here- dity " in " Encyclopaedia and Dictionary of Medicine," Edinburgh, 1907, vol. iv., p. 182. ^ See also Davenport, op. cit. * Yebamoth 63b. Digitized by Microsoft® 32 The Jewish Child [chap. recommendation,"^ although Maimonides, on purely- hygienic grounds, says that one should not marry too beautiful a woman, since there is the risk of temptation to excessive sexual indulgence.^ Prepossessing girls used to have many suitors, who were prepared to pay much money to their fathers. Indeed, a case is recorded of a girl who was exceedingly pretty, and had so many admirers that, in order to free herself from their attentions, she was compelled to de- ceive them by saying that she was already married.^ At the same time, as has been truly said by Solomon, beauty is not everything, and character is better than looks; for "grace is deceitful, beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."^ The Midrash tells a very pretty story about K. Joshua ben Chananya, who met a young girl whom he asked for a drink of water. She replied that she would give drink both to him and to his donkey. When he finished drinking, he said to her, " My child, thou hast imitated the good example of Rebekah."^ She gave him a playful smile, and said, " Yes, but thou hast not imitated the good deed of Eliezer " (who gave Rebekah earrings and a bracelet).** " Kind maiden," said Joshua ben Chananya, " thou possessest more beautiful ornaments than the most faithful servant can give thee: wit, wisdom, and kindness. "'' It used to be the custom in Jerusalem for the daughters of Israel to go out in borrowed clothes (so as not to put the poorer girls to shame), and dance in the parks on the 1 Taanith 2ia. 2 ggfgj, j^efuotli xvi. ^ Kethuboth 22a. See also story of E. Bibi on p. 28. ^ Prov. xxxi. 30. ^ See Gen. xxiv. 46. « See Gen. xxiv. 47. ^ Echa E. i. 9. Digitized by Microsoft® II-] Heredity and Eugenics 33 15th of Ab (about the middle of summer), and on the Day of Atonement, and marriageable bachelors came to look on. The beautiful girls used to sing, " Young men pay regard to personal beauty, which is the highest attribute of a woman "; the girls of good family used to sing: " young man, lift up your eyes And look before you ctoose. Look not for beauty. But seek for good breeding. False is grace, and beauty is vain; A God-fearing woman is alone worthy of praise."^ In the Middle Ages the fairs were substituted for the vineyards, and many marriages were arranged at the fairs held at Lemberg and Lublin.^ Celibacy was not allowed (compare the recent tax on bachelors in France), except in the case of students;^ for how can one study when one has a yoke on one's back ?^ Early marriages were enjoined, the marriage age of boys being between thirteen and twenty — eighteen being the age stated in the Mishna (Abb. v. 21), although the Midrash says that generally thirty or forty is the age at which men marry^ and that of girls the approach of puberty: i.e., twelve years and one day. (For child marriages in the Middle Ages see p. 55, also I. Abrahams, loc. cit., p. 167 et seq.) Such early marriages not only obviate impure living, but increase ^ Taanitb 266 and 31a. Compare Judg. xxi. 21; see also article " Polk-Songs " in " Jewish Encyclopsedia," vol. v., p. 426. ^ See I. Abrahams, loc. cit., pp. 172, 173. ' See case of Ben Azai, Yebamoth 636. * Kiddushin 296. ^ Cant. R. vii. 17 quoted by Suvalsky in " Chayei Hayehudi al pee ha Talmud," Warsaw, 1893, p. 100. , 3 Digitized by Microsoft® 36 The Jewish Child [chap. thyself, so I have brought thee with me." The two went back to R. Simeon and told him that they had changed their mind. Whereupon he prayed to the Lord, who made the wife as fruitful as the vine, and honoured her husband with children and children's children.^ A similar story is recorded in the early history of Germany. In the year 1141, during the civil war in Germany, the Emperor Conrad besieged the Guelph Count of Bavaria in the castle of Weinsberg. After the surrender of the garrison the emperor vowed to burn the place and kill all the men, but allowed all the women to leave the place, and granted the request of the Countess of Bavaria to permit the women to take as much of their valuables as each of them could manage to carry. Next morning, to the amazement of the emperor, the women filed out one by one, "every married woman carrying her husband with her young ones on her back." This sight so moved the emperor that he spared the place and the lives of the men.^ Sterility. Sterility was recognized as due either to the husband or the wife.^ Causes of Sterility in a Woman. — A woman who never menstruated was believed to be comparatively sterile.^ Advancing years were also known to be a cause of sterility, and were therefore considered unfavourably ^ Canticles R. ^ See Paul Isaac Herslioii, " A Talmudic Miscellany," London, 1880, p. 136. ^ Deut. vii. 14. * Jar. Kethub. i. 1 and Nidah 646 Digitized by Microsoft® II.] Heredity and Eugenics 37 from the point of view of marriage. R. Chisda said that " when a young girl before the age of twenty gets married, she may remain fertile up to the age of sixty; if she gets married at the age of twenty, she may remain fertile up to the age of forty ; but when a woman marries at the age of forty, she may be sure that she will never have any children."^ Similarly, a woman who has been a widow for ten years, and who had made up her mind not to remarry, will not, if she does marry again, have any more children. Rava married the daughter of R. Chisda, who had been a widow for ten years, and when she bore him a child he said to her : "The Rabbis have their suspicions about you." But she rephed: "I had always set my heart upon you."^ On the other hand, extreme youth was also known to be a bar to conception. " A woman cannot conceive before the age of eleven years and one day; and between eleven and twelve years conception is possible, but labour is sure to result in the death of both herself and her child."^ Although marriage was not forbidden to a girl before the age of twelve, still, it was recommended that she should use mechanical means to prevent conception; such means were also allowed for the sake of the unborn child to a pregnant woman and to a woman who was suckling (see p. 181), but no method of preventing conception was allowed for any other purpose.* Treatment of Sterility. — The Talmud suggests a very ingenious way to cure sterility in a woman. Thus, R. Eliezer said that Hannah pleaded before the Almighty, saying: " Lord of the Universe, if Thou dost not answer * Baba Battra 119a. ^ Yebam. 346. 3 Ihid., 12&. * lUd. Digitized by Microsoft® 38 The Jewish Child [chap. my prayers for a child, I shall arouse my husband's suspicion of infidelity by closeting myself in with a strange man. He would then take me to the High Priest, and make me go through the ordeal of ' bitter waters ' -^ and surely Thou wilt not allow the words of Thy Torah to remain false, for it is written that ^ if the woman be not defiled, but be clean, then she shall be free and conceive seed.' "^ The following are some of the remedies for the treat- ment of sterility in women: (a) Mix the ashes of the burned skin of a fox with water, and drink it three times a day for three days.^ (6) In Palestine barren women drink water in which has been cooked moss that has grown on the Temple walls.^ (c) Prayer.^ Thus, according to the Talmud, many of the matri- archs were childless because God is desirous of the prayers of the pious.^ Impotence. Impotence was an absolute bar to marriage an^ a cause for divorce,^ and the Eabbis described certain signs by means of which one could, in cases of doubt, ascertain the incapability of a man for procreation. These were — Absence of pubic hair at the age of twenty ; 1 Num. V. 28. 2 Berachotli 316, Sotah 26a. ^ See article " Birth " (Jewish) in Hastings' " Encyclopaedia of Eeligion and Ethics," vol. ii., p. 654; Edinburgh, 1909. * See "Jewish Encyclopsedia," article "Superstition," vol. ii., p. 600, col. 1. ^ Gen. XXV. 21 and 1 Sam. i. « Yebam. 64a. ' Nedarim 906. Digitized by Microsoft® 11.] Heredity and Eugenics 39 absence of hair on the face, so that one can suspect such a person from merely looking at his face ; soft and flabby condition of his muscles ; lack of force in act of micturi- tion, thin effeminate voice, and certain properties of his urine {e.g., absence of froth and absence of am- moniacal fermentation on standing); excessive fluidity of his semen (because it contains no spermatozoa) ; and absence of reaction in his skin after a bath even in winter.^ Similar tests were described for a woman :^ Non- development of breasts, absence of pubic hairs and of mons veneris, a rough masculine voice, as well as dyspareunia. The importance that the Rabbis attached to the skin reaction as a test is seen from the following quotation: " Rabba Bar Abuha said to his colleagues : ' Examine the skin reaction of Rabbi Nach- man; if that is positive, I shall give him my daughter in marriage.' "^ Impotence was divided by the Rabbis into congenital {saris chama) and acquired {saris adam). The former was considered by some as amenable to treatment. Thus, the " doctors of Alexandria in Egypt " were re- puted to be able to remedy it,* but another Rabbi denied its curability. As a remedy for impotence (or, as the Talmud euphemistically puts it, " unfamiliarity with the ways of the world ") the following is highly recommended by R. Jochanan from his own personal experience:® Take three measures of kurtemi, pound and boil them, and drink them with wine, which latter was in itself con- sidered an aphrodisiac. 1 Yebam. 80&. ^ Ibid. ^ Ibid. * See R. Eliezer's statement, Yebamoth 80a. « Gittin 70a. Digitized by Microsoft® 40 The Jewish Child [chap. Garlic^ and fish^ were also recommended. Poverty and starvation were known to be a cause of impotence. A case of medico-legal interest was brought before R. Jehuda, who, seeing that " their faces were black as a result of hunger," ordered them to be given a bath and good food and drink. This cured them of the im- potence.^ Psychical impotence was recognized, and was treated by R. Huna by getting the husband and wife more used to each other by inviting them together to a meal.^ Dudaim,^ which has by some been identified with mandragora, is also mentioned in the Bible as an aphrodisiac. If after marriage a woman complains that '' heaven alone knows our secret " {i.e., that the husband is im- potent), then the husband is compelled to divorce her and pay her marriage settlement.^ In order to test the wife's statement, either the test described could be tried, or, according to those who, like Rava, held that polygamy was permissible, the husband was made to marry an additional wife in order to demonstrate his potence.'' Another test possible was to let the woman sit over an open barrel of wine; thus, " On pla9a successivement sur I'orifice d'un tonneau, rempli de vin, une servante marriee et une esclave vierge. Or, chez la premiere I'odeur du vin sortait par la bouche, tandis, que chez la seconde il n'y avait rien de pareil."® This test, which is based on faulty anatomical knowledge, is also mentioned by * Baba Kama 82a. ^ Berachoth. 40a. ^ Keth. 10a. * Jer. Ned. xi. 12. ' Gen. xxx. 14. ' Nedarim xi. 12 (RasM). ' Yebamoth 65a. 8 Yebamoth. 606, Kethuboth 106. Digitized by Microsoft® II.] Heredity and Eugenics 41 Greek writers/ although. Soran considered such a test worthless.^ The Transmission of Acquired Characters. — The vexed question of modern biology— viz., Are acquired char- acters transmitted ? — also engaged the attention of the Rabbis. According to the Midrash, such characters are inherited, as is seen from the story told in Chapter XII., p. 184, according to which a shrewd youth rightly guessed from the shape of his master's legs that he was the illegitimate son of a stage dancer.'' The Talmudic sages, however, definitely answered the question in the negative. " For," argued they, "if it were otherwise we should expect the children of blind or lame persons to be born with similar afflictions, which we know is not the case."^ It may be remarked that this opinion, which is in direct opposition to the Lamarckian theory, is in agreement with the most modern views. Another " Jewish " argument in favour of the non-inheritance of acquired characters is the fact that, notwithstanding the constant practice of circumcision by the Jews for some 4,000 years, no case of true congenital absence of the prepuce has ever occurred amongst them. Telegony, or the alleged influence of a previous husband upon the progeny produced by a second one from the same mother, is spoken of in the Zohar, where it is mentioned that during intercourse a certain " spirit " passes from the husband to the wife. This spirit, explains Pinchas Elias,*^ remains in the wife even after the death of the husband, and children that are after- wards born to her from another husband may resemble 1 Hippocrates, v., ch. 59. ^ De Nat. Mul. 3 Echa R. i. and Yalkut Shimonei, 1001. * Chulin 696. = Sefer Ha'Beritli, 1804, i. 736, col. 1. Digitized by Microsoft® 42 The Jewish Child [chap. the first husband if the " spirit " of the second husband is " weaker " than that of the first. We have thus seen that the subject of Nature versus Nurture, which has recently assumed such an important place in biological inquiry, also engaged the attention of the Jewish Kabbis some 2,000 years ago, and that the conclusions arrived at by those sages, as seen from the sayings quoted in the previous pages, are essentially, though not to the same extent, the same as the opinions to which modern biologists are coming round — viz., that whilst environment has some efiect in influencing the welfare of children, yet its influence is small when compared with that produced by Nature or heredity. Karl Pearson, for instance, has shown mathematically that, while the association of heredity and character is very considerable — represented by a correlation co- efiicient of 0-50 — that of environment and character is extremely small, its coefiicient of correlation being only about 0-03.^ Euripides^ also discusses the relative influence of heredity g,nd environment. " Is it not wonderful," he asks, " that poor soil, blessed with a favourable season from the gods, bears corn in abundance, whilst good soil, deprived of what it should have received, yields but a poor crop, yet with human kind the worthless is always base, the noble never anything but noble % Is it the parents who make the difference, or the modes of training ?" (Hec. 592 et seq.). And the answer is, " Nature is greatest " (Fr. 12 [Phoenix]). No educa- tion can transform the bad child of evil stock (Fr, Incest. 38). ^ K. Pearson, " Nature and Nurture," London, 1910. ^ Quoted by Roper, " Ancient Eugenics," p. 36. Digitized by Microsoft® n.] Heredity and Eugenics 43 B. Eugenics. Eecognizing the relative importance between heredity and environment, the Kabbis formulated certain rules and principles of selective breeding, or, as Galton has named it, " eugenics," for the deliberate purpose of permanently raising the standard of the Jewish race. " Eugenics," says Sir Francis Galton,^ " deals with what is more valuable than money or lands — namely, the heritage of a high character, capable brains, fine physique, and vigour . , . and deserves to be strictly enforced as a religious duty." And such was also the opinion of the Jewish sages in the time of the Talmud, In arranging a marriage the following factors had to be considered : (a) Good Birth of the Contracting Parties. — A girl with a good pedigree (a hath abboth — literally, a daughter of fathers), even if she be poor and an orphan, is worthy to become the wife of a King.^ If a marriage was con- tracted on condition that the parties were of noble birth, and it was found afterwards not to be the case with either party, the marriage was null and void.^ The Baby- lonian Jews, who prided themselves on their noble and pure descent, were particularly careful in this respect, and were loath to intermarry with Palestinians.* Even at the present time the Sephardim {i.e., the Jews of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation, which forms only about 10 per cent, of the total Jewish population) unjustifiably pride themselves on their superior racial purity, and, as a rule, refuse to intermarry with the 1 F. Galton, op. cit. ^ Num. E. i. 5. 3 KiddusHn ii. 3. * Ibid., 69&. Digitized by Microsoft® 44 The Jewish Child [chap. Ashkenazim (who form the remaining 90 per cent, of the Jews). (See p. 96.) R. Jochanan said that if the daughter of a Cohenite marries one who is not a Cohen the union is not hkely to turn out a good one. She will either be widowed or divorced or have no issue. There were some, however, who held the opposite opinion — viz,, that the daughter of a Cohen brings prosperity to her husband and has learned children. Indeed, when E. Joshua, who had a Cohenite wife, became ill, he somewhat caustically and superciliously asked whether he (R. Joshua) was not good enough as a husband for a descendant of Aaron.^ {h) Physical Health and Good Appearance of Partners. — If some previously unknown physical defect was found in the wife after marriage, she was to be divorced without receiving her marriage settlement.^ The following are mentioned among the 145 physical defects which disqualified a woman in such a case : Foul odour from the mouth, excessive perspiration, and un- pleasant rough voice.^ According to the opinion of some Eabbis, such is only the case when there was no possi- bility of discovering the defects before marriage. If, however, that were possible, she cannot be divorced. We have already seen that people with an hereditary taint in the family were discouraged from marrying (p. 21). The story is told in the Talmud of a pretty girl who lost a tooth, and with it her lover as well. She was too poor to provide an artificial substitute, so Rabbi Ishmael furnished her with a gold tooth, which restored her beauty as well as her lover. R. Ishmael wept, and said: 1 Pessacliim 49a. ^ Kethubott 726. ^ Ibii., 75a. Digitized by Microsoft® n.] Heredity and Eugenics 45 " The daughters of Israel are handsome, but their poverty makes them unsightly."^ Physical strength and learning were looked for in the man. The Rabbis, however, treated the man much more leniently than the woman. Thus, " if the marriage was arranged on condition that the man was a scholar, it is not necessary that he should be as learned as Simon ben Azai or Simon ben Zoma, but it is suffi- cient if he knows a little even of the easiest portions of the Talmud."^ (c) Financial Standing of the Man, but not of the Woman. — On the contrary, in the case of woman, it is said that he who marries a woman for her money wiU have worthless children.^ If a woman married a man on condition that he was rich the marriage was null and void if she found afterwards that he was poor.'* Eoper^ quotes many passages from Euripides and other Greek philosophers denouncing mercenary marriages. "Nature," says Euripides (in Elec. 941), "endures; wealth is fleeting." Therefore, says he (Androm. 1279 et seq.), it is man's duty to marry the noble and avoid evil wedlock, even if that should bring him in a wealthy dower. In Theognis (v. 183) is found the following observation: "We seek well-bred rams and sheep and horses, and one wishes to breed from these. Yet a good man is willing to marry an evil wife, if she bring him wealth: nor does a woman refuse to marry an evil husband who is rich. For men reverence money, and the good marry the evil, and the evil the good. Wealth has confounded the race." 1 Nedarim 66a. ^ KiddusMn 496. ' Kiddushin 70a. * Hid., 496. See fuitlier Herschberg's article in He'Atid, loc.cit., vol. v., p. 84. ^ Op. cit., pp. 32, 35, 36. Digitized by Microsoft® CHAPTER HI JEWISH GENETICS STUDIED BY MODERN METHODS . " The mule is sterile because it is a hybrid " (Bechoroth lb). A. Consanguinity of Marriage.— Consanguineous mar- riages among Jews have formed a very fertile field for discussion among biological statisticians. Both those who advocate such marriages as well as those who are against them point to the Jews as examples in support of their views. Thus, it has often been said, and as often denied, that idiocy, deaf-mutism, blindness, diabetes, etc., are more common amongst Jews on account of the greater frequency of cousin marriages among them. The general impression of the deleterious effects of inbreeding has been formed since Darwin showed that continual inbreeding among plants and animals has a bad effect on their fertility and general vigour.'^ That cousin marriages are more common among Jews is a fact. About twenty-five years ago, Joseph Jacobs, using the ingenious method described by G. H. Darwin in the Journal of the Statistical Society for June, 1875, calculated indirectly the number of first cousin marriages among the upper classes of Jews as 7-5 per cent, of all ' Charles Darwin, " The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication," London, 1868, ii. 101, etc. 46 Digitized by Microsoft® III.] Jewish Genetics Studied by Modern Methods 47 marriages, the number of similar marriages among Gentiles ranging between 1-5 per cent, for all inhabi- tants of London, and 4-5 per cent, for English aristo- cracy.^ But recently direct statistics have become available. Thus, in Hungary such marriages are pro- hibited by law, but permission is usually given to those who apply for it. During 1901-1906, five times as many such dispensations (in proportion to their population) were granted to Jews as to Christians.^ It is true that the majority of the Hungarian Christians are Catholics among whom such marriages are forbidden, but against that source of error is to be set the fact that Jews are town dwellers, among whom the marriage of near kin is much less frequent than amongst rural inhabitants. It is not necessary for us to discuss the causes of the greater frequency of such marriages among them, but it is of interest to investigate the biological effects of such unions. In the first instance, first cousin marriages have been credited with sterility (absolute or comparative). That this is not the case is proved by the fact that, whilst, according to various authorities, the proportion of sterile marriages generally varies between 11-7 per cent. (Simpson) and 20 per cent. (Oesterlen), with an average of 12-8 per cent.,^ Jacobs found the proportion of sterile unions in cases of Jewish first cousin marriages to be as low as 5-4 per cent.^ Moreover, investigating ^ J. Jacobs, " Jewish Statistics," London, 1891, p. 3. ^ Zeitsoh. filr Demogr. und Statist, der Juden, vol. iii., p. 46, 1907. ^ See Alfred Henry Huth, " Tlie Marriage of Near Kin," London, 1887, pp. 192, 193. * Jacobs, op. cit., p. 7. Digitized by Microsoft® 48 The Jewish Child [chap. the actual fecundity of sucli marriages, Jacobs found an average of 4-6 children to each Jewish first cousin marriage, whilst the average Jewish birth-rate per marriage is only 2-6. Hence first cousin marriages are half as fertile again as other Jewish marriages. Indeed, as Huth points out, this is what one would expect a priori to be the case, since cousins generally marry younger than do strangers, and it is well known that young marriages are the most prolific (because the period of fecundity is longer), provided the contracting parties are not too young. The next accusation that has been brought against consanguineous marriages is that they are responsible for idiocy, imbecility, deaf-mutism, blindness, convul- sions, etc., in the offspring. Now, taking 7-5 as the pro- portion of first cousin marriages among Jews, and the relative fecundity of ordinary and first cousin marriages as 1 to 1-5, we should conclude that 7-5 x 1-5 — i.e., 11-25 per cent. — of English Jews are the offspring of first cousin marriages. In other words, in any assembly of nine Jewish young men and women we should expect to find a son or a daughter of first cousins. If, therefore, such marriages are responsible for idiocy, we ought to find that more than 10 per cent, of lunatics or deaf- mutes in any asylum are the offspring of first cousin marriages. But this is not the case. Indeed, out of twenty-four children in the Jewish Deaf and Dumb Home, only three were children of first cousins — i.e., " the number we should have anticipated finding in any chance selection of Jewish children."-' Indeed, all recent work on the subject shows that near kinship ' See Jacobs, op. cii. The obvious criticism to this observation is that the numbers are far tcfo few to be of much value. Digitized by Microsoft® m.] Jewish Genetics Studied by Modern Methods 49 in marriage has no evil efiect per se. In fact, stock breeders when they have a good stock inbreed success- fully. It does, however, as one would expect, intensify any hereditary taint that may occur in the family. Thus, if both cousins have a nervous or other morbid diathesis, the offspring are more likely to inherit that tendency than the children of other marriages. On the other hand, if there is any particularly valuable hereditary quality in the cousins, the marriage between them should intensify that quality in their offspring. (See Chapter XXIV., pp. 392 and 393.) B. Jewish Heredity and Mendelism.— Very recently the problem of heredity in the Jew was made the subject of an interesting study by Dr. Redcliffe N. Salaman, by what is called the Mendelian Method. In order to be able to follow intelligently the lines upon which Dr. (now Captain) Salaman carried out his investigations, and to appreciate the importance of his conclusion, it is necessary to have a clear idea of what Mendelism is. Menddism is a law of heredity discovered in 1866 by an Austrian monk, Gregor Johann Mendel, who, though possessing a Jewish name, was not of Jewish descent. Mendel carried out numerous hybridization experi- ments on the edible pea (Pisum sativum), and selected for his purpose two varieties of the plant which, though identical in all other respects — such as the shape of the seed, shape and colour of pod, etc. — differed in only one particular character (say tallness or length of plant), and he found the following results : 1. The hybrid offspring (called the first filial genera- tion, or Fi) of a cross between a 6 to 7 foot plant and a 4 Digitized by Microsoft® 60 The Jewish Child [chap. IJ foot plant (called the parent plants, P) consisted entirely of plants from 6 to 7 feet high. There were no short or intermediate forms. He therefore called the character of tallness a dominant, because it prevailed to the total exclusion of the opposite character, dwarfness. 2. He next fertilized these taU hybrids among them- selves {i.e., inbred them), and he found that the second hybrid generation, Fj, consisted of both tall and dwarf plants (again no intermediate forms), bict the two kinds were in the definite frofortion of three tails to one dwarf. This showed Mendel that, although the Fj plants were all taU, they were not pure tails, but that the character of dwarfness was latent in them. He therefore called the character dwarfness, which was suppressed in Fj, but reappeared in Fg, a recessive ; and the tails of Fj he called impure tails or impure dominants, or hybrid dominants. 3. On sorting out the tails and dwarfs in Fj, and self-fertilizing or inbreeding each, Mendel found that — {a) Th6 dwarfs only gave rise to dwarf offspring for any indefinite number of generations: F3, F4 . . . Fn — i.e., they bred true ; but that (6) The tails of F2 gave rise to one-third of true tolls, which behaved exactly like the parent tall in that they gave rise to tails only in subsequent generations, F3, F4 . . . Fn; and two-thirds of impure tails, which, like the impure tails of Fj, produced in the next generation tails and dwarfs again in the definite proportion of 3 : 1; or impure tall x impure tall = 1 pure tall + 2 impure tails + 1 pure short. ( x is to be read as " fertilizing, or fertilized by.") Digitized by Microsoft® III.] Jewish Genetics Studied by Modern Methods 51 Put diagrammatically, Mendel's results were as follows : P Pure tall x Dwarf P 1 Fi Impure talis which on inbreeding yield Fa 3 tails consisting 1 of 1 1 dwarf which bred true P3 1 pure tall which bred true Pure tails 2 impure tails, behaving like Fi Dwarf Fn Pure tall Dwarf F, F3 Fn Explanation of the Results. — Mendel explained these results (which hold good not only for tallness and dwarfness, but also for many other contrasted characters in plants and animals) in a most ingenious yet simple manner. The male and female sexual cells (called gametes) of the tall parent he assumed to contain within them the dominant character of tallness (represented hereafter by d), and those of the dwarf parent the recessive character of dwarfness (similarly represented by r). Mendel further assumed that although each of the hybrid offspring in Fj contains both the dominant and recessive characters, yet these characters segregate into separate gametes, so that each hybrid contains within itself an equal number of (Z-bearing and r-bearing gametes respectively. When, therefore, such a hybrid is fertilized or crossed by another such hybrid {i.e. Fi x Fj), the following combinations of gametes are possible : (a) A (^-bearing male gamete may fer-] tilize a c^-bearing female gamete, giving 1- "~ . ^^^^ . , J • + ° dommant. rise to a pure dommant ; } Digitized by Microsoft® 52 The Jewish Child [chap. (6) A (Z-bearing male gamete may fer- tilize an r-bearing female gamete, giving rise to an impure dominant; I =2 impure (c) An r-bearing male gamete may fer- ( dominants, tilize a d-bearing female gamete, again giving rise to an impure dominant; [d) An r-bearing male gamete may fer-"| tilize an r-bearmg female gamete, givmej- rise to a recessive. J Hence, by tlie law of chance, the members of F^ will consist of pure dominants, impure dominants, and re- cessives, in the definite proportion of 1:2:1; but as both pure and impure dominants only show the dominant character, therefore in the example we have chosen we get the members of Fg, consisting of three tails to one dwarf. The jyToportion of Id : 2dr : Ir, or 3 dominants : 1 recessive, given by the interbreeding of two impure dominants (dr), is called Mendel's Law. Now, if Mendel's theory of segregation of gametes be correct, we ought to get the following corollaries: (a) When a hybrid {impure dominant) is crossed with a pure dominant, the resulting offspring should all be dominant {pure or impure), because the following combinations are possible: Either (i.) the d gamete of the pure dominant might fertilize or be fertilized by a d gamete of the hybrid, giving rise to a pure dominant; or (ii.) the d gamete of the pure dominant might fertilize or be fertilized by an r gamete of the hybrid, giving rise to an impure dominant. (6) The crossing of a hybrid {impure dominant) with a recessive should result in equal numbeirs of dominant and recessive offspring, because an r gamete of the recessive might fertilize or be fertilized by either (i.) a d gamete Digitized by Microsoft® m.] Jewish Genetics Studied by Modern Methods 53 of the hybrid, giving rise to an impure dominant; or (ii.) an r gamete of the hybrid, giving rise to a recessive. Both corollaries have been found to hold good. We are now in a position to understand Dr. Salaman's investigations.^ Impressed with the distinctiveness of the Jewish type of face,^ it occurred to him that this feature might be a character which is subject to the Mendelian method of analysis. He therefore collected ex- amples of 136 mixed marriages {i.e., marriages between Jews and Gentiles), and examined, either personally or through the agency of reliable friends, the appearances of the 362 hybrid children (Pi) of these marriages. It was found that 336 children {i.e., 93 per cent.) had a Grentile appearance, and only 26 (or 7 per cent.) had a Jewish appearance. Salaman believes that these results show that the Jewish physiognomy is a Mendelian character which is recessive to the GentUe type;, and although, according to the Mendelian theory, all the hybrid children (Fj), without exception, should have been of Gentile appear- ance, he explains the absence of absolute dominance to be due to — 1. A distinct tendency on the part of some of the observers to claim wherever possible a Jewish type of face for the children they examined. 2. The existence, as he found, of Jewish blood {i.e., a Jewish ancestor) in the Gentile parent of some of the Jewish-looking children. Now, if the Jewish type of face is really a recessive character, we ought to find that, as explained on p. 52, ^ Eedclifie N. Salaman, " Heredity and the Jew," Journal of Genetics, Cambridge and London, vol. i., 1910-11, pp. 273-290. See also Eugenics Review, October, 1911. ^ Roundness of the features as opposed to squareness or angularity. Digitized by Microsoft® 64 The Jewish Child [chap. hi. when the hybrid children are mated with Jews (reces- sive), the resulting offspring should consist of equal numbers of Jewish and Gentile looking children; and on examining the thirty-two children of thirteen hybrid- Jewish marriages, it was found that fifteen were Gentile- looking and seventeen were Jewish-looking. The ab- sence of strict equality {i.e., sixteen of each) is obviously due to the small number of families examined, as well as, probably, to the Jewish bias in the observations. Again, in the case of hybrid-Gentile marriages we ought to expect all the children to be Gentile-looking (domi- nant), and that has been found to be the case with the eleven children of five such marriages. (See Plate II.) There is still one other niethod left for testing this question, and that is to investigate the physiognomy of the offspring of hybrid-hybrid (or Fi x Fi) marriages, where by Mendel's Law (see p. 52) we ought to find the proportion of Gentile and Jewish looking children to be 3:1. But, owing to the extreme scarcity of such marriages, Salaman could not find a single example. The results, however, obtained by him in the other case are sufficiently striking to lead him to the conclusion that the Jewish fhysiognomy is a recessive Mendelian character. The importance of this conclusion will be emphasized later, when I shall speak of the " purity of descent " of the Jewish child (see p. 93). Here I only wish to remark that, though Dr. Salaman's results are exceedingly interesting, the numbers are too few to be absolutely conclusive.^ See, further, " bye colour " (p. 93) and " congenital deaf-mutism" (p. 393). ' Dr. Salaman, who kindly read tte proofs of tliis ctapter, writes me to say that, with the exception of F;^ x Fj, examples which he has not yet come across, he has had a further large number of cases of the other classes which fully supports his theory. Digitized by Microsoft® PLATE 11., SHOWING THE UESIJLT OF THE MATING 01 JEW X JE^ A. — Jewish Parent of D. X X C- Pure Jewish liirth ; Brother of E, Husband of D. x_ D. — Non-Jewish-looking Hybrid : Daughter of A and B, Wife of C, and Sister of F. Non-Jewish-looking Children of C and D. Jewish-looking Children of and D. The diMwe pediyrm diagram has been eomirueted out of photographs orlgiiudlii published in the "Journal of Genetics." Tlieij are reprodwse.i Digitized by Microsoft® : II., SHOWING THE IIESULT OK THE MATING OF JEWS WITH HYBRIDS. JEW X JEWESS. X A. — Jewish Parent of D. X W D. — Non-Jewisli-looking Hybrid : Daughter of A and B, Wife of C, and Sister of F. B.— G-entile Parent of D. X ^-^^is^" F. — Non-,Tewish-lool-.ing Hybrid : Daughter of A and B, Wife of E, and Sister of I). E. — Pure Jewish Birth : Brother of C, and Husband of F. Jewish -looking Children of and D. Jewish-looking Son of E and F. Non-Jewish-looking Son of E and F. II eomtmcted out »/ vhotogmphs OflginalUl piMlxked in the. •' Jour ml nf Gemtm." They are i-eprmina-d here tiy kiuit permUiHum of Dr. Sa.lanmn ami of the Editor of that Joiiniai. Digitized by IVIicrosoft® To face J). 64. CHAPTEE IV MARRIAGE IN GENERAL " To join two in wedlock as husband and bride Is as hard as it was the Eed Sea to divide." (Sota 2a.y Marriage was looked upon by Jews with the greatest reverence, and a wife was considered as a joy to her husband. Indeed, the very name for marriage in Hebrew, kiddushin, means the " ceremony of sanctifi- cation." Isaac's marriage to Kebekah comforted him for his mother's death.^ " An unmarried man," said R. Eliezer, " is not a complete man,"^ and " a woman is an unfinished vessel until she marries."* This idea has been expressed more fully by Shakespeare, who made the First Citizen of Angiers say about Lewis the Dauphin and Lady Blanche : " He is the half part of a blessed man, Left to be finished by such as she; And she a fair divided excellence, Whose fulness of perfection lies in him."^ He who does not marry is considered as one who commits murder,* and he who has no wife misses every- thing and has no joy and no bliss.'' It is said that one of 1 See " Gems from the Talmud," p. 41. ^ q^^ ^xiv. 67. ^ Yebam. 63a; cf. Gen. R. xii. * Sanhedrin 226, Eashi. 5 " King John," Act II., Sc. i. ° Yebam. 6.36. ' lUd., 626. G5 Digitized by Microsoft® 56 The Jewish Child [chap. the reasons why Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, died young was their celibacy/ Improvident marriages were, however, forbidden by the Rabbis, who inter- preted King Solomon's advice, " Prepare thy work with- out, and afterwards build thine house "^ as meaning: Do not marry a wife unless you can support her.* Even if an orphan is about to marry, the community must get him a house and furniture.^ Although the Babylonian Rabbis advise marriage in the case of males at the age of eighteen,^ still, it was usually the custom in Palestine to get married even at thirty or forty.® To marry young was, however, con- sidered a great boon from many points of view, one being that it was a great means of preventing unchastity. R. Chisda, as already quoted (p. 34), said: " Why am I better than my friends ? Because I married when I was sixteen years old, and had I married at the age of fourteen I would have been able to defy Satan."'' Again, R, Huna, who lectured at the Academy at Sura, said : " He who does not marry at the age of twenty spends his days in sin — either by deed or by thought."^ Plato gives the marriage age for a woman as between sixteen and twenty, and that of a man between twenty and thirty-five.® In the Middle Ages child marriages were very common for a special reason: it was inferred from Isa. Ivii. 16 that the Messiah could not come until " all souls created by Grod had been fitted to the earthly bodies destined for 1 Lev. E. XX. 9. ^ ^icv. xxiv. 27. ^ Sotat ^ia. * Ketlmbotli 676. « Abboth v. ^ Canticles R. vii. 14, quoted by Suvalsky, op. cit.[ ■> Kiddushin 296 and 30a. ^ ^g^ 296. * " Laws," 721a, 112d, and 7856, quoted by Roper, of. cit., p. 55. Digitized by Microsoft® IV.] Marriage in General 57 their reception here below. "^ " To hurry on the great day," says Abrahams, " mothers and fathers eagerly joined their children in wedlock, each mother dreaming, perhaps, that in the child of her own offspring God would deign to plant the soul of the longed-for Redeemer."^ Till about the middle of last century it was rare to find an unmarried Jew in Europe, and rarer still to find an old maid.^ For people who were not in a position to marry there were special societies for the purpose of providing them with the necessary money, trousseau, and furniture, in order to encourage them to enter the marriage state. Fishberg very reasonably suggests that " one of the causes of the large number of defectives found among the Eastern European Jews is the fact that the Jewish communities have always been doing their best to marry every defective man and woman who, among other people, would hardly have a chance to propagate their kind."* (See p. 399.) At the present time the Talmudical laws are disregarded to such an extent that not only is the marriage age of Jews all over the world (except in Oriental countries like Palestine, Morocco, etc.) higher than that of non-Jews, but celibacy has become so frequent among them as to make the Jewish marriage-rate considerably lower than that of the Christian population. It is in virtue of both these phenomena, which, according to Fishberg, are due to social conditions,^ that the modern Jewish birth-rate is lower than that of non-Jews, as will be seen later. (See Chapter XXV., p. 403 et seq.) ^ Nidah 136, and Kethuboti 626. ^ I. Abrahams, op. cit., p. 168 et seq. ^ For statistics, see Joseph Jacobs, " Jewish Statistics," pp. 50, 51. ^ M. Fishberg, " The Jews," London, 1911, p. 245. « Op. cit., p. 247. Digitized by Microsoft® 58 The Jewish Child [chap. Statistics showing the Eelative Ages at Marriage in Berlin DURING 1900.^ Percentage of Married People. Over Twenty Years. Under Thirty Years. Men. Women. Men. Women. Jewish . . Chris tian 51-62 60-38 52-51 52-83 6-89 15-56 20-41 24-34 Similar figures have been given for various places all over Europe. Thus, in Russia in 1897, in only 6 per cent, of Jewish marriages were the men younger than twenty, as against 31 per cent, in corresponding non- Jewish marriages. Even among the women, only 27-76 per cent, of Jewesses married before the age of twenty, as against 55 per cent, among Christian women. Statistics showing the Eelative Marriage-Eate of Jews AND Gentiles pee 1,000 Population. Place and Date. Jews. General Population. Authority. (Zeitschs. f. Demogr. u. \ Statist, der Juden, >- 1913, p. 119. Ibid., 1911, p. 17. Ibid., 1912, p. 16. Ibid., 1911, pp. 39-44. Germany, 1911 Hungary, 1911 Bulgaria, 1907 Eumania, 1910 Eussia, 1903 . , 7-08 8-3 7-13 6-09 7-2 7-80 9-2 9-88 9-44 9.2*-ll-4t * Greek. t Mohammedan. These low marriage-rates for Jews exist in sfite of the fact that the relative number of adults of marriage- able ages is greater amongst Jews. ^ Compiled from A. Euppin, " The Jews of To-day," London, 1913, pp. 73 and 74. Digitized by Microsoft® IV.] Marriage in General 69 The Zohar^ (a metaphysical work of the thirteenth century) says that when God created the souls He created them in pairs, male and female. If they after- wards deserve it, the complementary pairs get united in marriage, and the union is a happy one; otherwise two souls that do not correspond are joined in wedlock, and there is constant strife between them. The same idea is expressed in the Talmud by Rish Lakish, who said that " every man gets the wife he deserves."^ The saying that marriages are made in heaven is expressed by R. Jehuda in the name of Eav as follows: " Forty days before the child is created, a heavenly voice (Bath Kol) shouts out, ' The daughter of A is to be the wife of B.' "^ The Midrash says that a noblewoman once asked R. Jose ben Chalafta what God has been doing since the creation of the world. " He has been matchmaking since then," was R. Jose's reply. " But," protested the woman, " I can do that as well as God." She went home, and in one day married off a thousand of her male slaves to an equal number of her female slaves. The next morning, however, the couples came back with broken heads and limbs, complaining of their misalliances. The noblewoman then confessed to R. Jose that she was mistaken. Hence it is said that " it is as hard to join two people in wedlock as it is to divide the Red Sea."* A similar experiment with equally disastrous results, carried out by an imperious Russian landowner, is graphi- cally described by Prince Kropotkin in his Memoirs : ^ The Zohar, a mystic commentary on the Pentateucli, is believed by some to be the work of K. Simeon ben Yocbai (a.d. 72-110), but according to Dr. Ginsburg and otters it is tbe work of Isaac tie Blind and his disciples, between a.d. 1200 and 1230. • Sotah 2a. ' Ihid. * Sotah 2a and Gen. E. Ixviii, Digitized by Microsoft® 60 The Jewish Child [chap. A landowner, noticing that the population on his estate increased very slowly, had a list of the inhabitants of his village brought to him, from which he picked out the names of boys over the age of eighteen and of girls over sixteen. He then wrote, " John to marry Anna, Paul to marry Parashka," and so on. "A great cry of despair rose from the village. Women young and old wept in every house. Anna had hoped to marry Gregory; Paul's parents had already had a talk with the Fedotofis about their girl who would soon be of age." But all protestation and entreaties were in vain. " The master had said that the weddings should take place at such a date, and so it must be. At the appointed time the nuptial processions, in this case more like burial pro- cessions, went to the church. . . . One of the house valets was sent to the church to report to the master as soon as the wedding ceremonies were over, but soon came back, cap in hand, pale and distressed. ' Parashka,' he said, ' makes a stand; she refuses to be married to Paul. Father ' (that is, the priest) ' asked her, " Dost thou agree?" but she replied in a loud voice, "No, I don't ! " ' The landowner grew furious. ' Go and tell the long-maned drunkard' (meaning the priest; the Russian clergy wear their hair long) ' that, if Parashka is not married at once, I will report him as a drunkard to the Archbishop . . . and I shall exile Parashka's family to the Steppes.' The valet transmitted the message. Parashka's relatives and the priest surrounded the girl; her mother, weeping, fell on her knees before her, entreating her not to ruin the whole family. The girl continued to say, ' I won't,' but in a weaker and weaker voice, then in a whisper, and at last she stood silent. The nuptial crown was put on her head; she Digitized by Microsoft® IV.] Marriage in General 61 made no resistance, and the valet ran full speed to the mansion to announce, ' They are married !' " The following anecdote illustrates the saying that marriages are made in heaven : King Solomon had a very beautiful daughter, and on reading her horoscope learned that she was destined to marry an extremely poor man. In prder to prevent such a thing from happening, he sent her off to an island where he had a special tower built for her, and had her guarded by seventy special watchers. After some time, that poor man who was decreed to be her future husband was walking in the fields barefooted and very hungry, when at the approach of evening he saw the carcass of an ox lying in the road. In order to warm himself, he put himself inside the carcass and fell asleep, when a big bird came and carried the carcass away, and deposited it on the top of the tower in which King Solomon's daughter resided. In the morn- ing the young couple met on the roof. The young lady took the youth inside her chamber and had him washed and dressed. He then became so handsome that she fell in love with him and married him. When King Solomon heard this he was very glad, and said, " Blessed be the Lord, who assigns a husband to every woman !"^ The Sacredness of a Promise of Marriage. The importance of keeping a promise of marriage is illustrated by the following romance: A pretty maiden was out for a walk in the country, and lost her way. She became very thirsty, when she saw a well in the distance. By means of a rope that ^ Tanchuma, ed. Bubeij Introduction, 136. Digitized by Microsoft® 62 The Jewish Child [chap. was hanging from tlie well she descended and had a drink of water. She tried to come up again, but could not. She began to cry, when a youth who passed by heard her voice and rescued her. They fell in love with each other and pledged their troth. " Let this well and this passing weasel," said the maiden, " be witnesses to our promise." The girl went back to her parents, and the youth re- turned to his home. The girl kept her promise and refused to marry anybody, and when she was pressed by her parents to do so she affected insanity. In the meantime the youth forgot his promise, took himself a wife and had a child. One day the child was left alone for a moment asleep in its cradle, and when its mother returned she was horrified to find her infant dead, its little throat pierced by the fangs of a weasel. After a while his wife presented him with another boy, who was carefully watched that no danger might befall him, but one afternoon he ran out into the garden un- observed, and fell into a well and was drowned. The broken-hearted mother, guessing that her affliction was due to some mystery in the past career of her husband, taxed him with it. He told her of the incident with the maiden in the well, and she insisted upon his divorcing her and returning to the lady he had jilted.^ Long engagements were discouraged, on the basis of the dictum in Pro v. xiii. 12, that " Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh it is a tree of life. "^ Time limits varying from twelve months for a virgin ' See Taanitt 8a (Rasti) and Aruch. This story tas in modern years been made tte subject of a very popular Jewisli opera, called " Sbulamith," in wliicli also the scene of tie marriageable girls dancing in the parks (mentioned on pp. 32 and 33) is reproduced. 2 See Maimonides, Hilchoth. Istotli i. Digitized by Microsoft® IV.] Marriage in General 63 to thirty days for a widow are mentioned as the necessary intervals between engagements and marriage. In the case of learned families, however, it was the custom for the fiance to go away for a few years to an academy to study. The pretty romance of R. Akiba is an excellent illustration of that custom. Akiba was a shepherd in the house of the rich Ben Kalba Shabua. An attachment was formed between the young shepherd and his master's daughter, and against her father's wish she married Akiba, on condition that he should go away for a number of years to study. Her father would not be reconciled to the match until, after a lapse of twenty- four years, Akiba returned full of glory, accompanied by twenty thousand disciples, when a reconciliation took place.^ It is forbidden to marry a woman before seeing her.^ A good wife is a great gift to her husband and prolongs his years.^ He is rich who has a refined wife,* for everything depends on the wife: she can make the hus- band good or bad. Thus, the Midrash relates the case of a pious man who was married to a righteous woman, but on account of sterility they had to separate. The man then married a bad woman, and he afterwards became bad too; whilst the woman married a bad man, but, thanks to her good influence, he became good and upright.^ A good and virtuous wife, says the Talmud, expands a man's character.® One should not marry a woman to please her relatives'' or for the sake of advancement.^ 1 Kethub. 626 and 63a. ^ KiddusMn ila. 3 Yebamoth 63a. * Sabbatb 25a. ^ Gen. R. xvii., compare Abodah. Zara 39a. 8 Beraobotli 576. '' Tosefta Sotai v. 8 See Suvalsky, " Chayei Hayeiudi al pee Hatalmud." Digitized by Microsoft® 64 The Jewish Child [chap. During the time of the second Temple it was not unusual for people otherwise unqualified to attain to high office by bribing the authorities. Thus, Joshua b. Gamla obtained the office of High Priest, for which he was not fit, because he married a rich woman, Martha, the daughter of Baythus, who gave large sums of money to the authorities.^ He who marries a rich wife with the idea of inheriting her will predecease her. The reverse also holds good.^ A man should not marry a wife with the idea of divor- cing her,® and he who does not love his wife is like one who commits murder.* Marriage contracts were established in order not to make it easy for the husband to divorce his wife,^ and therefore he who lives with a wife whose marriage settlement is less than 200 pieces of silver in case of a girl, and less than 100 in case of a widow, is like one who commits adultery.^ Although one should not marry in haste, yet the Talmud advises that, if one sees a girl that he likes, he should marry her at once, lest she be snatched up by another.'' The first year after marriage a man was free ftom military service, so as to be near his wife.^ At the very earliest time men used to pay or work for their wives. " Jacob served seven years for Eachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had for her."® King Saul promised his daughter to the man who would kill Goliath.^" Shechem said to Dinah's father, " Ask me never so much dowry and gift, 1 Yebam. 60&, 61a. ^ Tosefta Sotah. = Yebam. 37a. * Pirke d'E. Eliezer xi., quoted by Suvalsky, of. cit., p. 102. « Kethuboth 39a. " Ibid., 54a. ^ Moed Katan 18a. * Deut. xxiv. 5. ^ Gen. xxix. 20. 10 1 Sam. xvii. 25. Digitized by Microsoft® IV.] Marriage in General 65 and I will give . . . but give me tlie damsel to wife."^ Later, in tlie time of the Talmud, it was the custom for the girl's father to give her a dowry on her marriage, in order to help her young husband to establish himself.^ R. Shimeon says: " It is the custom for a man to court a woman, and not for a woman to court a man." In the same way as when somebody loses a valuable article, it is the loser who looks for that article, and not the article for the loser.^ The simile refers, of course, to the legend mentioned in Gren. ii. 22, where Eve is said to have been formed out of Adam's rib. In this con- nection the following anecdote is of interest : A Roman Emperor once said to R. Gamaliel that God was a thief, because He stole one of Adam's ribs whilst he was asleep. The Emperor's daughter, who was listening, casually remarked that during the previous night a burglar broke into her room and stole a silver vessel; but he left a golden one in its stead. The Emperor commented that he would not mind to have such thieves every night. "Quite so," said the girl; "that is just what God did. He took away one of Adam's ribs, but gave him a wife instead."* As a contrast to this pretty compliment to women, the Midrash utilizes the same verse in Genesis for the purpose of making some cynical remarks upon feminine nature. God, says the Midrash, considered from what part of Adam He should create Eve. " I will not create her from the head," said He, "lest she be too proud; nor 1 Gen. xxxiv. 12. ^ Kethuboth 52b and Kiddushin 306. 3 Kidd. 26 and Nidah 31a. * Sanhedrin 39a. The text gives " an infidel " instead of "an Emperor," but this is an alteration that was originally made by a censor. 5 Digitized by Microsoft® 66 The Jewish Child [chap. from tlie eye, that she may not be too inquisitive; nor from the ear, so that she should not be an eavesdropper ; nor from the mouth, so that she may not be a gossip ; nor from the heart, lest she be a shrew; nor from the hands, lest she be a busybody; nor from the foot, so that she should not be gadding about; but from the rib, a part which is concealed, so that she be very modest." Never- theless, all these faults are found in her, as it is said " But ye have set at nought all My counsel " (Pro v. i. 25).^ Again, says the Midrash, why do women, but not men, have to use scent and cosmetics ? Because man is made from earth, which does not decompose, and woman is made from rib, which does decompose. Also man is more forgiving than woman, because earth is softer than bone.^ A woman's voice is more musical than a man's, because bone is resonant and earth is not.* Manners and Customs associated with Marriage. It was the custom in the time of the Talmud to sprinkle wine and nuts before a bridal procession as a sign of luck. This was, however, done only in summer, but not in winter, on account of the dirt.* Barley was sown in flower vases a few days before the wedding, as a sign of fecundity,® and was thrown over the young couple as is rice in modern times.® In some places it was the custom in Talmudic times to carry a hen before a bridal procession as a symbol of procreation, and, according to a legend in the Talmud, ^ Gen. R. xviii. 2. ^ Gen. R. vii. ; compare also Nidah 316. ^ Nidah 31&. * Berachoth 506, Semachotli viii. " Kothub. 8a, Ab. Zarali 86. ^ I. Abrahamg, op. cit,, p. 196. Digitized by Microsoft® IV.] Marriage in General 67 the destruction of a place called Tur Malka was due to this custom. One day some Roman soldiers seized the fowls, and were maltreated by the Jews in consequence. This was reported to the Government as a case of Jewish rebellion, and the Emperor came and destroyed the city and massacred its inhabitants.-' These ancient rites all survived into the Middle Ages.^ In Eastern Europe it is still the custom for Jewish marriage ceremonies to be carried out in front of the synagogue, in the open air, as a sign that their children should be as many as the stars in the sky. The Domestic Life of Husband and Wife. The Duties of a Wife to her Husband. — The wife should not be quick-tempered.^ She ought to be looking after the house, dress nicely, and make herself nice-looking.* She must not flirt with other men,^ must conduct her- self with extreme modesty, and must not show her bare arms to strange men.® It is narrated that Chuma, the wife of Abaye, once came to the court-house of Rava to claim maintenance after her husband's death, and she raised her hands to show the height of the goblets of wine that she was in the habit of drinking during the lifetime of her husband. This action exposed her bare arms (because women used to wear wide sleeves), which were so clear and beautiful that they made a strong impression, even on Rava himself. Rava's wife thereupon be- came so jealous that she expelled the plaintiff from the court-house.'' ^ Gittin 57a. ^ I. Abrahams, op. cit., p. 196. 3 Sotah 3&. ^ Moed Katan 9&. = Kethub. 72a « Ibid. '' Ibid., 65a. Digitized by Microsoft® 68 The Jewish Child [chap. A wife must do light domestic work even if she brought with her a hundred servants, for idleness is the mother of all evil.^ She must, when possible, suckle her child, but if she gave birth to twins she need not suckle both.^ She ought to wash her children before going to school, and must go and fetch them from school.^ A wife who acts in accordance with her husband's wishes will have good and upright children.'* The story is told of a Babylonian, who married a Palestinian wife, that he told her to cook for him a couple of lentils, and she carried out his instructions literally by cooking two lentils. He got very angry with her, and sarcastically told her next time to cook a bushel of lentils, which she did ! He then told her to bring him two hvtzine (which may mean either candles or carrots, but he wanted carrots), and she brought him two candles. He then lost his temper, and said, " Go and break these candles against haba " (which means m Aramaic a door). But a learned man of the name of Baba ben Buta happened to sit at the door, so she broke the candles over his head. When Baba asked her why she did that, she replied: " Such was my husband's order." And Baba said to her: " Because thou hast done as thy husband wished, may God bless thee with two sons like Baba ben Buta."^ The Duties of the Husband to the Wife. — The husband is responsible for the wife's food and proper clothing according to his means.® He must provide her with garments to the value of at least 50 zuzim (about 30 shillings) a year.'' This was a very considerable sum 1 Kethub. 59a. 2 Ihid., 61a. ^ Yalkut, SMmeons. * Nedarim 666. 6 lUd. « Kethub. 58a and 64a. " Kethuboth vi. 5. Digitized by Microsoft® IV.] Marriage in General 69 in those times, as is evidenced by the fact that for a sum of 10 zuzim {i.e., about 6 shillings) it was possible to buy a plot of land, and that Rabina did not want to trust R. Ashi with this sum without a written, signed and witnessed I.O.U/ The sum of 50 zuzim was, how- ever, considered ridiculously small as the annual dress- allowance for a wife, since a large proportion of it had to be spent in boots, which the Talmud stipulated should be bought for the wife three times a year.^ A wife with such a small allowance was therefore characterized as " a scantily attired but weU-shod messenger."^ The dresses were to be given according to the age of the wife and the season of the year, as weU as according to the prevailing fashion of the place.^ In Palestine there was a popular saying that "it is better that I should go naked rather than not clothe my wife decently."^ A learned man's wife must dress better than that of an ignoramus.® The husband must also provide his wife with cosmetics and jewellery,'' and, indeed, Ezra introduced the custom of commercial travellers in perfumery visiting houses, so as to give the wife a chance to] buy in order not to lose grace in her husband's eyes.® If the wife is ill, he must pay for her proper medical treatment, and must not divorce her during her illness.^ One must not aggravate one's wife. " Beware," said a Rabbi, "of causing a woman to shed tears ";^° and one must not be too particular about domestic expenses.-^^ One must love one's wife like oneself, and 1 Baba Metzia 75&. ^ Kethubott 646. ^ Sotah 8&. * Pessachin 109a. ° Jer. Kethubotli vi. 5. " Jer Horyotli iii. 7. ' Jer. Kethub. v. 6. 8 Baba Kama 82a. ^ Sifre to Ki Tetze and Kethubotli 51a. 1° B. Metzia 59a. " Bamidbar Rabba ix. Digitized by Microsoft® 70 The Jewish Child [chap. respect her more than oneself.'^ One must endeavour to do the wife's wishes, so that his children be rich.^ But one should not be altogether governed by her.^ The husband must provide a nice house and clothes, for a woman gets more pleasure out of these things than out of the luxuries of the table.^ The wife of K. Chisda was once ornamenting herself in the presence of her daughter-in-law. R. Huna bar Chinena, who was present at the time, remarked that it only becomes a young woman to adorn herself, but not an old one. To this R. Chisda cynically rejoined: "By the Lord! even a grandmother on the brink of the grave is as fond of ornaments as her granddaughter. A woman of sixty is as enthusiastic over the music of a cymbal,, and of dancing, as a girl of six."^ Indeed, from the point of view of jewellery, women are a people by themselves.* Woman's ornaments were meant, however, for the purpose of endearing her to her husband, and it was considered bad form on the part of a woman to go out into the street bedecked with jewellery, because other people will look at her.'' A woman who goes out be- jewelled into the street is like a bejewelled bear: "a wise man does not look at what is on her, but at her teeth."« A wife who is ordered by her husband to do useless labour, such as drawing water and pouring it out, is entitled to a divorce, because he makes her look like a fool.^ She is similarly entitled to a divorce if he makes any other unreasonable demands of her, such as pro- ^ Yehamoth 626 and Sanhedrin 76a. ^ Baba Metzia 59a. » Baba Metzia 59a, Betza 32a. * Esther Rabba 3. « Moed Katan 9b. « Sabbatb 62a. ' Tanchuma to Vatetze Dinah. " Gen. R. " Kethub. 72a. Digitized by Microsoft® IV.] Marriage in General 71 hibiting her to wear ornaments,^ or to visit her parents,^ or to go to a balP or to a house of mourning.^ He must, also, not prohibit her from borrowing or lending some domestic articles,* because it will give her a bad name. The Talmud says that those who were afflicted with poverty or dyspepsia in their life, and received those sufierings with resignation, will enjoy immunity from punishment in the world to come. Some Eabbis added also " one who has a shrew of a wife "; for, said they, it cannot be argued that such a wife can easily be divorced and therefore ought not to be included, since in some instances there may be a heavy money settlement on her which the husband cannot afiord to give her, or he may not wish to divorce her on account of their children.® The following interesting medico-legal case is worth quoting: In the Egyptian village of Sechanja a man wanted to obtain a divorce from his wife without paying her the marriage settlement. So he invited his friends to a feast, and made them as well as his wife drunk: " Puis apres les avoir fait coucher dans une promiscuite indecente, il repandit du blanc d'ceuf parmi eux. Ensuite, s'etant procure des temoins, il vint plaider ie divorce pour cause d'adultere. Mais I'un des juges du nom de Baba ben Butha dit a ses coUegues, ' Je tiens de mon maitre (Shammai I'Ancien) que I'albumine se coagule simplement sous I'influence de la chaleur, tandis que le sperme traverse les tissus en les empes- sant.' " This difierential test was tried, and the husband was punished and made to pay a fine for his falsehood.® R. Judah is responsible for the following satirical » Kethub, 48a. ^ im_^ 71^, and (3). ' lUA., 12a. * Ibid. = Erubin 416. '^ Gittin 57a. Digitized by Microsoft® 72 The Jewish Child [chap. remark: " There are fourteen strong things in the world," said he, " each one stronger than the other: " The abyss is strong, but eartli conquers it. Tlie earth, is strong, but the rocks are stronger. The rock is strong, but iron breaks it. Iron is strong, but fire can melt it. Fire is strong, but water quenches it. Water is strong, but the clouds absorb it. The clouds are strong, but the wind disperses them. The wind is strong, but a wall withstands it. A wall is strong, but a man destroys it. A man is strong, but trouble unnerves him. Trouble is strong, but wine removes it. Wine is strong, but sleep overcomes it. Sleep is strong, but illness dispels it. Illness is strong, but the Angel of Death conquers it. But a bad wife is worse than all these. "^ Many sages who shared the fate of Socrates comforted themselves with the thought that their living together under the same roof with their Xanthippes was part and parcel of a learned man's life. E. Chiya had a shrew of a wife, but he treated her well, saying, " It is enough if our wives bring up our children and save us from sin."^ " Any ache and any smart Kather than an aching heart; Any ill and cruel fate Rather than a cruel mate,"^ was the pitiful exclamation of a probably long-suffering Kabbi. As an encouragement to the timid, the Midrash says : " Many go to sea, and the majority come home safely. It is the few who go and do not return. Thus, many take a wife, and most of them prosper. It is only the few who stumble."* 1 Eocles. R. vii. ^ ygbam. 63a. ' Sabbath 11a, rendered into rhyme by I. Myers, loc. ait., p. 47. * Bamidbar Eabba ix. Digitized by Microsoft® IV. _ Marriage in General 73 Adoption. In cases of sterility it used to be the custom for the women to adopt other people's children, or orphans, or foundlings. Thus, Sarah, Rachel, and Leah, who had been childless, gave their maid-servants to their hus- bands, and adopted their children.^ In case a man died childless, it was the duty of his brother to marry the widow, in order to name the son, that might be born, after the deceased man.^ (See next chapter under Levirate.) Pharaoh's daughter adopted Moses.^ Mordecai adopted his cousin Esther.* Anybody who adopts a child should be honoured as a father.^ Thus, R. Joshua asked, " Why is it written (2 Sam. xxi. 8), ' the five sons of Michal ' ? Was it not Merab who bore them ?" But the answer is that, although Merab really gave birth to them, still, it was Michal who reared them, and they were therefore named after her. This is meant to teach that he who brings up an orphan in his house is as if he were his father. R. Chanina drew the same moral from the verse in Ruth iv. 17, " And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son (Obed) born to Naomi." It was not Naomi, but Ruth, that bore him; but because Naomi reared him, therefore he was called her son.® An adopted son could not inherit his foster-father, even if the father left no issue, but the adopted child had to recite the Kaddish (prayer after the dead)'' if the man had no children of his own. 1 This was the law of Hammurabi, and was copied by the Hebrews from the Babylonians. 2 Deut. XXV. 6. ^ Chr. iv. 18. * Esth, ii. 7. s Sanhedrin 19&. « Ihid. ' See p. 18. Digitized by Microsoft® CHAPTER V THE PROHIBITED DEGREES OF MARRIAGE " Ye shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations " (Lev. xviii. 26). The Bible enumerates the following degrees of kinship which, a man must not marry : A mother, a stepmother, sister, half-sister (legitimate or not), granddaughter, aunt (on the paternal side), daughter-in-law, brother's wife (except in cases of levirate marriage), stepdaughter, wife's mother, step-granddaughter, or wife's sister dur- ing the wife's life.^ The Talmud enumerates a few more which it is not necessary to mention here. " One who begets an illegitimate child from a prohibited mate," says the Talmud, " has committed a sin which cannot be rectified."^ In introducing these prohibited degrees, the Bible enjoins the children of Israel not to " do after the doings of the land of Egypt " or the land of Canaan. Marriage between sister and brother was common amongst the Egyptians, who were a highly cultured race. M. Maspero^ translated an Egyptian papyrus in which one parent says to the other: " Ahuri, our daughter loves her brother Noferkepshtah; let us marry them together ^ Lev. xviii. ^ Chagigah 9a. ^ G. Maspero, " Des Contes Populaires de I'Bgypte Ancienne," Paris, 1882, p. 52. 74 Digitized by Microsoft® CHAP, v.] The Prohibited Degrees of Marriage 75 as is the custom." Diodorus and Philo Judseus also refer to this custom as quite common.-^ Among the Jews themselves, marriage with near kin was practised in the earlier times. Thus, Abraham married Sarah, who was his half-sister (the daughter of his father, but not the daughter of his mother),^ and the daughters of Lot practised incest with their father.^ As to the ground of prohibition of the marriages of near kin, nothing whatever is mentioned anywhere in the Bible or the Talmud ; but, amongst the punishments with which such unions are to be met, the Bible states that marriage with a sister was punishable with exter- mination.* Marriage with an aunt or with a brother's wife will, as a punishment, result in sterility.^ That sterility, however, was not recognized as a necessary biological sequence of such marriages is seen from the law about levirate marriage (p. 77). From a purely biological aspect there can, of course, be no reason whatever for not marrying a deceased brother's wife, since there is no blood-relationship be- tween them. Indeed, from a purely biological stand- point there can be no reason for interdicting the marriage of the closest relatives. The Ptolemys habitually practised incest, having married their sisters and other close relatives without any visibly evil results. They were neither sterile nor short-lived, and were not par- ticularly subject to disease. Some of them, moreover, were singularly sharp-witted. " Cleopatra, who was the daughter of a brother and sister, and a great-great-grand- ^ Huth, Of. cit., p. 35. 2 Gen. XX. 12. ^ Gen. xix. 30. * Lev. XX. 17. = Lev. xx. 20, 21. Digitized by Microsoft® 76 The Jewish Child [chap. daughter of Berenice, who was both cousin and sister to her husband, might with advantage compare in astuteness to Catherine de' Medici of France."^ It is true that the Egyptians decayed in wealth and power almost from the accession of the Ptolemys, but the theory is untenable, says Huth, that this was due to theic consanguineous marriages, " since the custom was not introduced, but only followed, by them."^ The question has also been attacked experimentally in various animals and plants, and the results are not against such unions on biological grounds. The only apparent reasons against such marriages are — 1. The marked difierences in age between parents and children (see p. 29). 2. The risk of brothers and sisters marrying each other while yet too young. 3. The risk of undue influence being exercised on the part of relatives to unite two relatives who are unsuitable to each other^ (see p. 63, ref. 7). Why, however, the Jewish law forbids marriage be- tween nephew and aunt, and not between uncle and niece, it is not easy to explain. By the following fallacious a fortiori reasoning R. Jose ben Thadai of Tiberias wanted to prove that it is not permissible to marry any girl except she be the daughter of a widow or divorcee. " For," said he, " if I may not marry my own daughter, whose mother is allowed to me, how much more must I not marry the daughter of another married woman, whose mother is not allowed to me !" R. Chanina answered: " If your reasoning be correct, then a High Priest, who must not marry a widow 1 Huth, op. cit., p. 37. ' Ibid., p. 38. ^ Ibid., p. 342. Digitized by Microsoft® v.] The Prohibited Degrees of Marriage 77 or divorcee, would be practically excluded from marry- ing anybody."^ And it is, of course, well known that celibacy was not allowed to Jewish priests. Levirate. Such was the importance attached to children that, if a man died without issue, his widow was given to his brother for a wife, in order that " the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel."^ By this it is not meant that the child must necessarily bear the same Christian name as that of the deceased man, but that he becomes his heir.® Such marriage of a deceased brother's widow is called " Levirate." Some people see in levirate a hint at telegony (see p. 41). A story is told in the Talmud^ regarding thirteen brothers, of whom twelve died childless, and it fell to the lot of the surviving brother to marry all the widows. When he pleaded inability to support them all, the widows replied that they would each support the house- hold for one month in the year. " But what am I to do in a leap year ?" (the Jewish leap year consisting of thirteen months), inquired the unfortunate man. " I shall contribute towards the maintenance of the house- hold during that intercalary month," replied Rabbi, before whom the pleading was held. After three years had passed, and the first leap year month arrived, Eabbi had to support, in addition to the husband with his twelve wives, also a crowd of thirty-six children ! * Derecli Eretz R. i. ^ Deut. XXV. 5, 6; Ruth, passim ; Matt. xxii. 25 et seq. ' Yebam. 24a. * Jer. Yebam. Digitized by Microsoft® 78 The Jewish Child [chap. There are several cases in which levirate was not allowed, viz. : 1. If a man married his brother's daughter (which is permissible according to Jewish law), and he died child- less, the widow, being the daughter of the surviving brother, cannot be given to him as wife. 2. If a man had another wife in addition to his fraternal niece, the surviving brother, who is the father of the first wife, must not marry either of the widows .■'^ 3. If a King dies without male issue, his brother is not to marry his widow according to levirate law, nor is a King to perform that duty in the case of his brother's widow.^ 4. Further, if the widow is impotent or her dead husband suffered from impotence, levirate marriage is not allowed.^ 5. Again, if the man is suffering from a contagious disease like leprosy, or has an occupation (like tanning) which might conceivably be objectionable to the widow, this marriage is not to take place. The custom of levirate marriages prevailed also among the Arabs^ and among the Abyssinians,^ as well as among many non-Semitic peoples.® In general, however, such marriages were distasteful to the Rabbis, and hence they ordained that Chalitzah (see next section) must take precedence over levirate. The ceremony of levirate has now been given up alto- gether in favour of Chalitzah. 1 Yebam. 2a. ^ Sanhedrin 18a. ^ Yebam. i. 1. * See W. E. Smith, " Kinship," etc., p. 87. ^ Of. Letourneau, " Evolution of Marriage," p. 265. ° Gf. Stareke, "Primitive Family," pp. 157, 158; International Journal of Ethics, iii. 465; and Westermarek, " History of Human Marriage," pp. 510-514. Digitized by Microsoft® v.] The Prohibited Degrees of Marriage 79 Chalitzah, or the Ceremony of Loosening the Shoe. If levirate was impossible on account of unwillingness of the brother, " then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in front of him, and say. So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house."^ This ceremony is in existence at the present day, and has superseded that of levirate. According to Pinchas Elias,^ by the spitting in the face the " spirit " which the woman obtained from her husband (see p. 41) escapes from her. 1 Deut. XXV. 9. ' Sefer Ha'Beritli, 1804, i. 73&, col. 2. Digitized by Microsoft® CHAPTER VI INTERMARRIAGE AND THE PURITY OF DESCENT OF THE JEWISH CHILD " Ezra did not leave Babylon until lie expurgated her from aU racial impurity " (Kiddushin 70a). The question of the intermarriage between Jews and Gentiles is one of considerable interest from the point of view of this book. When we discuss the modern biostatic characters of the Jewish child, it will be of interest to ask ourselves the question, What exactly do we mean &y the term " Jewish child " ? If, for instance, we could show that the admission of non- Jewish blood by intermarriage from the earliest time to the present day is a negligible quantity, then we might be justified in believing that the biostatic and anthro- pological factors peculiar to the Jewish child are pure racial characters, possibly modified to some extent by influences of environment. If, however, the degree of prevalence of intermarriage has been of such an extent as to cause a considerable infusion of non-Jewish racial elements into Jewish veins, then we must conclude that any difierences that may exist between the char- acters of Jewish and non-Jewish children have very little to do with the question of race — are not, that is to say, due to anatomical or physiological peculiarities, but are rather in the main the result of social, religious, and political environment. 8) Digitized by Microsoft® VI.] Intermarriage and the Purity of Descent 81 It is therefore important that we should make a brief historical survey of intermarriage between Jews and other nations, in order that we may be in a position to estimate its effects upon the modern Jewish child. In spite of the Biblical prohibition of intermarriage with heathen races/ a reference to the Bible will show that a considerable number of such marriages did take place. Thus, to mention only a few, Hagar, a wife of Abraham, was an Egyptian, and Zipporah, the wife of Moses, was a Midianite. David was a descendant of Ruth, a Moabite woman, and his son Solomon " loved many strange women ... of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites."^ Moreover, the Bible expressly permitted the Hebrews to marry captive women in times of war.^ During the Babylonian captivity, Ezra records that the " people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands. . . . For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons."^ And Malachi cries out that " Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god."^ In the time of the Talmud intermarriage was also practised. Thus, Joseph Jacobs mentions that, of the 200 doctors of the Mishna up to a.d. 200, no less than eight were of alien blood (including Akiba, Onkelos, R. Meir, Schemjah, and Abtalion) ; but he adds that, of the 1,500 doctors of the Gemara from a.d. 200 to 600, he could only find one (Mari ben Rachel) who seems to have been descended from a proselyte.® 1 Deut. vii. 1-3. = 1 Kings xi. 1. ^ Deut. vii. 1-3. * Ezra ix. 1, 2. ^ Mai. ii. 11. ° J. Jacobs, " Eacial Cliaracteristics of Modern Jews," Jouni. Anthrojtol. Inst, 1885. (Eeference to Baba Bathra 149a.) 6 Digitized by Microsoft® 82 The Jewish Child [chap. During the Middle Ages, again, intermarriage between Jews and Gentiles was taking place, in spite of the feeling of hostility between Jews and Christians in those times, and notwithstanding the prohibition of such unions by both Synagogue and Church. The greatest number of those marriages took place in Southern Europe, especially Spain, Portugal, and Gaul.-' Indeed, Graetz goes so far as to suggest that the first Jewish communities between Worms and Mayence were the children of the vast horde of beautiful Jewish captive women whom the Vangioni had com- pelled to minister to the satisfaction of their desires.^ And Fishberg believes that a large proportion of the blondes encountered among the Jews of to-day may have been acquired into the fold of Judaism in that manner.^ In South Russia, between the seventh and the eleventh centuries, proselytism on a large scale took place, when the Chozars, a people of Turkish origin, embraced Judaism; and some maintain that a consider- able influx of non-Jewish blood into the veins of Eastern European Jews took place at that time as a result of the commingling of those proselytes with the Jews in that region. Indeed, the authorities who maintain that the Jews are not a pure race go to the length of saying that " the Jews in Southern Russia, Hungary, Roumania, and part of Poland, are mainly descendants of Chozars who intermarried with Jews."* Another instance of wholesale conversions are the Falashas, neighbouring Arab tribes in Yemen. As regards mixed marriages in modern times, figures 1 See H. Graetz, " History of the Jews," vol. iii., pp. 36, 44, 527. ^ lUd., p. 42, » M. Fishberg, of. cit, p. 190. * Ibid., p. 192. Digitized by Microsoft® VI.] Intermarriage and the Purity of Descent 83 are available from about the middle of the nineteenth century onwards, and a study of such statistics shows that the degree of their prevalence in various countries is, as one would expect, in direct proportion to the degree of religious indifference, as well as to the amount of the social intercourse between Jews and Gentiles. Thus, in Eastern Europe, where the Jews are both poor and very orthodox, mixed marriages are practically non-existent. On the other hand, in Western Europe and the United States, where the Jews and Gentries are in intimate social contact with the general popula- tion, such unions are very prevalent. In Berlia, for instance, in 1905, 17 per cent, of all Jewesses and 27 per cent, of all Jews married Christians. In other words, every fourth Jew and every sixth Jewess married outside their faith.-^ In Hamburg, in the quinquennium 1901-1906 the number of mixed marriages was 61-19 per cent.; whilst in Copenhagen, wjiich contains about 4,000 Jews — viz., four-fifths of the total Jewish popula- tion in Denmark — the proportion of such marriages in- creased at the following rates: 1880-1890, 15-17 per cent.; 1891-1900, 71-07 per cent.; 1901-1905, 96-05 per cent.^ In England and America mixed marriages are steadily on the increase, although their number cannot be given statistically; but in Australia, owing to a recent re- vival of religious and commercial life, there has been a notable diminution during the last decade in the pro- portion of mixed marriages.^ Thus, in 1901 they amounted to 46-1 per cent., but in 1911 they dropped to 20-6 per cent. 1 A. Euppin, " Die Juden der Gegenwart," pp. 78-96, quoted by Fisliberg, of. cit., p. 199. ^ Fisliberg, op. cit., p. 197. ^ Israel Cohen, " Jewish Life in Modern Times," London, 1914, p. 306. Digitized by Microsoft® 84 The Jewish Child [chap. So much for facts. In order to analyze the influence that such intermarriages have had upon the racial purity of the Jewish child, we must pursue our inquiries in the following directions: 1. In what respects did the Jewish racial characters differ from those of the peoples with whom they inter- married ? 2. To what extent did such mixed marriages take place ? 3. What is the fertility of mixed marriages ? 4. Is there such a thing as " prepotency " of the Jewish type — that is to say, does the Jewish blood possess, as it has been alleged to do, some mysterious power of transmitting the type uninterruptedly from generation to generation, in spite of admixture with other blood ? Or, stated in Mendelian terminology, is the Jewish type a dominant or recessive feature ? 5. Lastly, how many of the offspring resulting from mixed unions remain within the Jewish fold ? For it is obvious that, if the majority of such offspring leave the Jewish community, then the effect of these marriages upon the racial purity of the Jewish child cannot be very significant. I propose to discuss briefly each of the above questions. 1. Racial Characters of the Jews and of the People with whom they intermarried. — The more important physical features which are considered to be racial characters of a people depending only on heredity are — {a) Complexion, including the colour of the skin, hair, and eyes. (6) The form of the head as determined by the cephalic index, by which is meant the width of the head expressed p . ■, ,, . width of head ^ ^. as a percentage of its length^^.e., length of head ^ -^^"- Digitized by Microsoft® VI.] Intermarriage and the Purity of Descent 85 Wlien the index is less than 79, the head is said to be dolichocephalic, or long-headed. (Hyperdolichocephalic =up to 76; dolichocephalic =76-77; and subdolicho- cephalic =78-79.) If it is between 79 and 81 it is called mesocephalic, and if over 81 the type of head is called br achy cephalic, or broad-headed. (Subbrachycephalic = 82-83 ; brachycephalic == 84-85 ; hyperbrachycephalic = 86 and over.) It is believed that the ancient Jews were of a com- plexion naidway between dark and fair/ and dolicho- cephalic f whilst the non-Semitic Amorites, as seen from the engraved portraits left on monuments by Egyptian artists, were blonde and dolichocephalic;^ the Hittites were dark and brachycephalic, possibly a Mongoloid or Armenoid race ; and the Cushites were probably negroid in type. The prevaiUng type of complexion of modern Jews is dark, but there is a certain proportion (15 to 20 per cent.) of blondes among them, and those who believe that complexion is a racial character are of opinion that these blondes are the descendants of the Amorites (see p. 94) or of the people with whom the Jews inter- married in the Middle Ages. The striking resemblance between Jews and Armenians is strong evidence of their common ancestry (from the Hittites). It is, however, not at all established that complexion is a racial trait. Dr. ZoUschan,'* for instance, has brought forward evidence in favour of the view that variety of complexion is determined by climatic and geographical ' Negaim ii. 1 ; see also p. 9. = W. Z. Ripley, " The Races of Europe," p. 390. ' A. H. Sayce, op. cit., p. 112. * " Das Rasenproblem," Vienna, 1912, p. 123. Digitized by Microsoft® 86 The Jewish Child [chap. conditions, as, indeed, was believed to be tlie case in the time of the Bible, wherein the Shulamite says, " Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun has browned me."^ Moreover, the presence of blondes among Samaritans who have never intermarried seems to militate against the conclusion that variety of complexion is a true sign of racial intermixture. Fishberg, however, who is a very energetic exponent of the theory of the racial impurity of Jews, points out that climate cannot be responsible for differentiation of pigmentation, since there are blonde Jews living in countries where the bulk of the population is brunette — e.g., in North Africa.^ According to Professor Krauss, the colour of the Jewish hair was black^ (cf. the regulation about leprosy, Lev. xiii.). Indeed, the fact that David was blonde^ and red-haired* is taken as an indication of infusion in him of foreign blood.^ Jacobs, however, insists that the colour of hair is no racial characteristic, but that red hair is a step towards albinism, and is due to the absence of the darker of the two pigments which determine the colour of hair, albinism being due to absence of both pigments. As regards cranial measurements, no reliable data are available to indicate with any degree of certainty the form of the head of ancient Jews;^ although the Arabs, who are the best living representatives of the Semitic people, are dolichocephalic.'' But whatever that shape 1 Cant. i. 5. ^ See also W. Z. Eipley, " The Races of Europe." ' See " Hasliiloah," vol. xxi., p. 356. * 1 Sam. xvii. 42. ^ See Sayce, op. cit., p. 74. * See p. 8. ' Lombroso examined five Jewish skulls of the second century found in Rome, and he found that three were dolichocephalic and two brachycephalic (" L' Antisemitisimo e le Scienze Moderne '' (Appendix), Torino, 1894). Digitized by Microsoft® VT.] Intermarriage and the Purity of Descent 87 may have been, there is no doubt that modern Jews exhibit great heterogeneity in this respect. The pre- vailing type among European Jews is meso- or sub- brachycephalic, with a cephalic index ranging between 80 and 83; but the Jews in the Caucasus are markedly brachycephalic (with a cephalic index of 85-2), whilst those in Africa and Arabia are dolichocephalic (C.I. = 78). If we accept it as a fact that head form is a purely racial character, then the great variety in the forms of Jewish heads obviously becomes a proof of their racial impurity. Some anthropologists, however, believe that the shape of the head is a character which is not deter- mined by heredity, but is subject to changes due to environment, such as intellectual activity and the pose of the body assumed in one's daily occupations, brachy- cephaly being assumed to be an accompaniment of great cerebral development. Indeed, Professor Boas measured the heads of 30,000 immigrants and their descendants in New York, and found that Eastern European Jews with brachycephalic heads become in the next generation dolichocephalic.^ It is interesting to note a similar view was held in the time of the Talmud by Hillel, who believed that the shape of the adult head depends on the treatment received by the growing infantile skull at the hands of the nurses.^ Sayce mentions that the children of the Flathead Indians of North America had their heads artificially flattened by placing them between boards when their bones were still soft and plastic.^ Fishberg criticizes Boas's figures by saying ^ Franz Boas, " Changes in Bodily Forms of Descendants of Immigrants," Washington, 1910. ^ Sabbath 31a and Abb. d'R. Nathan xxv. (see also pp. 16 and 335). =■ A. H. Sayce, " The Races of the Old Testament," London, 1891, p. 15. Digitized by Microsoft® 88 The Jewish Child [chap. that they are too few in number and extent of territory ; whilst he disposes of the theory that the cranial con- figuration depends on the intensity of intellectual activity by the contention that, if advance in culture would be invariably accompanied by widening of the head, then some races, like the English, who are dolicho- cephalic, " should have been doomed to eternal bar- barism."^ Moreover, measurements taken of the heads of 486 students at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology showed a variation in the cephalic index between about 70 and 87, the largest number (viz., 14 per cent.) having an index of 77 f and Dr. Livi is quoted by Ripley as having shown that in Northern Italy the professional classes are longer-headed than the peasants, while in the south the opposite rule prevails.^ It will be thus seen that anthropological science is as yet in too unsettled a state to enable us to draw any definite conclusions regarding the racial purity of the Jewish child from cranial measurements. Note.— In what has gone before we spoke of cranial measurements as taken of adults, but Boas^ and Ripley^ have shown that the cephalic index is a factor which is uninfluenced by growth, and remains constant from childhood to old age — that is to say, although the cephalic index slightly decreases with increasing age, yet the type of the head remains the same; a brachy- cephalic always remains brachycephalic, and a dolicho- ^ Fishberg, oj). cit., p. 54. 2 See W. Z. Ripley, " Tie Races of Europe," London, 1900, p. .41. ^ Ibid. * F. Boas, " The Form of the Head as influenced by Growth," Anerican Science, New Series, iv. 50-57. •'■' Ripley, ibid., iii. 888, 889. Digitized by Microsoft® VI.] Intermarriage and the Purity of Descent 89 cephalic always remains dolichocephalic, as the follow- ing examples show: Tribe. Adult. Children. Meemac . . Cherokee British Columbia Navajo 79-0 82-0 83-6 84-2 80-9 81-0 85-3 86-8 According to Boas, the decrease with age is due to the growth of frontal sinuses and the occipital protuber- ance, especially in males. For similar reasons women are more brachycephalic than men. 2. Extent to which Jews intermarried with Other Nations. — This question, like the preceding one, has provided a field of heated controversy. Jacobs believes that the relative number of such mixed marriages was not great. I have already mentioned that, although no less than eight of the 200 doctors of the Mishna up to A.D. 200 were proselytes, he could only find one amongst the 1,500 doctors of the Gemara (a.d. 200-600). R. Eliezer (probably with the usual Talmudical exaggeration) said that Ezra did not leave Babylon until he expurgated her from all racial impurity and made her as pure as fine flour.-^ During the Middle Ages, again, Jacobs could only trace sixty proselytes. As regards the Chozars, it was pointed out by Jacobs that these proselytes formed the Karaite sect, which has remained altogether distinct from the rest of Euro- pean Jews. Indeed, all historical evidence seems to point to the fact that from the second to the nineteenth centuries there was very little intermixture between Jewish and Gentile bloods. 1 Kiddushin 70a. Digitized by Microsoft® 90 The Jewish Child [chap. Says Mr. E. A. Freeman: "They (the Jews) are very nearly, if not absolutely, a pure race in a sense in which no other human race is pure. Their blood has been untouched by conversion, even by intermarriage."^ On the other hand, according to M. Reinach, " the enormous growth of the Jewish nation in Egypt, Cyprus, and Cyrene, cannot be accounted for with- out supposing an abundant infusion of the Gentile blood."^ As regards modern statistics of mixed marriages, the chief sources of error that have to be considered, in estimating their efiect upon the modern Jewish child, are the following : (1). The fact that those statistics only apply to mar- riages contracted between two people whose creeds differ at the time of the marriage, but do not include unions between Jews and proselytes. (2). In those countries where marriage between Jew and Christian is forbidden, many of the marriages in which one of the parties is styled as " free-thinker " are really mixed marriages. Hence mixed marriages probably occur to a considerably greater degree than is shown by statistics. Jacobs is, however, of opinion that probably not more than 0-2 per cent, of all Jewish marriages throughout the world are mixed.^ 3. The Fertility of Mixed Marriages. — Whether mixed marriages are as fertile as pure Jewish marriages is a matter which is still unsettled. Superficially, statistics ' Quoted by James K. Hosmer in " The Jews," London, 1911, p. 5. ^ Th. Eeinacli, article " Judsei "in " Dictionnaire des An- tiquites," quoted by Fishberg, of. cit., p. 188. ^ Jacobs, op. cit., p. xxx. Digitized by Microsoft® VI.] Intermarriage and the Purity of Descent 91 certainly show that mixed marriages are less fertile than pure ones, as will be seen from the following figures for Bavaria •} Number of Children per Marriage. Pure Christian. Pure Jewish. Mixed. 1876-1900 .. 1902 1903 1905-1906 .. 2-64 4-40 4-31 4-11 3-54 2-20 2-31 2-24 1-58 1-38 2-11 1-37 But such figures afford no safe criterion regarding the fecundity of intermarriages, since they are calculated by dividing the number of births in a given year or short period of years by the number of marriages contracted during the same short periods. This is a fallacious method, because the vast majority of births during any one year are due to marriages contracted in the previous twenty-five years, and, as the number of mixed marriages is continually increasing, it is obvious that the births of the year considered are reaUy due to a considerably smaller number of mixed marriages than are recorded for that year. Thus Fishberg quotes Ruppin to illustrate the fallacy of this method : In 1901 there were in Prussia only 1-58 births to each mixed marriage contracted during that year, as against 2-8 to each Jewish marriage. But, as the majority of these births are the results of marriages of about twenty-five years, we are led to investigate further. In 1876 there were only 256 mixed marriages in Prussia, whilst in 1901 they reached 455. If we therefore cal- * J. Thon, quoted by Fisliberg. Digitized by Microsoft® 92 The Jewish Child [chap. culate on the average for the last twenty-five years, Ruppin shows that there are 2-3 to 2-5 births to each mixed marriage, as against 2-9 to each Jewish marriage, a difference which, as Fishberg says, is not very consider- able. But Ruppin is of opinion that " nevertheless it is probable that childlessness is more common in intermarriages than in pure marriages,"^ and he even ventures to explain this more frequent sterility on biological grounds. " Just as certain differing zoological species," says he, " cannot be crossed,^ so it is possible that, to an extent, difference of race is responsible for sterility. Another reason for their relative infecundity is the fact that the contracting parties of such marriages are relatively old." Taking it for granted that mixed marriages are less fertile than pure ones, Jacobs calculated that, even if 10 per cent, of all Jews married outside their faith, only a little over 2 per cent, of the original 10 per cent, would be left within six generations, or 200 years. In other words, the Jewish race automatically rids itself of all foreign blood, and remains constantly pure in spite of intermarriage. 4. Alleged Prepotency of Jewish Blood. — Jacobs is of opinion that Jewish blood is prepotent to such an extent that the offspring of mixed marriages will preserve the racial characteristics of the Jewish parent. But recent investigation has shown the opposite to be the case. Measurements taken of the second and third generations of American immigrant Jews show a natural elimination of the darker, shorter, and brachycephalic types, and a 1 " The Jews of To-Day," London, 1914, p. 174. ' Compare the Talmudic saying that " the mule is sterile because it is a hybrid " (Bechoroth 76). Digitized by Microsoft® VI.] Intermarriage and the Purity of Descent 93 dominance of the faix-complexioned, taller, and dolicho- cephalic type/ Moreover, as we have already seen in Chapter III., Salaman, as the result of the investiga- tion of intermarriages between Jews and Gentiles, as well as between hybrids and Jews or Gentiles respec- tively, has come to the conclusion that the Jewish type of face is a recessive character which is subject to the Mendelian law of heredity. Salaman is of opinion that this fact throws some light on the question of purity or otherwise of the Jews. The Jewish features are reces- sive to the Northern European (including Teutonic), to the Italian, to the native Indian, to the Chinaman, and to the Negro. If, then, the Jew had freely inter- married with European races, it is obvious that the recessive Jewish facial characteristics would have been rapidly swamped, as has been the case, for instance, with the Falashas in Abyssinia, the Beni Israel in India, and with the Chinese Jews. But the very reverse is the case. The present Jewish features are the same as those depicted in Assyrian sculptures of 800 B.C., or on Memphis terra-cotta heads of 500 B.C., or in caricatures of Essex Forest RoU, a.d. 1277, and of Samaritans who have been living in an undoubted state of purity (who, by the way, are dolichocephalic). There is one interesting fact which at first sight seems to militate against Salaman's conclusions regarding the racial purity of Jews. The researches of Hurst, Daven- port, and others,^ have shown that eye colour is a Mendelian character, and that blue is recessive to the dominant brown. We should therefore expect that a 1 Fishberg, of. cit., pp. 220, 221. ^ See C. C. Hurst, " Mendelian Heredity in Man," Eugenics Review, April, 1912. Digitized by Microsoft® 94 The Jewish Child [chap. dark-eyed people that has not intermarried to any considerable extent should have a very small proportion, if any, of blue-eyed population; but figures collected aU over the world in the case of adults, and by Vicchow and Schimmer in the case of German and Austrian Jewish school-children respectively, reveal a proportion of about 46 per cent, of Jewish children with blue eyes.-^ This contradiction is, however, more apparent than real for two reasons : (1) What the Mendelian now means by " blue eyes " and what the ethnologist has classified as a blue eye are different things. The great majority of the latter' s blue eyes are merely impure dominants. (2) Although it is possible that the majority of the Jews were a dark-eyed people, yet it is practically certain, says Salaman,^ that there was a light-haired pseudo-G-entile type — very possibly a Cretan, and the blue eye may come from these. Evidence in favour of the purity of type is, according to Salaman, also available from Cohanim, who are the traditional descendants of the tribe of Aaron. All Jews of the name of Cohen, or some modification of it, are most probably such descendants. But people may be Cohanim without possessing the name of Cohen. (No one, says Salaman very reasonably, who has no right to the title of Cohen by birth would assume the name, because it conveys no social distinction or advan- tage, but, on the contrary, is accompanied by consider- able disadvantages — e.g., marrying a proselyte or the daughter of a proselyte or a divorcee, etc.) Now, exami- nation of physiognomies of Cohanim does not reveal ^ R. Virchow, Arch. f. Anthropol., vol. xvi., pp. 275-475, 1886; and G. A. Schimmer, Mitt. d. Anthropol. Ges., Wiea, 1884. 2 In a private letter to the author. Digitized by Microsoft® VI.] Intermarriage and the Purity of Descent 95 any difierence in type amongst them from that of other Jews. Hence the conclusion is to be drawn that what- ever value may be ascribed to the purity of descent of Cohanim during the last 2,000 years must also be as- cribed to their brethren amongst whom they live. It is to be noted, however, that the purity of descent of the Cohanim is not only disputed by historians, but is greatly doubted even by orthodox casuists. As early as the fourteenth century Isaac ben Sheshet made a distinction between the real Cohanim whose descent could be traced from Aaron the High Priest, and others whose claim to the title could only be assumed. The same position was taken up in the sixteenth century by Samuel de Medina, and later by Solomon Loria, who says that during the long exile of the Jews it is almost certain that both Cohanim and Levites have failed to maintain the purity of their blood.-^ On the other hand, Egyptian monuments afiord, according to Sayce,^ proof of the mixed character of the Jewish population. The names of Jewish towns captured by the Egyptian King Shishak, recorded on the walls of the Temple of Karnak, are each surrounded with the head and shoulders of a prisoner, which Flinders Petrie has shown to be Amorite, and not Jewish, in type. This is evidence to the efEect that the Jewish type was so scantily represented as to be passed over by the Egyptian artist. The exact origin of the Amorites is a question of some interest. According to the school of Houston Chamberlain and others, the Amorites were of Germanic * Yam Stel Sh'lomo (the Marshal) to Baba Kama,'^v. 35, quoted by Low, Of. cit., p. 114. ^ A. H. Sayce, op. cit. Digitized by Microsoft® 96 The Jewish Child [chap. origin, and through them King David had some German blood in his veins. This Pan-Germanic school goes as far as to suggest that whatever good qualities the Jews possess they owe to the admixture in them of German blood through the fair-haired Amorites. Salaman's interesting observations, however, seem to prove definitely that if, as is more than probable, the fair features found amongst Jews are derived originally from Amorites, then the Amorites were not Germanic. For, whereas the German or Teutonic type is a dominant Mendelian character, Salaman, from an examination of the offspring of marriages between such non- Jewish- looking Jews and Jews who have a definitely pro- nounced cast of features, ascertained that this non-Jewish type found among them is recessive to the typically Jewish (since all the children were typically Jewish). Hence, whatever the origin of this non-Jewish type may be, whether it is Amoritic or not, " it is at least quite certain that it cannot be Teutonic in origin."-^ Another interesting point is the question of the alleged greater purity of descent of the Sephardim (see p. 43). Salaman found that in marriages between typical Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews, the physiognomy of the former is dominant, showing that not only is their claim of greater purity unjustified, but that on the contrary during the last 1800 years " the Ashkenazim can show a far cleaner bUl than the Sephardim, who are known to have absorbed in no small quantity both Moorish and Iberian blood. "^ 5. The Number of Hybrid Offspring that remain within the Jewish Fold. — Ruppin gives figures to show that only about 20 per cent, of the children of mixed marriages 1 Salaman, I. c, pp. 287-289. ^ Ibid., p. 276. Digitized by Microsoft® VI.] Intermarriage and the Purity of Descent 97 remain in the Jewish community by the parents' wish, and he concludes that " at least one-half of these fall away from Judaism as they grow up. Thus, only about 10 per cent, remain definitely Jews and marry in the Jewish community."^ These figures do not, however, take into account the illegitimate Jewish children, of whom about half have Christian fathers. According to Euppin, the number of legitimate and illegitimate hybrid children born yearly into Jewish families in Prussia is about 3-7 per cent, of the pure Jewish births, a proportion which, as he remarks, " must in the course of time considerably modify the race character of the Jews."^ It is, however, worthy of note that the infantile mortality of illegitimate Jewish children is so very high that the infiltration of Christian blood from that source can as yet have had hardly any visible efiect on the racial purity of the Jews. Resum^. — Summarizing the evidence for and against the purity of descent of the Jewish child, we may classify the conflicting arguments as follows: Arguments Against. Arguments in Favour. 1. Intermarriage in Biblical 1. These marriages were small and Talmudical times. in number, and were contracted witb cognate tribes. 2. Wholesale conversion to Ju- 2. These converts became daism in the Middle Ages — e.g., separate communities which did the Chozars. not intermingle with the general Jewish population. 3. Marked differences in type 3. These differences are not — e.g., complexion and head racial, but are produced by social form — of contemporary Jews. and political environment. ' A, Ruppin, Of. cit., pp. 175-178. ^ Ihid., p. 180. 7 Digitized by Microsoft® 98 The Jewish Child [chap. VI. The following additional arguments seem to determine the balance in favour of the view that the Jewish race has remained practically pure : i. The Jewish face, being, as alleged, a recessive Mendelian character, would have been entirely swamped if intermarriage had taken place to any considerable extent. 5. Cohanim, who are not allowed to marry proselytes, possess the same type of face as the rest of the Jews. We know, however, that in the time of Ezra even the priests intermarried (see p. 8), and, further, that Cohanim may marry descendants of proselytes. 6. Mixed marriages are comparatively infertile, and the bulk of such ofispring leave the Jewish community. The sum total of the arguments is that, whilst there seelns to be very little doubt that the Jews are not a pure Semitic race, their ancient ancestors having freely intermarried with non-Semitic Amorites, Hittites, etc., there is some preponderating, though by no means conclusive evidence that there has been no further appreciable admixture of foreign blood in their veins since then. Digitized by Microsoft® PART II ANTE-NATAL CONSIDERATIONS CHAPTER VII PREGNANCY " A nulliparous woman wto wishes to know whetter tte fault lies with her should wrap herself up and sit over smoke. If the smoke will go through her body and reach her nostrils, the fault of her sterility does not lie with her " (Hippocrates, De nat. mul. v., ch. 59). Physiology of Pregnancy. The Talmud and Midrash refer to the wonders of pregnancy in the following words : " If an unstoppered bottle of wine were inverted, its contents would be emptied; and yet the child lies in the womb, whose mouth points downwards, but God preserves it and keeps watch over it so that it may not fall out." Again, " Inside an animal the uterus lies horizontally, but in a woman it lies vertically, and yet the child does not fall out and die."^ The amenorrhoea of pregnancy, the exact explanation of which is still unknown, was believed to be due to the fact that the blood is transformed into milk.^ Others, however, were of opinion that the milk does not begin to be formed before the third month.^ This theory of the ^ Nidah 31a, Lev. R. xiv. 3, and Midrash, Ps. ciii. 6. 2 Nidah 2a. ^ J. Sotah iv., and Kethuboth 606. 99 Digitized by Microsoft® 100 The Jewish Child [chap. transformation of menstrual blood into milk was be- lieved in by Aristotle^ and Galen,^ as well as by Arabian physicians. Indeed, Avicenna taught that there was a direct venous communication between the uterus and the breasts, and on this theory some primitive nations forbid intercourse during lactation, lest the child swallow semen together with the milk.^ Circumstances Favourable to Conception. 1. Mere insemination was by some people believed not to be sufficient for impregnation; the occurrence of an orgasm was considered to be necessary,^ and hence hypospadiacs and epispadiacs as well as spermatorrhoics are impotent.^ Such statements are, however, in direct contradic- tion to the theory held by Ben Zoma, that fecundation can take place absque consuetudine viri. Thus, it was believed that there was a possibility of conception occurring in a bath in quo spermatizaverat homof' and Ben Sira was said to have been the son of a daughter of Jeremiah who became enceinte from her father in that way. E. Zera and R. Poppa were also said to have been conceived in such a manner. J. L. Benzew, in his Introduction to Ben Sira, disproves these allegations, but those who believe in such a possibility may explain the immaculate conception of Mary in a similar way. Indeed, the Rabbi who expressed himself as a believer in such an occurrence was Simon ben Zoma, a sage of the second century A.D., who devoted a good deal of his time to metaphysical problems, and whose mind ^ Hist. Anim. vii. 3, 21. ^ De Sanit. tuend. I. viii. ' Ellis, quoted by J. Preuss, op. cit., p. 470. * Nidah 43a. = Yebamoth 756. " Chagiga 15a. '•B'B" Digitized by Microsoft® VII.] Pregnancy 101 gave way in consequence. The question that was asked of him, probably sarcastically, was whether the High Priest, who may only marry a virgin, was allowed to marry a pregnant virgin. Ben Zoma answered the question in the affirmative, because, said he, conception was possible in a bath in which a man had just before washed himself.^ This theory was still in vogue even among physicians of the twelfth century. Averroes, an Arabian physician who died in 1198, records that an acquaintance of his, whose hona fides was beyond dispute, stated on her oath that " impregnata fuerat subito in balneo lavelli aquse calidse, in quo spermatizaverunt mali homines cum essent balnea ti in illo balneo." Another author explains the possibility of such an occurrence as follows: " Quia vulva trahit sperma propter suam propriam virtutem." In the sixteenth century we find the Portuguese Amatus Lusitanus (1550) making use of the same theory to explain the delivery of a mole by a nun; and, accord- ing to Stern,^ this belief is prevalent in Turkey even at the present day.^ The Rabbis of the Middle Ages also believed in such a possibility. Even as late as the beginning of the eighteenth century this belief prevailed, and R. Juda Rozanes, Rabbi of Constantinople, who, on the authority of Maimonides, considered such an occur- rence improbable,* was reprimanded by Azulai.^ 2. According to R. Eliezer, no woman becomes preg- nant as the result of a first intercourse.* The only ^ Ctagiga 146 and 15o. 2 " Medizin, Aberglaube u. Gesclileclitslebeii in d. Tiirkei," Berlin, 1903, ii. 289. 3 See Preuss, " Bibl. talm. Medizin," pp. 541, 542. * Mistne PMelecb, Isliutli xv. 4. ^ Birke Josept, Eben Haezer xiv. 10. ° Yebam. 34a. Digitized by Microsoft® 102 The Jewish Child [chap. exceptions, according to legend, are Tamar,^ Hagar, and the daughters of Lot.^ 3. Period of Most Favourable Impregnation. — Accord- ing to a Talmudical statement, the most favourable time for conception is some time near the menstrual period,^ although it is not clear whether a past or an approaching period is meant. The Biblical law, how- ever, forbids all marital relations for seven days from the end of a menstrual period,* and modern investigation seems to favour the view that this is the most favourable time for impregnation. In cases of single coitus it has been found that the duration of pregnancy was 272 days from that date, but it is also known that the duration of pregnancy is 278 days as counted from the end of the last menstrual period, and therefore the fruitful coitus probably takes place about six days from the end of menstruation.^ Prevention of Conception. Prevention of conception was not allowed except in the three following cases: (1) Girls under twelve years of age, in whom labour might be fatal ; (2) women who are already pregnant, from the supposed danger of super- fcBtation {q.v.) ; (3) nursing women.^ Er is said to have practised prevention in order that Tamar might not lose her beauty through pregnancy.'' '■ Yebam. 34a. ^ Gen. E. xiv. 4 and xlix. 8. 3 Nidah 316 and Sotah 27a. * Lev. XV. 28. 5 A. L. Galabin and G. Blacker, " The Practice of Midwifery," London, 1910, p. 63. = Yebamoth 126, 346, and 696, and Kethubotli 34a. ^ Yebamoth 346. Digitized by Microsoft® VII.] Pregnancy 103 Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy. 1. The first symptom is Amenorrhoea.-^ But this was not by any means considered diagnostic, for the follow- ing reasons : (a) Pregnancy may occur without amenorrhoea.^ (6) Pregnancy may occur before the establishment of menstruation — e.g., Justinia, the daughter of Assiurus, the son of Antoninus, told Rabbi that she married at six years, and gave birth to a child at seven years of age,^ thus disproving his statement that pregnancy is impossible before the age of twelve years; and Bathsheba, David's wife, was a mother when six years old.* Such early motherhood is said to occur even nowadays in the Orient. Child marriages were, how- ever, discouraged; at any rate, pregnancy was in those cases 'prevented.^ Contemporary Greek writers like Soran and Jlltius denied the possibility of pregnancy before the establishment of menstruation.® In this they were, of course, quite wrong. (c) Pregnancy might occur after the menopause — e.g., in the case of Sarah;'' and Yochebed, the mother of Moses, was said to have got married at the age of 130.^ According to a legend, when Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a feast and invited many people to take part in his joy. But the guests ridiculed the festivities, and said: " The old couple " (for Abraham was then 100 and Sarah 90 years old) " have adopted a foundling, and claim it as their son." What did Abraham do ? He invited the chiefs of the land with their wives and babies, and Sarah gave all the infants to suck. The 1 Nidah 9a. ^ Ihid., 106. ^ Ibid., 45a. * Sanhedrin 696. ^ Yebamoth 126. ' * See Preuss, of. cit., p. 441. 7 Gen. xviii. 11. ' Baba Bathra 1196. Digitized by Microsoft® 104 The Jewish Child [chap. incredulous people were then satisfied tliat Sarah was the mother, but insinuated that such an old man as Abraham could not have been the father, when God made the face of Isaac to resemble that of Abraham, and all the people at once became convinced.-"- Within recent times authentic cases of pregnancy in old women have been recorded. Eden mentions a case in a woman fifty-nine years old, who had her menopause nine years previously.^ The prospect of pregnancy late in life was, however, considered exceedingly remote; sixty years was given as the limit for a multipara, and forty as that for a primipara.^ (See K. Ghisda's statement on p. 37.) 2. Longings were another sign of pregnancy. These were believed to originate from the foetus (in other words, it was considered a toxaemia of pregnancy), and hence, if they were for something which was ritually forbidden, they were taken as a bad sign for the future career of the child.* According to legend, whenever Kebekah passed a heathen temple she had a desire to enter it, because Esau began to move about inside her; and when she passed a sacred place of worship she had the same longing because of Jacob's movements.^ Longings must be satisfied, even if they are for any special kind of food, such as pork, which is otherwise strictly forbidden, and even if it happens to be on such a strict fast as the Day of Atonement.® 1 Baba Metzia 87. 2 T. W. Eden, " A Manual of Midwifery," 3rd edit., London, 1911, p. 73. ^ Baba Bathra 119a. * Yoma 826 and 83a and Jer. Chagiga ii. 6. 6 Gen. R. Ixjii. 6. ^ Yoma 82a. Digitized by Microsoft® VII.] Pregnancy 105 Treatment of Longings by Suggestion. — It is narrated that a woman had a longing for food on the Day of Atone- ment, and her friends came to Eabbi to inquire what to do. He advised that somebody should whisper into the woman's ear that it was the Day of Atonement. This was done, and the longing disappeared. She then gave birth to a son, who afterwards became the great Rabbi R. Jochanan. Hence, says the Talmud, the say- ing in Jeremiah (i. 5) : " Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee."^ 3. Among the other signs of pregnancy were Foetal Movements.^ The New Testament records that when Elisabeth (who was pregnant with John) heard the salutations of Mary (who was pregnant with Jesus) her babe leaped in her womb for joy.^ When these move- ments first occurred is not stated either in the Bible or the Talmud, but according to Hippocrates (quoted by Dr. Schapiro) quickening first occurs, in the case of a boy, at three months, and in the case of a girl at four months.^ According to Aristotle, quoted by the same authority, the movements commence still earlier — on the fortieth day, on the right side of the abdomen, in the case of a boy, and on the ninetieth day, on the left side of the abdomen, in the case of a girl. 4. During pregnancy a woman becomes uglier,^ and her head and limbs become heavy." Only pious women are free from the curse that God gave to Eve (see Gen. iii. 16).^ 1 Yoma 82a. ^ Gen. xxv. 22, 23. 3 St. Luke i. 41, 44. * D. Sctapiro, " Obstetrique des Anciens Hebreux," Paris, 1904, p. 87. 5 Cant. R. ii. 14. « Nidah 106. ' Sotah 12fc. Digitized by Microsoft® 106 The Jewish Child [chap. It is also said that God made the matriarchs sterile in order that they might preserve their beautiful figures and retain their husbands' afiection.-'- 5. That pregnancy increases the weight of a woman was well known. The Talmudic legislators laid down the law that a beast of burden that was hired to carry a man must not be used for carrying a woman. If, how- ever, it was hired to carry a woman, it might not only be used to carry a man, but it might be utilized for the purpose of carrying even a pregnant woman. The owner cannot claim any extra pay for the extra weight of the foetus because mother and foetus are one body.^ Diagnosis of Pregnancy. Pregnancy could not be diagnosed with certainty before three months, and hence a divorcee or a widow was not allowed to remarry before the expiration of three months from the date of her divorce or her hus- band's death, in order that one might be able to establish the paternity of the next child.^ After the third month pregnancy could be diagnosed with such certainty that Tamar was actually condemned to be burned on the strength of such diagnosis.'* An interesting diagnostic test was " the woman's walk " method, which, as Eashi explains, was carried out as follows : The woman was allowed to walk on soft clay, and from the depth of the footprints her condition was ascertained, those of a woman with child being deeper on account of the weight of the foetus.^ Rami ' Cant. K. ii. 14 and Yebamoth 346. - Baba Metzia 796. ' Yebamotli 42a. * Gen. xxxviii. 24, " Yebamoth 42a; see Eashi, in loco. Digitized by Microsoft® vn.^ Pregnancy 107 bar Chami, however, did not place much reliance on this test, because a widow who desired to make her child the legal heir of her new husband might " disguise her walk."^ - It is probable that the Jews had some more certain means of diagnosing pregnancy, but what they were is not mentioned; but K. Saphra says that it is not per- missible to examine a married woman, as this would profane her in the eyes of her husband.^ This would seem to indicate that the examination involved exposure of either her breasts or her abdomen, or possibly internal examination. (For the ballottement sign, see p. 125.) The diagnosis of pregnancy in later months, " when," as the Rabbis characteristically put it, " the belly is between her teeth," is of course very easy.^ Diagnosis of the Sex of Foetus. Difierence in sex ought to make itself known during pregnancy by means of the following signs : With a male child quickening occurs earlier (compare the views of Hippocrates and Aristotle, p. 103), and parturition [is easier.^ (Compare Pliny, who says: " Melior color, marem ferente, et facilior partus; motus in utero quadxagesimo die; contraria omnia 'in altero sexu . . . primus autem nonagesimo die motus."^ Multiple Pregnancy. Twin pregnancy was probably diagnosed or suspected from the violence of the foetal movements and from the ' Yebamotli 4:2a; see Raslii, in loco. ^ Ibid. ' Ketlmbotli 16a and Eosli Hashanah 25a. ' Nidah 31a. ^ pij^y^ « j^gt ^at," I. vii., ch. v. 1. Digitized by Microsoft® -108 The Jewish Child [chap. size of the abdomen.^ Sextuplets are mentioned in tte ease of Chamotli, the wife of Obed-Edom. The same is said to have been the case with each of her daughters- in-law,^ thus showing that multiple pregnancy was here- ditary and that sons inherit that tendency.^ Aristotle gives five as the maximum, and according to Pliny Egyptian women gave birth to sextuplets.^ Duration of Pregnancy. The normal length of pregnancy from the date of the first intercourse is 271 to 273 days, according to the Babylonian physician Mar Samuel,^ or 274 days accord- ing to the Palestinian School.® This corresponds exactly with the modern experience of 278 to 280 days from the last days of menstruation, since, as we have seen, the Jewish law forbids any marital relations until the seventh day after cessation of menstruation. The variation in length between 271 and 273 or 274 days is accounted for by the fact that the semen may, as they believed, remain alive inside the uterus for three days (but not longer) without its fertilizing an ovum.'' In this, Jewish science was nearer the truth than that of Hippocrates,^ who believed that conception takes place immediately or not at all; and not so near the truth as that of Aristotle,^ who was of opinion that the semen may remain alive inside the uterus for seven days without fertilization 1 See Gen. xxv. 22, 23. ^ Beracliotli636. ^ See J. Oliver, " Hereditary Tendency of Twinning," Eugenics Bevieiv, vol. iv., 1912, p. 39. * Quoted by Schapiro, op. cit. ^ Nidah 38a. ' Jer. Yebamoth iv. 1 . '' Sabbath 86a. ^ Quoted by Schapiro, op. cit., p. 69 . ^ Ibid, and Preuas, op. cit., p. 444. Digitized by Microsoft® VII.] Pregnancy 109 taking place. It is now known that, although the sper- matozoa reach the Fallopian tube (where fertilization generally occurs) in not more than twenty-four hours, yet it is possible for them to lie in wait for the ovum for a very considerable period, since living spermatozoa have been found in a human Fallopian tube removed three and a half weeks after the last act of sexual intercourse.-^ It is interesting to note that the numerical value of the letters composing the Hebrew word for pregnancy, Jieroyon (jV^n), is 271, which fact has been utilized by the Rabbis as a memoria technica (Jer. Yebam. iv. 11 and Nidah 38a and b). Hippocrates (" De natura pueri," cap. ix.) gives the duration of pregnancy as ten months, and Aristotle gives the wide limit of seven to eleven months; so also does Pliny. ^ Bearing in mind the normal variation in the duration of pregnancy between 271 and 273 days, the ultra- orthodox had intercourse only on Wednesdays, Thurs- days, or Fridays, in order to avoid a desecration of the Sabbath that might occur if a child were born on that day." . Since 273 is an exact multiple of 7, therefore 273 days from the earliest of those days, Wednesday, falls on a Tuesday, and 271 days from the same day falls on Sunday. It is, however, to be noticed that, apart from the two authorities mentioned, most of the Rabbis in the Talmud reckoned the duration of pregnancy in months instead of days. They considered it to last nine months (lunar). The " Song of Numbers," sung on the first two evenings 1 Eden, op. cit. ^ '-' Hist. Nat.," vii. 5. 3 Nidat 38a. Digitized by Microsoft® 110 The Jewish Child [chap. of Passover, also gives nine lunar months as the duration of pregnancy. In the seventeenth century Rabbi Moses ben Itzchak Lehmann of Poland, knowing that, according to all reliable observations, pregnancy really lasts nearly 280 days instead of nine lunar months (i.e., 252), rather than acknowledge that the Talmud was wrong, concluded that with the progress of ages there has been a gradual lengthening of the gestation period.^ A similar explanation was given centuries ago by the Tossafists to explain the discrepancy between the Tal- mudic statement and actual observed fact regarding the age at which a calf may begin to bear young. The Talmud stated that a calf cannot conceive before the fourth year, whilst experience has shown that it can do so in the third year.^ Protracted Pregnancy. — Although the above was the normal duration of pregnancy, still, it was considered on the authority of Abba of Thospia that a " child born twelve months after the departure of the woman's husband for abroad is legitimate."^ In the fourteenth century a certain bridegroom, Shelumiel by name, left his home the day after marriage to pursue his studies at a certain Talmudic academy, a custom which was quite common at that time, and is still not unknown in Eastern Europe. After an absence of eleven months he received news that his wife gave birth to a child. The Rabbis of the time, to appease the aggrieved husband, declared the child as his own, basing their verdict on the statement of R. Abba of ^ Quoted by Low, " Die Lebensalter in der Judischen Literatur," Szegedin, 1875, p. 48. ^ Ab. Zarah 24:&, Tossafoti, ad loc; cf. Jore Deah. 316, 3. 3 Yebamotli 80&. Digitized by Microsoft® VII.] Pregnancy 111 Thospia.^ Since then the name Shelumiel (pronounced Shlemiel) has been used, and is still commonly used, as a term of ridicule to describe any helpless person of the Handy Andy type. Pliny^ also recognizes eleven months as a possible period of gestation, and he mentions that Vestalia gave birth to Suilius Kufus (Consul) in the eleventh month. Hippocrates and Aristotle also speak of eleven months' children; the latter, however, speaks sceptically about them.^ The maximum duration of pregnancy as allowed by the Napoleonic Code is 300 days, in some parts of Switzerland 308 days, and in Prussia 302 days. It would therefore seem at first sight that the Jews were absurdly generous in their concession; but, as Preuss points out,^ the interval between two events, one of which took place on the last day of the first month, and the other on the first day of the last month, is generally considered as twelve months, but, as the Jewish months consist alternately of twenty-nine and thirty days, such an interval of twelve months would only amount to 297 days, which is some days less than that allowed in most countries at the present time. Diminished Period of Gestation.— Mar Samuel gives 212 days as the minimum duration of pregnancy, and a mnemonic for that is the Hebrew word harhaJi (niin) used in connection with the trouble of pregnancy,^ the numerical value of whose letters amounts to 212.® The Prussian Code gives the minimum duration as 181 days. In order to render a child legitimate, a great Rabbi of the fifteenth century, R. Juda ha-Levi of Mainz, ^ Quoted by Low, op. c«f., p. 57. ^ See Low, op. c«J., p. 53. 3 " Hist. Nat.," vii. 4, 23. * See p. 109 above. ^ J. Preuss, Of. cit., p. 444. " Jer. Nidah I. 3 and P°nei Moste, ad loc. Digitized by Microsoft® 112 The Jewish Child [chap. vn. declared that a mature child may be born after five and a half months' pregnancy .■'■ Signs of Recent Delivery in a Woman. The discovery of a placenta or of membranes is absolute evidence of recent delivery. The same applies to the presence of a Sandal (see Chapter IX.), since the latter does not exist without a child. On the other hand, absence of lochia is evidence that the woman has not been delivered recently. Compare Nidah 25 and 26. 1 Gen. iii. 16. Digitized by Microsoft® CHAPTER VIII HYGIENE OF PREGNANCY " Behold now . . . thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing " (Judg. xiii. 3, 4). Care of Mother. In Chapter II., p. 43 et seq., I discussed the subject of marriage from the Jewish eugenic point of view. I have shown what a considerable amount of knowledge the Jews in the times of the Bible and of the Talmud had of the influence of heredity upon the physical and moral health of the child; but the other part of eugenics — viz., the influence of environment — was also not neglected. They knew that as a rule a physically and mentally healthy stock cannot be reared from parents deficient in these respects, but they were also aware that a good breed can be improved, or at any rate maintained, by great care and attention. Special precautions are mentioned in the Bible to protect a pregnant woman from injury. " If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no other mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine."-^ Induction of abortion is, according to Josephus,^ to be considered as murder, ' Exod. xxi. 22. ^ Contra Apion ii. 24. 113 8 Digitized by Microsoft® 114 The Jewish Child [chap. although the Talmud is silent on this question. A pregnant woman is to be sheltered from fright and bad news, because such are likely to bring on a miscarriage. Phineas's wife, when she was near term, on hearing that " the ark of G-od was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, bowed herself and travailed, for her pains came upon her."^ The barking of a dog will also produce miscarriage.^ Strong odours are credited with having a bad effect in pregnancy, in that, they either caused abortion or had some deleterious influence on the subsequent career of the child. The Talmud mentions as one of the miracles of the Temple that no woman aborted there from the scent of the holy flesh ;^ whilst the apostasy of the famous Elisha ben Abuya late in life was attributed to the fact that, when his mother was pregnant with him, she passed a heathen temple, the smell of the sacrifices from which, passing through her system, unfavourably affected the foetus.^ It is also stated that if a pregnant woman treads on donkey dung her child will suffer from skin trouble.^ As a protection from miscarriage, pregnant women used to wear an amulet called eben teJcouma, or stone of preservation** (see p. 118). The story told in Genesis about Jacob and his flock shows that it was believed by Jews at that time that mental impressions at the moment of conception had a profound influence on the appearance as well as the character of the offspring: "Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them . . . and the flocks con- 1 1 Sam. iv. 19. ^ Baba Kama 83a and Sabbath 63&. 3 Abboth V. 8. * J. Chagiga ii. ^ Kethuboth 606. ° Sabbath 66&, Digitized by Microsoft® vm.] Hygiene of Pregnancy 115 ceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ring- straked, speckled, and spotted."^ The Talmud also tells of E, Jochanan, who was re- markably beautiful, that " he was in the habit of stand- ing in front of the ritual bath-house, in order that the women who came there should see him and conceive good-looking children."^ The Midrash narrates that an Arabian King once said to R. Akiba that he suspected his consort of infidelity, because, in spite of the fact that both he and she were dark-coloured, she gave birth to a white child. But R. Akiba said that this was no absolute proof of unfaithful- ness, because she might during intercourse have looked at pictures of white faces on the wall, and the King acknow- ledged that the pictures on his walls were those of white faces.^ This story has by many authors been quite erroneously attributed to Hippocrates. The colour of Charidea, the white daughter of the black King and Queen of Ethiopia, is explained, in the romance of Heliodorus,^ as due to the fact that the Queen looked at a statue of Andromeda at the time of conception. A similar tale is also referred to by Quintilian,^ except that in that case the parents were white and the infant was black, because the picture was that of a Moor. According to Empedocles, infants resemble the statues which the mothers found pleasure in looking at during pregnancy.® The law of Lycurgus required Spartan pregnant women to look upon statues of Castor and Pollux, in order that they might give birth to strong and beautiful children. Dionysius of Syracuse is also said to have hung pictures ^ Gen. XXX. 37-39 ; see also Aboda Zarah 24a. ^ Berachotli 20a. ^ Num. R. ix. * " iEthiopica," lib. iv., c. 10. ^ " Institutiones Oratoricse," quoted by Ballantyne. e Plutarch, " De placit. philos.," lib. v., c. 12. Digitized by Microsoft® 116 The Jewish Child [chap. of Jason in full view of his pregnant wife/ Galen held a similar view/ but Pliny, like the Talmud, speaks only of the efiect of impressions received at the moment of conception.^ The Midrash also tells a story about a woman who saw a young man that she liked, and afterwards gave birth to a child that resembled him. It also tells of a pregnant ass in whom a veterinary surgeon cauterized a wound, and she afterwards gave birth to a donkey with a mole.'* According to the same source, if a woman, who is pregnant by her husband, misconducts herself with another man, the foetus's appearance is changed to resemble that of the other man.^ R. Kohana narrates that, in order to breed the " red heifer " for ritual pur- poses, they used to pass a red cup in front of the cow at the moment of conception.* " Rabbi Jehuda said that he who wishes to have clever children should at the time of begetting think of doing good deeds."'' A pregnant woman must not have a hot bath, for fear of bringing on a miscarriage.® Diet. Directions regarding the diet of an expectant mother are given both in the Bible and in the Talmud. Certain indigestible articles, and in special cases, such as when 1 T. Fienus, " De viribus imaginationis," 1635, cited by Ballantyne, oj). cit., p. 107. ^ " Detberiaca ad Pisonem," quoted by Ballantyne, op. cit. " " Natural History," Holland's translation, p. 161. ^ Num. R. ix. 5 and 34. = Num. R. ix. 1. « Ab. Zarab 24a. ^ Kallab, R. Beraitba, x. ; also see Beracbotb 5&. 8 See article " Birth " in Hastings' " Encyclopsedia." Digitized by Microsoft® vin.] Hygiene of Pregnancy 117 Manoah's wife was pregnant with Samson, who was to be dedicated to Grod,^ and in the case of John the Baptist,* akoholic beverages, were forbidden, because of the bad efEect they would have upon the child. Strong purga- tives were also prohibited for the same reason.^ On the other hand, they were enjoined to eat light soft food, especially fine peeled barley, which was considered very good for the growth of the child.* Meat, fish, parsley, coriander, paradise apples, and in ordinary cases wine, are particularly recommended as giving rise to healthy, strong, and beautiful clear-eyed children.^ The Talmud states that a certain Queen was in the habit of eating citrons whilst she was enceinte, and the daughter that was afterwards born had such a fragrant odour that she was carried about before the King at the head of the spices.® This may be the origin of the custom which stiU prevails in Eastern Europe, for pregnant women to bite off the tip of the ethrog (citron) which is used, together with the I'ulab (palm branch), on the Feast of Tabernacles. Great fatigue, such as baking bread in the middle of the day (when the sun is hot), working a handmill, and excessive drinking of strong beer, have deleterious effects upon the offspring.' Marital relations during the first three months of pregnancy were believed to be bad both for the mother and for the child; during the second three months they were considered beneficial for the development of the child, but bad for the health * Judg. xiii. 4. ^ S. Luke i. 15. ^ Midr. E. Cant. i. 7, quoted by Griinwald, "Hygiene dei Juden," p. 204. * Yoma 47&. « Kethub. 60&. « lUd., 61a. ^ Yebam.SOaandKetbub. 606. Digitized by Microsoft® 118 The Jewish Child [chap. of the motlier; lastly, during the last three months they were thought to be good both for the mother and the child, because the child's birth is facilitated.-^ Aiis- totle holds a similar view.^ Religious Privileges and Legal Position of a Pregnant Woman. Religious Privileges. — As we have already seen, the Jews in the times of the Talmud superstitiously believed that a certain kind of stone called tekoumah (preserving), when carried by a pregnant woman, was a safeguard against miscarriage, and women were therefore allowed to carry that stone with them even on the Sabbath,^ when one is forbidden to carry the slightest weight. For the mineralogical identification of that stone see Preuss, " Bibl. talm. Medizin.," p. 446.* Further, the longings of a pregnant woman for food must, as we have seen, be satisfied even on such an exceedingly strict fast as the Day of Atonement,^ and the dietary laws must be disregarded in her favour. If she has a special longing for pork, it must be given to her, because, says the Talmud, in such cases every commandment may be broken except those forbidding idolatry, incest, and murder.' Legal Position — A. Criminal Law. — Special protec- tion was afforded a pregnant woman against violence (see p. 113). On the other hand, if a pregnant woman was sentenced to death, opinions differed as to whether ^ Nidah 31o. ^ Hiat. Anim. vii., ch. 4, § 30. ^ Sabbath 666. * According to some it is tbe eagle stone (Aetites), and accord- ing to others it is jasper. " Yoma 82a. « Ibid. Digitized by Microsoft® vni.] Hygiene of Pregnancy 119 the penalty should be carried out immediately, or should be postponed till after she had given birth to her child. According to an old law, the child was con- sidered to be a separate being, and the woman must not, therefore, be executed till after the birth of the child ; but according to a later law the fcstus was con- sidered only a part of the mother, and must therefore share her fate.-^ If, however, she is in labour when the execution is timed to take place, the latter must be postponed until the child is born. B. Civil Law. — A woman was not allowed to marry within three months of the death of her husband before submitting herself for examination to ascertain if she was pregnant, so as to make sure to which husband the future child belongs.^ ' Erachin 7a. ^ Yebam. 42a. Digitized by Microsoft® CHAPTER IX EMBRYOLOGY " Remember, I beseech. Thee, that Thou hast made me as the clay; aud wilt Thou bring me into dust again ? Hast Thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese ? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and Thy visitation hath pre- served my spirit " (Job x. 9-12). A GOOD deal of information is scattered about in the Talmud regarding the development of the foetus. Much of it is fanciful speculation, but a great number of facts are mentioned which were based on actual observation and accord with modern science. There were many experienced observers, among whom was Abba Saul, a grave-digger; and a certain Mar Samuel was the most celebrated embryologist of his time. King David is also stated by the Talmud-^ to have devoted a great deal of his time to kindred observations. The uterus, says the Yalkut, is full of blood, and when fertilization takes place a white drop comes and meets the semen, and an embryo is created.^ This is a very remarkable statement, since it makes it very probable that the sage who made it knew of the existence of the human ovum, which was only discovered by Baer as late as 1827. Some medieval and even more modern Jewish writers, obsessed with the idea that there is no modern discovery "• Berachoth la. ^ Yalkut, Job 905; see also Lev. E. iv. 9 and Nidah 31a 120 Digitized by Microsoft® CHAP. IX.] Embryology 121 tliat was not known to the Rabbis, tried to prove in some ingenious, although purely artificial, way that a scientific fact which was not mentioned by them ex- plicitly was really implied in some of their sayings. In this way a Hebrew writer, Pinchas Elias,^ who lived in the eighteenth century, was at some pains to show that the Talmudic Rabbis actually knew of the existence of spermatozoa, or sperm cells, which were discovered by Hamm and Leeuwenhoek in 1677. He bases his argu- ment on the Talmudic saying that " he who abuses him- self is like one who sheds blood,"^ and reasons as follows : " Supposing somebody destroys a piece of furniture, then he is guilty of the sin of wanton destruction. But if a person destroys a piece of wood, although it is a potential article of furniture, he is yet not guilty of that sin; and, still, one who ' destroys seed,' which is only a potential human being, is like one who sheds blood." He therefore infers, not only that the Rabbis knew of the existence of the motile living spermatozoa, but also that they were aware that each spermatozoon contained within itself a minute but complete human being. In this way he ascribes also to the Rabbis an adherence to the freformation theory of development (see p. 123). According to the ideas of that time, as we have already seen in Chapter VII., p. 108, conception — i.e., fertiliza- tion of the female ovum by the spermatozoon — ^does not take place till three days after intercourse, and during that time man must pray " que la semence ne se corrompe-avant d'impregner."^ This theory, which has a germ of truth, was in direct conflict with that of Hippo- crates, who believed that conception took place immedi- 1 Sefer Ha'Beritli, 1804, i. 71, col. 2. ^ Nidah 13a and Kallai R. ii. ' Berachotli 54a. Digitized by Microsoft® 122 The Jewish Child [chap. ately; and is not so near the truth as that of Aristotle, which was that the semen may remain inside the uterus for seven days without impregnating the ovum.'' It was believed that there were parts of the embryo that were derived from each parent, and some that were contributed by God. Thus, the white portions — viz., bones, fibrous tissue (nerves and tendons), nails, brain, and white portions of the eye (sclerotic and cornea), came from the father; the pigmented portions: — viz., the skin, the flesh, blood, hair, and the uveal tract of the eye — were derived from the mother; whilst God's portion consisted of the spirit, the expression, vision, hearing, movements, and intellect. When the child dies, God takes away His portion to Himself, and leaves the remainder to his parents. Eav Pappa adds: " This is the meaning of the proverb, ' Remove the salt, and the flesh becomes fit for the dogs,' which, as Rashi ex- plains, means that the soul is the salt which preserves the body; when the former departs the latter decomposes."^ It is interesting to compare these Talmudic ideas with the modern theory of germinal predetermination. Experiments on eggs of lower animals have shown that certain portions of the egg give rise to certain defimite portions of the adult organism. The primitive centre of formation of the embryo was supposed by some to be the head, whilst according to Abba Saul it was the umbilical vesicle, from which the parts of the embryo radiate in different directions.^ Aristotle believed that the heart was the first organ to appear.'* R. Abahu says it is a special dispensation of ^ Quoted by Dr. D. Schapiro in his " Obstetrique des Anciens H6breux," Paris, 1904, p. 69. '^ Nidah 31a ; compare also Bocles. v. 10. ^ Yoma 85a. * See Schapiro, op. cit., p. 71. Digitized by Microsoft® IX.] Embryology 123 Providence that the foetus begins to develop from skin and flesh, and not from bones and fibrous tissue, other- wise the child would break through the womb and escape.-' Abraham Aben Ezra speaks of the kidneys as being the first organs to appear. He compares them to the two poles about which the universe rotates.^ Simon Duran agrees with Aristotle's view.^ These observations are interesting in that we find in them a dim prevision of the theory of efigenesis, which Caspar Friedrich Wolfi showed some 2,000 years later (in 1759) to be the correct view, as opposed to the theory of preformation, which prevailed up to Wolff's time. The preformation theory, as we have seen, asserted that there was no new formation of structures in em- bryonic development, but that every human germ cell contained within itself, in a very minute form, a complete human being, which during the course of embryological processes merely had to grow or unfold itself, in th« same way as the parts of a flower unfold in the process of development. The theory of epigenesis, which, it is hardly necessary to say, is the one universally accepted at the present time, is that a new formation of parts occurs out of unformed material not possessing at all the characters of the adult organism. The theory of preformation necessarily involved the further belief that the miniature organism inside the germ cell contained within itself, within still smaller limits, the individuals of the third generation, and so on ad infinitum ; so that the ovaries of Eve or the sperm cells of Adam contained encased within one another all the human beings that were ever born or that ever will ' Lev. E. xiv. 9. ° Quoted by Low, Of. cit., pp. 43, 64. 3 Ibid. Digitized by Microsoft® 124 The Jewish Child [ohap. be born. This is called the " scatulation " or " pack- ing " theory of development. We shall refer to it again in the next chapter. Belief in preformation continued paramount till the end of the eighteenth century. Swammerdam^ says that all the germs of the human race must have been present in the bodies of our first parents, and when these are exhausted there will be an end to the human race (" exhaustis his ovis humani generis finem adesse "). Malpighi^ went as far as to assert that he actually ob- served the chick in the unincubated egg, and De Buffen in 1749 says : " J'ai ouvert une grande quantite d'oeufs a different temps avant et apres I'incubation, et je me suis convaincu par mes yeux que le poulet existe en entier dans le milieu de la cicatricule au moment qu'il sorte du corps de la poule."^ Even Haller, the father of physiology, was a strong believer in the preformation theory. The appearance of a forty-days embryo was, according to R. Abahu, as follows: " Its size is that of the locust; its eyes are like two specks at some distance from each other; its two nostrils have the same appearance as a hair; sex can be distinguished, but it is impossible to differentiate between the upper and lower extremities."'' The embryo should not be examined in water, but in oil, and only by sunlight,^ and a special kind of sound is described for the purpose of differentiating between the male and female sex.® * " Miraculum naturae sive uteri muliebris fabrica," Lugdunum Batavorum, 1679, pp. 21, 22, quoted by Jenkinson, " Experimental Embryology." ^ " De formatione pulli in ovo," Royal Society, London, 1673, p. 4. ' Histoire Naturelle, Generate et Particuliere, vol. ii., Paris, 1749. * Nidak 25a. = Ihid., 25a and 6. » Ihid., 256. Digitized by Microsoft® IX.] Embryology 125 According to E. Amram, the lower extremities can at that stage be distinguished as two purple threads.^ As regards the development of the mucous membranes in the face, and the chemical nature of the secretion of its various glands, the following statement is of in- terest. It is a wonderful thing, says the Midrash, that practi- cally within a finger's breadth there are several different kinds of fluids — viz., the salt tears, the fatty cerumen of the ears, the mucoid secretion of the nose, and the sweet saliva — and yet they do not mix. The tears are salt in order that the person who is crying should be irritated by them and stop his tears; otherwise the pro- longed bathing of the eyes in them would result in blindness. The secretion of the ears is waxy so as to intercept loud noises, which might injure the heart and cause death. The mucous nature of the nasal secretion intercepts smells which are dangerous to life. The salivary secretion is sweet so as to counteract the bad taste left in the mouth after vomiting.^ The ancient Jewish anatomists must have dissected foetuses at difierent stages of development, because they knew of the centres of ossification of a number of bones.^ The Amniotic Sac and the Liquor Amnii. — It was known that the embryo was surrounded by water con- tained in a bag of membranes. R. Eliezer said that a foetus inside the womb is like a nut placed inside a bladder of water. If you press your finger on the bladder the nut recedes.^ (Compare the modern ballotte- ment sign of pregnancy.) ^ Nidah 256. ^ Num. R. xviii., Tanchuma (Buber) Ctookath i. 3 Chulin 125a, * Nidah 31a. Digitized by Microsoft® ■ 126 The Jewish Child [chap. As sex was formed by the fortieth day, therefore " between the third and fortieth day man must pray that the ovum develop into a male child. "-^ In accord- ance, however, with a theory about the formation of sex (see this Chapter, p. 140),^ prayers can only help in cases where the male and female orgasms occurred simul- taneously.^ According to Mar Samuel, however,differ- entiation of the sex elements did not take place before the end of the fourth month, which is in agreement with the views of modern embryologists, although it is believed now that sex is already determined in the fertilized ovum (see p. 141). He also believed that females took longer to develop than males, in accordance with the views of Aristotle^ and Hippocrates.^ R. Ishmael held that the male is formed on the forty -first day and the female on the eighty-first day.® An interesting and very subtle dispute is recorded in the Talmud on the results of certain experiments carried out in connection with this subject. It was told to R. Ishmael that once Cleopatra, the Queen of Alexandria, condemned some of her female slaves to death. The execution was carried out forty-one days after a single experimental impregnation. At the post- mortem examination it was found that some contained male foetuses and others contained female foetuses. R. Ishmael's objection that the slaves in whom the female foetuses were found might have already been forty days pregnant before the experiment began was met by the reply that an abortifacient {samma d'naphtza) was 1 Berach. 60a. ^ Ibid. ' Ibid. ■* Aristotle, " De gener.," iv. 9. ° Hippocrates, " De nat. pueri," ed. Foes, sect, iii., quoted by J. Preuss, 452. , ^ Nidah. iii. 7. Digitized by Microsoft® IX,] Embryology 127 administered to each of the women. R. Ishmael, how- ever, rightly insisted that there are some women in whom abortifacients are ineffective. R. Ishmael then narrated a similar experiment made by Cleopatra, " a Queen of Grreece," in the case of some of her condemned female slaves. On dissection it was found that the male foetuses were formed forty days and the females eighty-one days after a single inter- course. His opponents objected that such fallacious observations prove nothing, since the female embryos might have been conceived forty days later in prison. R. Ishmael's answer that the mothers had been care- fully watched to avoid such a possibility was met by the retort that whilst one could be quite sure of the watching, one could not be equally sure of the watchers, since"there is no means of guarding against unchastity."^ As Juvenal says, " Quis custodiet ipsos custodes ?" Samuel was said to be able to tell the exact age of a fcBtu-S, and the following story illustrates the con- fidence which he had in his theories : A foetus was pre- sented to him, and he declared it to be forty -one days old. It was, however, pointed out to him that the last day of the last menstrual period was only forty days pre- viously. Samuel replied, however, that this only points to the fact that intercourse must have taken place during menstruation. On inquiry this was found to be correct.^ The same authority also taught that it was impossible to distinguish a human embryo before the formation of hair — viz., before the fifth month of preg- nancy.^ It is, of course, now well known that in the early months of pregnancy the embryos of all vertebrate animals look alike. 1 Nidah 30&. ' Ibid., 256. ^ Ihid., 306. Digitized by Microsoft® 128 The Jewish Child [chap. As regards the organic function of the foetus during intra-uterine life, the following quotation is of extreme interest when compared with present-day knowledge: " The foetal mouth is closed and its umbilicus is open; it eats and drinks everything that its mother eats and drinks. . . . But as soon as it comes into the world, everything which had been closed opens, and that which was open closes; otherwise the child could not exist for a single hour."^ The nourishment comes to the child through the umbilical cord.^ This, with slight modifi- cations, is in agreement with modern embryological facts. Some openings, like the ductus arteriosus, the foramen ovale of the heart, etc., close soon after birth, and their failure to close gives rise to conditions which are incompatible either with life or with the health of the child. The foetus does not pass any motions inside the uterus ; if it did it would kill its mother.^ Between the fortieth day and the end of the third month it was believed that monstrosities were developed (this, again, is in certain respects in agreement with modern ante- natal pathology),^ and therefore it is enjoined that during that time " man must pray that the embryo should not become a sandal, which, as Eashi explains, means a foetus flattened out by pressure like a fish^ — i.e., probably what is called in modern teratology a sym- fodia, which is believed to be produced by amniotic pressure."® The following monstrosities, among others, are also described: Cyclops, monopsia,'' and atresia 1 Nidah 316. = Cant. R. vii. 3. ' Beracliotli 576. * See J. W. Ballantyne, " Manual of Ante-Natal Pathology," vol. ii. ' Berachoth 60a and Eashi, in loco. ' See Ballantyne, loc. cit. ' Bechoroth 436. Digitized by Microsoft® IX.] Embryology 129 oesophagi/ intra-uterine amputations, spina bifida/ anencephaly/ polydactylism/ etc. (See also p. 201.) Double-Headed Monsters. PhUemo once asked Rabbi, tbe holy : " If a man has two heads, on which is he to put the phylactery ?" To which Rabbi replied : " Either get up and be ofi or take an anathema; for thou art making fun of me."^ If a double-headed monster happens to be a first-born son, the price of his redemption (see p. 225) is 10 selaim — i.e., double that of an ordinary child.^ It is narrated that a double-headed monster married a wife and had seven sons, six of whom were normal, and the seventh was double-headed. When the father died there was a dispute about the legacy. The normal sons claimed that, as there were seven brothers altogether, each was entitled to one-seventh ; but the double-headed brother contended that he was equivalent to two, and that therefore the legacy was to be divided into eight equal portions, out of which he was entitled to two portions. The dispute was brought before the Court of King Solomon, who ordered that hot water should be poured on one of the heads, when the other head joined in the cry: "Sire, we are dying." This proved to the satisfaction of the Court that the monster was really one individual.'' Avicenna records a case of Siamese twin girls in an Arabian woman. One of the twins wanted to get married, but the weaker sister was too shy and modest to consent. A judge overruled her objection, and ordered the stronger one to be married. 1 Nidah 23& and 24a and 6. = Bechoroth 43&. 3 Nidah 24a. * 2 Sam. xxi. 20. " Menachoth 37a. * Ihid. ' Beth Hamidrash. 9 Digitized by Microsoft® 130 The Jewish Child [chap. It did not take long before the weaker one died of shame, and very soon after the stronger one died from septi- csemia due to putrefaction of the dead sister.^ Hermaphroditism. The following abnormalities are described and minutely discussed: [a) Androginos, an hermaphrodite in whom both the male and female organs of generation are seen externally.^ According to the Midrash, Adam was an adroginos.^ (6) Tumtum, an hermaphrodite in whom neither of the organs of generation can be seen except by dissection.* It is recorded that many androginoses first married husbands and gave birth to children, and then married wives and had children.^ Pliny speaks of an andro- ginos as being " utriusque naturae, inter se vicibus coeuntes."® According to Maimonides, such a person ought not to give levirate or Ghalit^h? Such a child must be circumcised on the eighth day, but no benediction is to be recited. And if the eighth day happens to be Sabbath-day, the ceremony is to be postponed. Note. — True hermaphroditism, though existing in the vegetable world {e.g., the first twenty classes of the Linnsean system of plants), and also existing in some lower animals, such as molluscs and certain worms, is never found in higher animals, especially man. (The whole hermaphrodite idea was probably purely Greek mythology.) ' Quoted by Dr. Tobia Katz, Maase Tobia, p. 69a, cols. 1 and 2. 2 Boraitha, at end of Bikurin. ' Gen. E. v. 1. ^ Chagiga, 4a, Rashi; Yebam. 716; Baba Bathra 126. = Maase Tobia iv. 5. ° " Hist. Nat.," vii., ct. ii. 7. ^ Hilchoth Yibum vi. 2. Digitized by Microsoft® IX.] Embryology 131 What is now known as hermaphroditism occurs in individuals whose external genital appearances do not '^ m^i^^'m. e^m^-v^<' g4»ffr '•T-ltEr^ m ear Tr*^"^ -^g ^gr^tf'ffif ^y.#f ^g'Tjai-^ ^g ^fm^tr Bg-ig<^iwsg ■fjg.gr ^?W&M> «[;>« 'f'l fl.3frff r e S'IS€E3-rf4fl ■'i^^g.gffrrg^;-myT'-g y ^gt;^ ^U' -f^" »^ 1- i ghfflqg » mr-* ^UCTi»^5'!->fw.^'iiigAigA-ffr —i:? I&SS'SVU .W''" "TF- ffiTKr* iffa^i^y — < <;jgT€tr.gi^ngd!ri^w*.ff4fltr'ty-ya-M ~ ^i^ ■TJjr.gEf^tPX n^.tPF'Cfe^e^i-rff- "^'i mmBimj3.^r rrEar'=f'lirgW.g^''MH'SgV-'^t^ H. I? w vrj' < t yT^ify»^^jtgqt:^.j^tff :jli^€gJ[grP^Bg^' ■g 'm' v^ 'iTT^ i M g ff .g^Mfg-f- gg 4MTf'yTf^4ff.^fyRTrtf 4t i^ \^y y. < g g'-g~>.iJiS-SlJ-ii;^^m '^f < v^-4-|ffy^j^Qa4-"i^.tf|-T|-'pcii IT -III ■yyK'^iT'ffxg m^e^is*m-^^rM^A4^ff«j«:» >>t^ .»,«afXfK .^ jflK »?irrrt*e'M? Htf».»■«>^^tt tj^^>^jm> ?f~ >ir'-< »fc<4»S-Mf Htf>v«(:5:^I-ttft5rttr t^^^mao^ts^M^ >XJfty«:>^<'-tytSiB >wrt4 ^feMft Fig. 1. — Photograph of a Chaldean Teeatological Tablet OVER 4,000 Years Old. (Kindly lent to the Author by Dr. J. W. Ballantyne.) decide the sex, but whose sex can be definitely estab- lished by thorough examination. Digitized by Microsoft® 132 The Jewish Child [chap. Teratology, or the Mode of Production of Monstrosities. In earliest times, the Chaldeans believed that monsters were made by God for the purpose of warning mankind. Indeed, from a cuneiform tablet, which formed part of the royal library at Nineveh, and which is now stored in the British Museum, it is evident that the Chaldeans claimed to be able to foretell what was going to happen from the nature of the monstrosity that was born (teratoscopy). The tablet, which is at least 4,000 years old, and possibly nearly 6,000 years of age, gives a list of sixty-two monstrosities or defects in babies, and the presages or omens they betoken. The following are a few (see Fig. 1): 1. If the infant has no ears, there will be mourning in the country. 2. If the infant has the heart open (exocardia), the country will sufier calamity. 3. An infant with three legs is an omen of great prosperity in the land.-' It is probable that this idea is still wrapt up etymologi- cally in the word " monster," which possibly contains the root moneo, I warn. The same tablet also speaks of a ewe giving birth to a lion, suggesting hybridity as a cause of monster birth. The ancient Egyptians believed that monsters were produced as the result of a cross between a woman and a beast. Geoffrey Saint-HUaire discovered an anen- cephalic human monster, preserved as a mummy at * J. Oppert, "Tablettes Assyriennes," Journal Asiatique, 6th. series, vol. xviii., Nos. 67, 187, quoted by J. W.Ballantyne in "Teratologia," vol. i., p. 127, London, 1894. Digitized by Microsoft® IX.] Embryology 133 Hermopolis, which was regarded as a hybrid between a woman and monkey.-' Hybridity as a Cause of Teratogenesis, which is men- tioned in the Yalkut/ was still believed in till the be- ginning of the eighteenth century. At that time, how- ever, this theory began to be abandoned, and the ancient view was accepted, that animals could conceive only from those of the same species, and whose durations of pregnancy are alike. The Talmud states that cross- fertilization is possible only between two species of animals whose mode of sexual congress is the same, and whose periods of gestation are of equal length, but that it was not possible between animals of different species {e.g., cattle and sheep or cattle and wild beasts), although R. Eliezer held that a wild beast can conceive from an ox.^ It was also known that such hybrid animals are themselves sterile.^ Aristotle held an exactly similar view — i.e., that animals could only conceive from those of the same size, and whose period of gestation was approximately of equal length.^ Mental Impressions as a Cause of Monster Births. — We have seen (Chapter III.) that, according to the Bible, Talmud, and later Jewish writings, mental impressions of the mother were believed to have a profound influence on the development of the child. According to the Midrash, such impressions were also responsible for the production of monstrosities.* Such a view was also held ' See J. W. Ballantyne, " Ante-Natal Pathology," vol. ii. ^ See A. Hyinan, " Beth Vaad Lachachamim," London, 1902, p. 153, col. 2, quotation 11. ^ Bechoroth. 5a ; also Baba Kama 78a. * Bechorotli 76. « " De Generat. Anim.," lib. ii., c. 12. " Tanchuma, section Nasso, edit. Bober, Wilna, 1885. Digitized by Microsoft® 134 The Jewish Child [chap. by Soranus of Ephesus, who spoke of ape-like children born to women who had looked at monkeys at the time of conception.^ Heredity as a cause of monstrous birth is suggested in the story about a double-headed monster who begat a similar monster (see p. 129). Other Supposed Teratogenic Causes were — (a) Abnormal or unnatural positions of the parents during intercourse — e.g., coitus on the ground will pro- duce an infant with a long neck.^ (&) Intercourse during menstruation.^ (c) The nature of the mother's diet during pregnancy — e.g., excess of eggs will cause the infant to have abnor- mally big eyes;* excess of small fish will produce an in- fant with nystagmus.^ {d) Fatigue of the mother during pregnancy. (See Chapter VIII., p. 117.) (e) Mechanical Causes. — A monstrosity called a san- dal, which corresponds to what modern teratology calls a " sympodia," was believed by the Eabbis to be caused by pressure inside the uterus.® This theory was also held by Hippocrates, and Aristotle attributed the pro- duction of monstrous chicks to similar pressure causes.'' Although the cause of the production of a sympodia is not as yet definitely settled, yet the evidence is in favour of its being the result of amniotic pressure.^ Fairly recent experiments by Dareste and others have shown that, in the case of the chick, non-development of the amnion very often exists together with various monstrosities. ^ Quoted by Ballantyne, of. cit. ' Kethuboth QOa, ' Esdras, book iv., ch. v., ver. 8. * Kethuboth 61a. ^ Ibid. " Berachoth 60a and Easti, ad loc. '' " Generation of Animals," lib. iv. * See Ballantyne, oj). cit. Digitized by Microsoft® IX.] Embryology 135 The view of Pliny, that Nature creates monstrosities with the object of astonishing us and amusing herself (" Ludibria sibi, miracula nobis ingeniosa facit Natura "■^), is, as far as the author is aware, not found in Jewish literature. This view is still reflected in the words " freak of Nature " and in the botanical term " sport." Between the third and sixth months man must pray that there should be no abortion, and between the sixth and ninth months that it should be born in peace.^ The Talmud also describes the characters of a foetus at eight months, which are, however, not in accordance with modern knowledge.^ Attitude of Foetus inside the Uterus. The Talmudic description of the foetal attitude (in a position of complete flexion — head, arms, legs, and fingers flexed) is so accurate^ that one may believe that R. Simla, who gives it, had an opportunity of making a post-mortem examination of a gravid uterus at full term. The Talmudic sages had, however, a mistaken idea that during the first three months the embryo lies in the lowest part of the uterus, during the second three months in the middle part, and during the last three months in the upper part, and when labour sets in the foetus ' ' turns round and comes out. ' ' This, they thought, was the ca,use of the labour pain.® Hippocrates ex- 1 " Hist. Nat.," book iv., ch. ii. * Beracli., Uc. cit. ^ See Yebam. 806. * Nidah 306. " Ihid., 31o. Digitized by Microsoft® 136 The Jewish Child [chap. pressed the view that till the seventh month the fcetus lies in a breech presentation; afterwards it turns into a vertex presentation. Superfecundation and Superfoetation. Superfecundation (or the successive impregnation by different fathers at different dates, within the range of one menstrual period). — It is possible for a child literally to have two fathers, if two separate intercourses took place within three days of each other (since the semen may remain three days without fertilizing).-^ This is not in accordance with the views of modern embryology, which teaches that an ovum can be fertilized by only one spermatozoon. It is, however, known that two ova from the same period of ovulation may be fertilized during two consecutive connections, even by two different men, as has been proved by the fact that twin children of different colours (one white, the other negro) have been born.^ Superfoetation (or the impregnation of a second ovum from a subsequent ovulation after pregnancy had already occurred from a former ovulation). — According to the ancients, who believed that women, like animals, had bicornuate uteri, such a thing was quite simple. {Of. Aristotle, " De generat.," iv. 87, 88.) For a normal uterus such a thing is possible up to three months.^ The Talmudic authorities do not agree on this ques- tion. The Babylonian Talmud does not believe such a thing possible, and Abaye explained the birth of a second child thirty -three days after the first by saying that the ' Jer. Yebam. iv. ^ See Galabin and Blacker's Midwifery, of. cit. ' Ihid. Digitized by Microsoft® IX.] Embryology 137 drop has split into two, one of which was developed at seven and the other at nine months. R. Menachem of Searim records a case where the interval between the births of the first and second infant was three months.'' Abaye's statement about the division of one drop into two does not make it clear whether he meant that one egg may have two yolks, each of which may develop into an embryo, or that the germinal area of one fertilized ovum may be divided so as to give rise to two embryos. According to the Palestinian Talmud, however, super- foetation is possible within the first forty days.^ Judah and Hizkiah, the sons of R. Chiya, were said to have been such twins, born at an interval of three months of each other.^ Aristotle believed superfcetation to be possible,^ and so did Pliny .^ Taking into consideration the possibility of super- fcetation occurring, a pregnant woman was allowed to use artificial means of preventing conception (see pp. 37 and 181) ; and pregnant widows were, according to some, not allowed to remarry within a certain time, lest a second pregnancy supervene, causing the first foetus to become a sandal (? sympodia, foetus papyraceus) by compression.® R. Bibi, however, allows the use of a tampon in such cases.'' If a sandal is born, it is evidence that there is another child inside.^ Embryology of Twins. Twins occur from the fertilization of two ova at the same intercourse.® As stated above, Abaye was of 1 Nidah 27a, Yebamoth 656 and 986. ^ Jer. Yebam. 3 Nidah 27a. * " Hist. Anim.," vii., ct. 5. ^ " Hist. Nat.," vii , ch. vi. « Yebam. 42a. ' Nidab 45a. « Ihid., 256. » lUd., 27a. Digitized by Microsoft® 138 The Jewish Child [chap. opinion that twins occur as the result of the splitting of the developing embryo. This is in agreement with modern views regarding the formation of a certain rare kind of twins. Twins may have one common amniotic cavity or two separate ones. In either case it is possible for one to be dead and the other alive,^ Twins contained in the same amniotic cavity are now called " identical twins," and are not only of the same sex, but resemble each other very closely in appearance as well as in their mental capacity. We now know that twins may have one or two amniotic cavities, but that the modes of genesis of such kinds of twins are different. Where there is only one amniotic cavity, the twin has resulted from a splitting of the fertilized ovum, as was probably believed by Abaye, but such twins only form a very small minority of all cases (less than 1 per cent,). The cases where two separate amniotic cavities are found arise either from two separate ova (86 per cent.) or from the double yolk of one ovum (about 12 per cent.).^ The following interesting anecdote illustrating the effect of mind upon the body probably refers to a case of identical twins: There were two sisters whose re- semblance was so great that they could be easily mis- taken one for the other. One of them was suspected by her husband of infidelity, and was brought up to Jeru- salem to be submitted to the ordeal of bitter waters (Num. v. 28). Being guilty, she asked her sister to sub- stitute her, which the sister consented to do. After going through the ordeal, the latter was, of course, pronounced innocent. When she came home, the guilty 1 Otolotli vii. 5. "■ See Galabin and Blacker, o'p. cit. Digitized by Microsoft® IX.] Embryology 139 woman ran out to meet her, and gratefully embraced and kissed her, when she smelled the bitter water and died on the spot.^ Scientifically there is nothing improbable in this story. Clement Lucas^ has recorded a case of identical twin girls (with photographs) who are so much alike as to be often indistinguishable from each other by their friends; and we also know that sudden fatal syncope may occur as a result of severe shock in a highly strung individual, possibly afiected with heart disease. Shakespeare, how- ever, was scientifically incorrect when he founded his plot in " Twelfth Night " on the resemblance between Sebastian and Viola, as identical twins are always of the same sex. Determination of Sex. The problem of the determination of sex, which has till recently baffled modern biologists, and is even now not quite solved, also engaged the attention of the Talmudic philosophers. The question was an important one, because, as we have seen, male children were con- sidered a greater asset than female progeny. R. Eliezer, in order, no doubt, to encourage charity, advised giving money to the poor as a means of having a male child ;^ but other Rabbis knew that there was something which had to do with conception that decided whether the offspring would be male or female, although they were in the dark as to what that something was. R. Chiya ben Abba believed that abstinence at the ^ Num. R. ix. ^ The Bradshaw Lecture on " Some Points in Heredity," London, 1912, pp. 22, 25,49,50. ^ Baba Bathra 10& and Kallah R. ii. Digitized by Microsoft® 140 The Jewish Child [chap. approach of the periods was awarded with male progeny, and R. Joshua b. Levi adds also, " of superior intelli- gence,"^ thus suggesting that it was something in con- nection with ovarian metabolism which decided the sex of the child. According to another Talmudical authority, the sex of the future child is determined by the relative times at which the orgasm occurs in the male and female respec- tively: if it occurs jSrst in the male, the chUd will be a girl ; if in the female, a boy .^ It is in this way that the Talmud explains the great excess of male births among the sons of Ulam (1 Chron. viii. 40), because on account of their greater strength they could " retarder remission de semence apres I'orgasme de leurs femmes." Simi- larly, R. Ketina said he could, if he liked, have all sons, either " en retardant son emission de sperme, ou bien en produisant deux ejaculations successives; car, dit Rashi, la femme excitee par la premiere emission, emettra son sperme avant la seconde emission de I'homme."^ The fact that twins may be of opposite sexes was explained on this theory, by supposing that in such a case the two orgasms occurred simul- taneously.^ This theory was in accordance with that of Aristotle,^ and a similar theory to the effect that sex is determined by the relative strength of the respective parents is stUl, though erroneously, held by some people. It is only in cases where both orgasms occur simultaneously that prayers can help to determine sex.^ R. Chama ben Chanina stated, in the name of R. Isaac, that if the bed is placed between north and south 1 Shebuoth 18a. ^ Nidak 28a. ' Ibid., 316. * Nidali 256. « " De Generat.," iv. 25. " Berachotli 60a. Digitized by Microsoft® EX.] Embryology 141 the children will be males. Eashi explains this pheno- menon as due to the fact that the Shechina, or Divine Presence, is situated in that direction.^ Some modern observers are of opinion that sleeping with the head pointing northwards strengthens the body.^ Another said that he who drinks wine at the Habdalah service at the termination of the Sabbath will have male chil- dren.^ In any case, it was definitely stated in the Mishna, although some Rabbis did not agree, that en- vironment cannot influence the sex of the child once conception has occurred, and have therefore declared it to be " a fruitless invocation of Providence to pray for male progeny during the wife's pregnancy."* This is in complete accord with the results of recent research. Within the last few years it has been shown that sex is associated with the character of the chromosomes {i.e., the special heredity-bearing substances inside the nuclei of the germ cells), and hence is already determined inside the fertilized ovum.® According to a curious myth, a miracle happened in the case of Dinah, the daughter of Leah, who was in utero changed from a boy to a girl; but, as the Talmud says, " one cannot rely on miracles."® Hippocrates went a step farther, and stated than an ovum from the right ovary will develop into a boy, and one from the left into a girl.'' This theory has, however, ^ Berachoth 56 and Rashi, in loco. 2 See Deutsch. Mediz. Zeitung, 1894, 109&. 3 Shebuoth 186. * Beracliotli 60a. ° For a discussion of the modern theory of determination of sex, see W. M. Feldman, " Child Physiology," to be published shortly. * Berachoth 60a. ' Aristotle, " De Generat.," iv. 9, quoted by Preuss. Digitized by Microsoft® 142 The Jewish Child [chap. in modern times been proved to be untrue, since women in whom one of the ovaries has been removed by operation may still give birth to children of both sexes. According to Galen, quoted by Preuss, it is the sper- matozoa which determine the sex; one coming from the right side will produce a male, and one from the other side a female; " et U recommande la compression de I'un ou de I'autre testicule, arretant ainsi la sortie de la semence, si quelqu'un desire engendrer un enfant de I'un ou de I'autre sexe." In British East India such a custom is still prevalent.-^ It is interesting that modern opinion is in agreement with Rabbinic teaching in being against the view {e.g., Schenk's theory) that environment may modify the sex of an individual, and the researches of L. Doncaster, T. H. Morgan, E. B. Wilson, and others, have shown that sex is determined by internal conditions of the germ. That this is so is evident from the following facts : 1. Twins may be, and often are, of opposite sexes— a fact which was well known to the Jews^ (although denied by Democritus, who believed that sex depends on the intra-uterine temperature, which must equally affect both foetuses) — thus proving that it is not environment which determines sex, since both are exposed to exactly the same internal and external influences. 2. In the case of identical twins, resulting from the division of one egg to form two individuals, the children are always of the same sex. ^ Munchener Mediz. Woohenschrift, 1906, No. 12, p. 561. " Nidat 25&. Digitized by Microsoft® IX.] Embryology 143 In 1864 Thury^ put forward the theory that ova which are overripe at the time of fertilization give rise to a preponderant number of males. As evidence in support of his theory, he mentioned the fact that the sex-ratio (see Chapter XXV., p. 406) is higher among Jews than among non-Jews. This he believed was due to the special nidah or separation laws of the Jewish women, according to which sexual intercourse may not take place for at least twelve days from the beginning or seven days from the end of the menstrual flow. Pearl and Parshley, experimenting on cattle, found the follow- ing results:^ Time of Service. Sex of Young. Sex- Ratio. Males. Females. Early in heat Middle of heat . . Late in heat 134 67 77 178 58 44 75-3 : 100 115-5 : 100 175-0 : 100 Totals 278 280 — These figures appear to support Thury's theory, as regards cattle. In order to test this theory in the case of human beings, my uncle, Rabbi Dayan A. Feldman, collected statistics of fifty-seven Jewish families in which one could be certain that the ritual laws of nidah are strictly observed. In the great majority of the families the mothers were at that time beyond the child- bearing age. Those figures show that, out of a total of 402 children, 205 were males and 197 were females, * M. Thury, " Ueber das Gesetz der Erzengung der Geschlechter bei den Pflanzen, den Thieren und dem Menschen," Leipzig, 1864. ^ R. Pearl and H. M. Parshley, " Data on Sex Determination in Cattle," Biol. Bui, vol. xxiv., pp. 205-225, 1913. Digitized by Microsoft® 144 The Jewish Child [chap. ix. giving a sex-ratio of 1,040:1,000, which is practically identical with the sex-ratio of 1,041 : 1,000 given in the Registrar-General's return for 1911. On the strength of these statistics Pearl and Salaman conclude that " there is no evidence that in the human race the time of fertilization of the egg relative to the catamenial period has any influence on the sex-ratio exhibited by the ofEspriug.'"^ It would seem that in the case of man the spermatozoa are of two kinds, male and female producing, and it is the fertilization of an ovum by one or the other which determines the sex of the child.^ ^ R. Pearl and R. N. Salaman, " The Relative Time of Fertilization of the Ovum, and the Sex-Ratio, amongst Jews," Amer. Anthropol., N.S., vol. XV., No. 4, October-December, 1913. ^ See L. Doncaster, " Heredity in the Light of Modern Research," Cambridge, 1912, ch. ix.. for more information. Digitized by Microsoft® CHAPTEE X PHILOSOPHICAL SPECULATIONS ABOUT THE EMBRYO AND FCETUSi " Man enters naked at his birth, And naked leaves this life on earth : Would that in sin he were the same When he departs as when he came !" (Yoma 866.)' As a result of the belief that the semen may remain inside the womb for three days without impregnation taking place (see Chapter VII., p. 106), it became neces- sary to assume that the vital principle or soul of a human being was imparted to it on insemination rather than on impregnation, for if it were otherwise the semen could not remain for three days without decomposing,^ According to the Midrash,^ the souls of all human beings that ever were born or ever will be born were created during the first six days of the creation of the world. These souls reside in the Garden of Eden, and were present at the time when God made His covenant with the children of Israel. This hypothesis is based on the following two verses in Deuteronomy: "Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; ^ The term " embryo " is generally applied in modern human embryology to the organism in the first six weeks of its development. " Foetus " means the organism after the first six weeks. 2 See " Gems from the Talmud," p. 147. ^ Sanhedrin 916. * Tanchuma Pikkude 3. U6 10 Digitized by Microsoft® 146 The Jewish Child [chap. but with him that standeth here with us this day before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day."''- It is interesting to compare this with Leibnitz's " scatulation " or " packing " theory of the soul. Leibnitz says in his Theodicee : " I mean that these souls of man are present in the seed, like those of other species; in such wise that they existed in our ancestors as far back as Adam, or from the beginning of the world, in the forms of organized bodies." At the moment that the child is conceived God beckons to a special angel, and says to him: " Know thou that at this moment a child is being conceived to such and such parents. Take care of the drop, and look after its proper development." The angel does so, and brings the drop before God, who there and then decides upon its future destiny — whether it should be a male or a female, strong or weak, rich or poor, tall or short, nice or ugly, etc. But as to whether it will be upright or not is not determined; this is left to the child's own subse- quent free will. God then beckons to the angel who looks after the souls, and orders him to bring a certain spirit from the Garden of Eden, which He commands to enter into that particular drop which is under the care of that particular angel. The spirit protests, and says : " Lord of Creation, why dost Thou send me, that am pure and holy, into such an unseemly drop ?" But God answers that it was with that object that the spirit was originally created. And so the spirit reluctantly enters the drop. The angel then takes the drop with its contained spirit back to earth, and places it in its mother's womb. There the embryo is guarded by two special angels, who not only instruct it in general, moral, and religious knowledge, * Deut. xxix. 14, 15. Digitized by Microsoft® X.] Philosophical Speculations 147 but take it every morning to paradise, where it can see the reward of the good and the just, and every evening through hell, to show it the punishment of the sinners. A light is said to be burning on the head of the embryo or foetus, by means of which it can see from one end of the world to the other. " This is nothing strange," explains the legend, " since it is well known that a man sleeping here in Palestine may see in his dream what is taking place in Spain." When the time comes for the child to be born, the angel comes to him, and says, " It is time that thou goest into the world's atmosphere," and the child replies, " Wherefore dost thou wish me to go there?" But the angel rejoins: "My child, know thou that it is against thy will that thou hast been created, and it is also against thy will thou art now about to be born, and against thy will that thou wilt die, and against thy wUl that thou wilt have to give a full account of thy actions before the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He !" The child still refuses to go, until the angel strikes him on the mouth and extinguishes the candle.-^ According to the Talmudic version, the object of the blow received by the child at the moment of birth is to make it forget all that it had seen and learned, so that its experience may not interfere with the subsequent exercise of its own free will.^ The infranasal depression in the upper lip is supposed to represent the injury received by such a blow. This is a hyperbolic expression of the Platonic view that study is only a recollection, because the soul knew everything before entering the world. Giidemann is of opinion that both the Talmudic speculation and Plato's view originate from the same source — viz., an Egyptian 1 Tanchuma Pikkude. " Nidah 306 and 34. Digitized by Microsoft® 148 The Jewish Child [chap. myth about Horas or Harpocrates, the child of Isis and Osiris, who was worshipped as a deity (Apollo) even by the Greeks and Komans.^ The child cries immediately it is born because it has lost its place of repose, and has come into a world full of trouble.^ At the birth of Nimrod, however, crying was, according to legend, replaced by laughing.^ When the soul is given to the embryo, God says to the latter : " This soul which I have given thee is pure. If thou wilt return it to Me the same as it comes to you, well and good ; if not, I shall burn it before thee."'* The giving of the spirit by God to man is compared to the giving of valuable garments by a King to his servants. The wise servants folded them up, and carefully put them away in a trunk. The foolish ones put them on and went about their work. After a while the King demanded back the garments. The clever servants returned them as clean and as neat as when they were given, whilst the foolish ones returned them dirty and torn. The King rewarded the first and punished the second group of servants. The same is with God. The righteous ones who return the spirit to God pure and holy are rewarded, whilst the wicked are punished.® The Midrash puts the same idea into different words as foUows : " God says to man, ' My light {i.e., the soul) is in thy hands, and thy light (i.e., life) is in Mine. If thou preserve My light, I shall preserve thine.' "® ^ See M. Gudemann, " Eeligions gescliiclitliclie Studien," Leipzig, 1876, p. 8eiseg. ^ C/. Yalk. Schim., Gen. xxxviii. ; see also Tanchuma Pikkude. ' Seder Hadoroth, quoted by Joseph Bergel, " Die Medizin der Talmudisten," Leipzig und Berlin, 1885, p. 70. * Eccles. R. Ixxxiii. 4. = Sabbath 152a. « Deut. R. iv. 4. Digitized by Microsoft® X.] Philosophical Speculations 149 Human mind is supposed to be governed by two spirits, tlie good spirit, or Yetzer Tov, and the evil spirit, Yetzer Hora; and it is the predominance of the one or the other which determines the good or evil action of a person. The evil spirit was supposed by Rabbi Judah the Patriarch to dominate the foetus at the moment of birth/ He based his theory on the words in the Bible that " sin lieth at the door."^ This, he explained, means the door of the womb. The right kidney is supposed to be the seat of the good spirit, and the left that of the evU spirit.^ The reason why the "evil spirit " was given to mankind is because, were it not for its existence, man would not buUd a house, take a wife, have children, or do business.^ These interesting speculations are meant to teach that every human being is, from its earliest embryonic state, composed of a double individuality — a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The soul and the body are in intimate union, and each is responsible for the action of the other. " Antoninus said to Rabbi: ' The body and soul can after death clear themselves of any sins committed during life. The body can say it is all the soul's fault, " for, since it has left me, I am lying in my grave as motionless as a stone "; and the soul, on the other hand, can throw all the blame on the body, for it can say, " Since dissolv- ing partnership with it I have been soaring aloft like a bird."' And Rabbi said: ' I shall tell thee a parable: A King who had an orchard containing some beautiful ripe fruit set two people to guard it; one was lame, the other blind. Said the lame to the blind man, "Here is some fine fruit; let me be carried on your » Santedrin 91&; see al o Gen. R. xxxiv. 10. ^ Gen. iv. 7. 3 Gen. R. Ixi. * Gen. R. ix. 7; see also Stochar Tov. xxxvii. Digitized by Microsoft® 150 The Jewish Child [chap. shoulders, and we shall pluck it and eat it." They did so. When the King asked them what became of the fruit, each man put forward his own infirmity as proof of his innocence. What did the King do ? He put the lame man on to the shoulders of the blind man, and punished them both together. And so also does God : He puts the soul back into the body and punishes them both together; as it is written (Ps. 1. 4), " He calls the heaven above and the earth below to have judgment with Him." The heaven means the soul, and the earth means the body.' "^ The position of complete flexion of the foetus (see p. 135) was also explained philosophically. E. Meir used to say: " Man comes into this world with closed hands, as though claiming ownership of everything; but he leaves it with hands open and limp, as if to show he takes nothing with him."^ A trace of that conception still survives in a pretty ceremony at the Habdalah service (the benediction on Saturday night at the termination of the Sabbath). During the service the youngest child of the family, in the more religious houses, holds a lighted wax torch, and the father, when he comes to the benediction, " Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who Greatest the light of the fire," holds his hands over the flame first with his fingers clenched, and then opens them out (see Fig. 2, p. 233). " How wonderfully great," says the Talmud, " are the actions of the Holy One ! blessed be He ! " If a man stamps different coins with the same seal, all the coins look alike ; but the Almighty stamped every human being with the seal of Adam, yet there are no ^ Sanhedrin 91a and 6. " Eccles. R. v Digitized by Microsoft® 2 X.] Philosophical Speculations 151 two persons exactly alike.-' Moreover, as no two persons look alike, so do no two persons think alike. (Compare the Latin saying, " Quot homines tot sententise."®) The Midrash also makes the following statement regarding the wonders and mystery of foetal develop- ment: " A human artist can paint a picture on canvas, but finds it impossible to draw anything on a liquid surface; but God forms the features of the embryo inside its mother in a liquid medium."* The microcosmic theory, according to which the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato believed that the human body was so made as to represent the whole world in miniature, is described in the Talmud as follows: " God created in the human body everything that He created in the world. The hair corresponds to woods and forests ; the intestines represent the wild devouring beasts; the nose represents the various odours; the eyes correspond to the light of the sun; the evil-smelling waters are represented by the secretion of the nose; the salt tears represent the seas; the skeleton represents the trees; the saliva represents the sweet waters."^ Samuel Hakatan describes the eyeball alone as a microcosmos: " The white of the eye is the ocean that surrounds the whole world; the black inside it is the earth; the pupil is Jerusalem ; and the face in the pupil (the observer's leflection) is the temple."* The helplessness of a new-born baby has been worked into a beautiful parable : " A fox once came to an orchard * Sanhedrin 38a. ^ Tancliuma to Phineas. ^ Terence: Phormio II., iii. 41. "* Beroclioth 10a and Tancliuma to Tazria, ed. Buber, Wilna, 1885. ^ Abb. d'R. Natban xxxi. .3. * Derecb Eretz, Zutab ix. Digitized by Microsoft® 152 The Jewish Child [chap. x. which was fenced in all round except for one small opening. He tried to squeeze through that aperture, but failed; so he fasted three days, until he became so thin that he could just manage to get through the hole. He ate to his heart's content, became filled out again, and could not get out. He therefore fasted another three days, until he again reduced himself to a size sufficiently small to emerge through the small space. When he came out, he looked at the garden and said, ' Garden ! garden ! of what good art thou, and of what good are thy fruits ? Whatever is found inside thee is nice and wonderful, but what benefit have I derived from thee ? I have come out as hungry as I entered."^ The same is it with life. " As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand."^ 1 Eccl.R. V. 14. a Eccles. V. 15. Digitized by Microsoft® PART III BIRTH AND EARLY INFANCY CHAPTER XI THE BIRTH OF THE CHILD " For I tave heard a voice as of a woman in travail , and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child " (Jer. iv. 31). Obstetric Considerations. Labour pains were considered a natural phenomenon. " In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children,"^ was the curse given by God to woman when she tasted of the " Tree of Knowledge."^ That the pains were associated with expulsive efiorts is mentioned in Micah. "Be in pain, and labour to expel, daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail."^ Primiparse were known to suffer more severely and longer. Thus, when Jeremiah speaks of extreme pain he pictures a woman in her first labour.* Labour with male children was probably known in BibUcal times to be, as a rule, more difficult than with female, as is suggested by the birth of Rachel's son Ben-oni (son of affliction), afterwards called Benjamin: "And it came to pass, as she was hard in labour, that 1 Gen. iii. 16. ^ This is possibly an allusion to the fact that the greater the state of civilization the more acute are the labour pains. » Mic. iv. 10. * Jer. iv. 31. 153 Digitized by Microsoft® 154 The Jewish Child [chap. tlie midwife told her, Fear not ; thou shalt have this son also."^ On the other hand, it is possible that this ref- erence may indicate a difficult labour due to a breech presentation, when it would have been easy for the mid- wife to ascertain the sex of the child before it actually came into the world. That particular labour was so hard that Eachel actually died during or soon after it. According to the Talmud, it was believed by most of the Rabbis that labours with female children were more difficult, because they erroneously believed, on account of an absurdly fanciful reason, that while males were born in occipito -anterior positions, female children presented in an occipito-posterior position.^ Note. — The reason given in the Talmud is " que telle est la position naturelle du m^le et de la femelle pendant le coit"; but the Midrash explains it philo- sophically as follows: " Each is looking in the direction of the place from which it was created — viz., man towards the earth and woman towards the ribs."^ That boys were horn, facie ad podicem matris conversi and girls ad partes abscenas was still believed by German doctors as late as the seventeenth century.* The Talmud says that during Egyptian bondage women about to be confined used to go out to the field and give birth to their children under an apple-tree, and Grod sent an angel who cleaned the child,^ cut its navel cord, and anointed it.® The same provident care is bestowed by God upon the young of other animals. The wild-goat of the rock'' is so cruel to her children ' Gen. XXXV. 17. 2 Nidah 31a ; also Gen. E. xvii. ^ Gen. E. vii. 8. * John Elerus Ulysseus (1626), quoted from Osiander by Preuss, op. cit., p. 4:61. = Sotah 116. 8 Exod. E. xxiii. 8. ' Job xxxix. 1. Digitized by Microsoft® XL] The Birth of the Child 155 that, at the moment when she is about to give birth to her young, she goes up to the top of a mountain in order that the young may fall out and get killed; but God provides an eagle that flies past just at the right moment and receives the young upon its wings. Another animal, the hind,^ has a very narrow and rigid os uteri which hinders the birth of her young; but just at the right moment God sends a dragon which bites her at that part and thus enlarges the opening. When the young is born, what does God do ? He provides a special kind of herb which, when eaten by the mother, causes the wound to heal.^ Rabbi Dr. Tobia Katz, who lived in the sixteenth century, speaks of labour pains as due {a) to the con- stitution of the mother — e.g., poverty, anaemia, or some pelvic trouble; (6) to the child — e.g., abnormal size or position or dead chUd. He suggests several remedies containing cassia wood or myrrh for internal administration, and ointments of althaea or olive-oil for external application.^ As regards the position of labour pains, it was known that they were most felt in the loins.^ According to later legends, pious women were free from the curse that Grod gave to Eve:^ " In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children " (Gen. iii. 16). False labour pains are spoken of in the Talmud as lasting anything from fourteen to forty-five days.* The " show " is mentioned as a sign of labour, and was believed to be due to the dilatation of the OS.'' ^ Job xzxix. 1. ^ Baba Batbra 166, and Yalkut Shimoni to Psalm civ. =* Maase Tobia, part iii., ch. 17, ed. Sternberg. * Jer. XXX. 6 and Isa. xxi. 3. ^ Sotah 12a. 8 Nidah Z%a. ' Sabbath 129a. Digitized by Microsoft® 156 The Jewish Child [chap. Mechanism of Labour. The vertex presentation was known to be the most common, and it was also known that occipito-anterior positions are the most favourable, since the child does not have to make a long rotation;^ but it was wrongly believed that occipito-posterior positions were normal in female children. That the foetus presented in an attitude of complete flexion has already been mentioned (^ee p. 135), but it was further known that the head is born by extension, as is suggested by the passage: " When a child presents by the vertex, it ought to be considered as born if the greater part of the head — i.e., its forehead — has appeared."^ Abnormal Presentations. Breech Presentations. — These were known, but were considered as abnormal.^ Compare Pliny's statement,* " In pedes procedere nascentem contra naturam est." Transverse Presentations. — These are mentioned in the Bible in connection with the confinement of Tamar (with twins) : " And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out his hand,"^ etc.; and this, of course, would assume that the midwife who attended Tamar, and " put back the hand," performed internal version. Another possibility, of course, is that it was a case of prolapsed hand in a vertex presentation. Position of Woman during Labour. The women at different times assumed different positions. They either used to kneel themselves (see ' Sabbath 129a. ^ Becborotli 46& and Nidah 28a. => Nidah 28a. * " Hist. Nat." vii., ch. v. 1. ' Gen. xxxviii. 27-30. Digitized by Microsoft® XI.] The Birth of the Child 157 p. 114) or sit on the knees of somebody else.^ I have had a case in my own practice where a woman who had a diificult labour wished to be delivered on her husband's knees, as was her wont. The remedy, however, did not help her. A woman in labour instinctively flexes her thighs firmly against her groins,^ which latter become as cold as stone.^ The favourite position, however, would seem to have been a special " birth stool."* It would be beyond the province of this book to discuss the exact construction and object of the " birth stool," but those who wish to have further information on the subject wiU find interesting accounts in Dr. Schapiro's " Obstetrique des Anciens Hebreux," p. 106, etc., and in an article by Dr. Finlayson in the Medical Magazine for October, 1893, p. 234, etc. Midwives are mentioned very many times in the Bible as well as in the Talmud, and that those midwives were persons of considerable obstetrical skill would seem to be suggested by the story of the delivery of Tamar (see p. 156), and also by the following quotation from the Talmud: " If a foetus died inside its mother, the midwife who hy means of intra- vterine manipulation touched the foetus inside the womb becomes impure for seven days."^ It is interesting to compare this quotation with one of the rules of the modern Central Midwives' Board, which forbids a mid- wife to lay out the dead or follow any occupation that is in its nature liable to be a source of infection. Role of the Midwife. In the Bible the midwife is called meyaledeth, or maternity assistant. Two are mentioned by name in 1 Gen. XXX. 3, and 1. 23. ^ Yebamoth 103a. ^ Sotali 11&. * Bxod. i. 16 and other places. Abnaim or Mashber. » Cliulin 71a. Digitized by Microsoft® 158 The Jewish Child [chap. the time of the Egyptian bondage — viz., Shiphra and Puah.-^ These names were, according to the Talmud and Midrash, professional appellations, being descriptive of the duties appertaining to a midwife. Shiphra was so called because of her washing and cleansing the baby {shaphar, to clean), ^ and Puah indicates that when she calls the woman in travail by name the child comes out.^ In the Mishna, a midwife is called chacama, " the wise one," like the French sage femme or the German weise Frau, although the names chayah (living) and molada (the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew meyale- deth) are also mentioned.^ The Midrash relates a case of difficult labour that had been self-inflicted by the mother by means of a charm. When the doctors came to help her, she told them they were not in a position to do that, because she was herself responsible for the dystocia." Difficult labour caused by witchcraft is mentioned by Talmudic commentators, who credited Jochani, the daughter of Katibi, with such powers.^ She could also expedite delivery by withdrawing her influence. According to K. Chananel, who lived in the tenth century, the Moslem midwives expedited delivery in a difficult case by whispering a certain charm into the woman's ear.'' Similar powers were ascribed to mid- wives by Plato, who wrote that " the midwives can by medicines or charms call forth labour pains or stop them if they so wish it."® Local application of oil was used to facilitate labour.^ 1 Bxod. i. 15. ^ Sotah 11&. 3 Bccles. E. vii. 1. * Ab. Zarah 26a. " Yalkut i., No. 845. ' Sotah 22a and Rasti, ad he. 7 See J. Preu83, " Bibl. talm. Medizin.," Berlin, 1911, p. 40. ^ Plato, " Thesetet.," quoted by Preuss, op. cit., p. 41. » Sabbatt 1286. Digitized by Microsoft® XI.] The Birth of the Child 159 There was a popular saying to the effect that " when the woman in labour quarrels with the midwife the baby is the sufierer."^ The death of a woman at childbirth was ascribed to negligence of the duties specially prescribed to Jewish women.^ Prayers were offered for the safety of the woman during labour. The same holds good even now amongst the more orthodox. Obstetric Operations. That internal version was probably known and practised has already been mentioned on p. 156. Embryotomy was also done in certain cases of difficult labour. " In the case of a woman whose labour is very difficult, it is necessary to cut up the foetus inside the womb and ex- tract it piecemeal, because the life of the woman takes precedence over that of the foetus. If, however, the greater part of the child has already been born, it is not permissible to sacrifice its life in that way."^ If the woman dies as a result of such manipulations, the doctor cannot be punished, since the Jewish law says that, if a man while intending to kill one person kills another by mistake, he cannot be found guilty of murder.'* The moral justification given by the Talmud for de- stroying the foetus is that the latter is like an assailant who wishes to murder somebody (the mother), when it becomes necessary not only for the assaulted one to defend herself, but for an onlooker (the doctor) to defend her.^ 1 Gen. R. Ix. 3. = Sabbath 316. ^ Obolotli vii. 6 ; see also Becboroth 46a and Chulin 68. * See Sanhedrin ix. 2 and 4; Maimonides, Hilchoth Rotzeacli iv.; see also Makkoth ii. 5. ^ Sanbediin 726. Digitized by Microsoft® 160 The Jewish Child lChap. Csesarean Section. — This operation was also performed, not only on animals, but on women, and many pages of the Talmud are devoted to a discussion of the legal position of " & child that has come through the abdominal wall, or yotze dofhan." This operation was mostly per- formed immediately after the death of a pregnant woman in order to save the life of the child. It was done even on the Sabbath-day. Samuel the physician or- dains that, " If a woman dies in labour on the Sabbath- day, one must fetch a knife, open her abdomen, and extract the child. "^ It is, however, to be noted that, according to another opinion, if a pregnant woman dies, her unborn child dies first, unless the woman has been kUled, when the woman dies first.^ The Greek sophist Gorgias, of Lentini in Sicily, is known with certainty to have been delivered by Csesarean section from his dead mother about 480 b.c. According to mythology, Semele was consumed by lightning, but her child Dionysius or Bacchus was saved by this operation. That Csesarean section was also done on living women is apparent from the following : A child that is born by abdominal section {yotze dophan) does not render its mother impure, although R. Simon does not agree, for he holds that such a child is in all respects the same as one born through the natural channels.® It would also ap- pear that after such operations it was not uncommon for a woman to be pregnant again.'* According to Maimonides,® however, it is impossible for a woman to have another child after having had a Csesarean section done on her. * Eracliin 7a. ^ Ibid. ^ Nidali 40a; see also Becliorotli 476. * See commentary of R. Gershon (1040) to Bechoroth 19a. " Commentary to Bechoroth 11. Digitized by Microsoft® XI.] The Birth of the Child 161 The incision was made " in the fifth space," which E. Jochanan observes is the space where the gall-bladder is suspended.'^ This incision on the right side of the abdomen is interesting from the point of view of the well-known fact that the uterus is generally inclined to the right side. A Talmudical commentator remarks that the term Csesarean refers to the fact that the first Eoman Em- peror was born in that way.^ The Talmud also discusses, in the case of animals, the legal aspect of the mother and its young when two- thirds of the latter were born in the natural way and one-third through the abdominal wall.^ Rabbi Dr. Tobia Katz* gives indications and full directions for the performance of Csesarean section. Amongst the indications are — (a) Death of mother; (6) death of child (mother being alive); (c) both alive, but there is a great obstacle to delivery. The conditions for the operation, as stated by Tobia Katz, are as follows : 1. It must only be done in cases of great necessity. 2. The woman must be strong. 3. The operator must be an expert surgeon. 4. All instruments and dressings must be ready at hand. 5. The assistants must be strong in nerve and in body, to be able to hold the patient down. The following are steps of the operation : 1. The bladder must first be emptied. 1 Sanhedrin 49a. ^ Tosaf . Ab. Z. 106, = Chulin 696. * Op. cit., part iii., ch. 18 (Stenberg's edition, pp. 123a and 6). 11 Digitized by Microsoft® 162 The Jewish Child [chap. 2. The incision, which must fiist be marked with ink, is made quickly from the side of the umbilicus down to the mons veneris, and is four finger-breadths long. 3. Care must be taken not to injure neighbouring organs, and not to make the incision too deep, for fear of injuring the child. 4. When the child and placenta are extracted, the wound must be cleaned with some disinfecting fluid consisting of extracts of certain herbs. 5. The wound is then dressed with several layers of warm soft lint dipped in haemostatic oil. 6. A binder is then firmly applied. Rabbi Katz adds the following remark in the name of R. Heshel: "The Talmud says that the pupils of R. Simeon ben Yochai asked their master why women have to ofier a sacrifice after childbirth, and he replied: ' Because in the excitement of her pains she takes an oath not to give herself to her husband again, and soon after breaks it.' "^ But the Talmud also says^ that after Csesarean section a woman is not impure, and does not require to offer a sacrifice, because there are no lochia coming through the usual channels. Moreover, the Talmud says that after Csesarean section a woman does not get pregnant again. Hence, according to this, the w:oman brings a sacrifice, not for breaking her oath (because that has not yet occurred), but for taking an oath before she knew that such was necessary; for should the child have to be delivered by Csesarean section, she would in any case have no more children, and therefore there is no need for her to keep away from her husband. 1 Nidah 31a. => lUA. Digitized by Microsoft® XI.] The Birth of the Child 163 Remedies for producing Sterility. As the precept with regard to procreation only applied to man, it was therefore forbidden to him to use any means for rendering himself sterile. Women, however, were allowed to avail themselves of such remedies in cases where pregnancy would mean danger for the mother or the child. Mechanical means of preventing conception have already been mentioned (see Chapter II., p. 37), but other remedies were also known. Thus, R. Chiya's wife Judith, who had difficult labours, once disguised herself and came to her husband to ask whether it was obligatory for a wife to have children. He answered her in the negative, and she immediately drank a certain potion {samma di-ahartha)} R. Chiya regretted this incident all his life. The composition of that draught is not stated, but the following prescription is recommended in another place as a good hos shel aharin, or draught for sterility : " Alexandrian gum, aloes, and saffron, in equal parts, triturated well together and drunk in wine." Many other remedies are also mentioned.^ The Midxash narrates that in the time of the Flood men were in the habit of having two wives, one for children, the other for sensual pleasure. The former spent her days neglected like a widow, whilst the latter drank the sterility draught and sat near her husband bedecked in finery like a prostitute.^ In addition to such draughts, it is probable that hysterectomy or ovariotomy was practised for the same purpose, for the Talmud forbids castration in women.* 1 Yebamoth 65&. = Sabbath xiv. 3. . ^ Gen. R. xxiii. 2. * Sabbath Ilia; see also Nidah 416. Digitized by Microsoft® 164 The Jewish Child [chap. Vagitus Uterinus, or intra-uterine crying, was not believed in. " If a child was heard crying, its head must have been outside the vulva. "-^ Aristotle taught that no child cried before being fully born.^ In this belief they were wrong.^ The Midrashic expression about the children of Israel having sung hymns in their mothers' wombs is, of course, not to be taken literally. Superstitions and Customs in Connection with the Birth of a Child. The following was written in the diary of R. Jehosua ben Levi : " One who is born on the first day of the week (Sunday) will not be a man of many parts — i.e., he will be either wholly bad or wholly good. Born on Monday he will be a man of violent passion, because on the second day the water was separated. Born on Tuesday he will be rich and lascivious, because grass was created on that day. Born on Wednesday he will be wise and have a good memory, because on that day the lights were created. Born on Thursday he will be charitable, be- cause fishes and fowls were created that day. Born on Friday he wiU be a devout man. Born on Sabbath he will die on Sabbath, because on his account the Sabbath was violated, but, said Rabba bar R. Shilla, he will be a great and pious man." R. Chanina, however, contested that theory, and held that the destiny of man does not depend upon the day of his birth, but upon the hour in which he was born. One born at sunrise will be a bright man, but will not be able to keep his secrets and will not » Nidah 426. = " nigt. Anim.," vii., ch. x., § 61. ^ Cases of vagitus uterinua have been published from time to time. Some nine years ago the author recorded a case in the British Medical Journal (February 22, 1908, p. 484). Digitized by Microsoft® XI.] The Birth of the Child 165 be successful in stealing. One born under Venus will be rich and sensual. Born under Mercury he will be beautiful and wise. Under Luna — sickly or troubled, but he will be able to keep secrets and be successful in stealing. Under Saturn, his resolutions will come to nothing. Under Jupiter, he will be righteous and bene- ficent. Under Mars, he will shed blood — i.e., he will be either a surgeon or robber, a butcher or circumciser. Eabba, wishing to disprove this theory, said that he was born under Mars. Said Abayi to him: "Thou, master, reprovest men; and whom thou reprovest he dieth, hence thou also sheddest blood." R. Jochanan in- ferred from Jer. x. 2, where it is said, " Learn not the signs of the heathen, and be not discouraged at the signs of the heaven," that the Israelites are not subject to the fate of planets .-■• It is interesting to compare the above forecasts with the following ones given in a Syriac book of medicine written in the early centuries of the Christian era:* He who is born under Hermes {i.e., either the night of the first day or on the fourth day of the week) will be wise. One born under the sun {i.e., on the first day or the night of the fifth day) will be a prince. Born under Zeus {i.e., the night of the second day or on the fifth day) he wiU be a man of peace. The moon rules the second day and the night of the eve of Sabbath, and therefore one born at that time will either be beautiful or suffer from sickness. The night of the third day and the eve of the Sabbath are governed by Aphrodite. A chUd born then will be beautiful and beloved by men. 1 Sabbath 156a. ^ " Syriac Book of Medicines," ed. E. A. Wallis Budge, Oxford, 1913, vol. vi. Digitized by Microsoft® 166 The Jewish Child [chap. Born under Aris {i.e., on the third day or the night of the Sabbath) one will be a physician or live long. The night of the fourth day and the day of the Sabbath are ruled by Kronos. He who is born therein will become very old and a person of knowledge. The following rhyme, discovered by Dr. James Hardy in the Denham tracts, quoted by Ploss,^ is interesting in this connection: " Born on a Monday, fair of face; Born on a Tuesday, full of grace; Born on a Wednesday, merry and glad; Born on a Thursday, soui and sad ; Born on a Friday, godly given; Born on a Saturday, work for your living; Born on a Sunday, never shall want." Divination by Letters. According to the same Syriac writer, the following method may be used for telling whether a woman has conceived a boy or a girl : Find out what day of the moon it is, and reckon up the numerical values of the letters in the name thereof; reckon up the numerical values of the letters in the name of the woman, add to it 28, and then divide each by 2. If the remainder is 1, the child is a boy, and if it be 2 the child is a girl. If you wish to know whether a new-born child will live or die, reckon up the numerical values of the letters in the names of the father and mother and of the day on which the child was born, and add to them 300; add them all up together, and divide them by 7. If the remainder is an odd number the child will live for five years, and if an even number he will die. If the child be a girl and an 1 See "Das Kind," 3rd edition, Leipzig, 1911-12, vol. i., pp. 65-74. Digitized by Microsoft® XI.] The Birth of the Child 167 even number remain, she will live for years, and if an odd number remain she will die.^ In tbe modern ghettoes of Eastern Europe there are different customs in connection with the birth of a child. Most of these are not of Jewish origin, but have been borrowed from neighbouring people. In some places all the women in the house loosen their hair ; in other places all the knots in the women's clothes are untied. Even in the Jewish quarter in London, certain amulets are used to protect the mother and child from their special fiend Lilith, Adam's first wife — called Lilith because she is supposed to fly in the night.^ Some of these charms, consisting of sheets of paper containing certain portions of the Psalms, together with the sign of the Shield of David and the words " God destroy Satan," are hung over the patient's bed and other parts of the lying-in room. Other now obsolete amulets contained the following text: " Elijah the prophet — may he be mentioned for good ! — once went upon his way, and met Lilith with all her kith and kin. And lie said unto Lilith the fiend, ' Thou unrivalled in im- punity, whither art thou going V She answered, ' My master Elijah, I am going where I may find a woman in travail. I will cause a deep sleep to come over her, and I will rob her of her new-born child. I will drink its blood and suck its marrow and devour its flesh.' And Elijah — may he be mentioned for good ! — spake angrily, ^ May God — blessed be He ! — banish thee hence ! ' Lilith replied, ' For God's sake spare me, and I will ' " Syriac Book of Medicines," ed. E. A. Wallis Budge, Oxford, 1913, vol. ii., p. 625 et seq. = Num. K. c. 16. Digitized by Microsoft® 168 The Jewish Child [chap. get me hence. I swear to you by the name of the Lord God of Israel I will desist from my intent upon the woman and her child, and whenever I hear my name called I will go away.' "^ In Koumania a lying-in woman is not left alone in the room, and a dagger is stuck in the ground near her bed, and for thirty days in succession is carried round the bed whilst the following verses are sung: " I make a circle, Wtich God well knows. As many tiles as are on this roof, So many angels keep watcli o'er us."^ During these thirty days the school-children read the evening prayers in the lying-in chamber, in order to keep off the pixies.^ LUith was supposed to be the chief cause of diseases of children. Another demon was Agrath (the Eoof Demon), and another was Shimah (Destruction). This last met, according to a legend, a child of the giants that lived before the Flood, whom the mother had sent to bring a knife for cutting its navel. The demon then said to the new-born giant baby, " Go and tell thy mother that the cock has crowed, otherwise I would have struck and kiUed thee," to which the baby replied, " Go and tell thy mother that my navel hath not yet been cut, otherwise I would have struck and killed thee."^ To be born with a caul — i.e., a piece of amnion round its head — is considered a sign of luck (the same is the case in Iceland; compare Grimm, " Marchen," ii. 59), and the caul is preserved for the remainder of the child's ' Quoted by Eev. Dr. M. Gaster in his article " Childbirth " in the " Jewish Encyclopaedia," vol. iv., p. 30. 2 Ihii. ^ Ibid., p. 31, * Gen. R. xxxvi. Digitized by Microsoft® XI.] The Birth of the Child 169 life. To announce the sex of the child before delivery of the placenta is considered unlucky, and is strictly avoided. A very old ceremony at the birth of a child used to be to plant a tree — a cedar for a boy, and a pine for a girl — and when the children grew up they used these trees as poles for the marriage canopy. These trees were held very sacred. It is narrated that it once hap- pened that, when the daughter of an! Emperor was riding through the city of Bethar, her carriage broke down, and her coachman cut down a young cedar-tree in order to repair it, whereupon the man who planted the tree attacked him. This incensed the Emperor, who cap- tured the city and kiUed its inhabitants.-' The planting of trees at the birth of children is still met with among certain people. In Livonia this custom continues. The trees are well tended and cared for, as the fate of a child is believed to depend on that of its tree.^ Some Jews still put away a bottle of wine at the birth of a child, and this is drunk at the child's wedding. The customary feast-making at the birth of a child was deprecated by some pessimistic philosopher. It is a topsy-turvy world, said R. Levi. When a ship is launched people feast and make merry, although they know nothing of the fate that is in store for her ; but when the same vessel comes back safe to harbour after a successful voyage, there is hardly any notice taken of her. Surely the reverse should be the case ! The same applies to man. People should not rejoice when a child is born, when nothing is known of its future career; it is when 1 Gittin 57a. ^ Witkowski, " L' Accouchement chez tous les Peuples," p. 242, quoted by Dr. Schapire of. cit., p. 128. Digitized by Microsoft® 170 The Jewish Child [chap. man dies, after having lived a good, useful, and upright life, that the time has come for rejoicing.-^ The following Latin verses by Lord Grenville, cited by Witkowski,^ express a somewhat similar idea : " Dum tibi vix nato Iseti risere parentes Vagitu implebas tu lacrymisque domum. Sic vivas ut, summa tibi cum venerit bora, Sit ridere tuum lacrymare tuis." Privileges of a First-born Son. Primogeniture confers on a son the right of a double portion of inheritance. This privilege, however, belongs only to a son who is the first child of both parents (even if the mother had previously miscarried), or of the father (even if the first-born be illegitimate).^ The first-born of a mother is holy to God, for it says : " Sanctify unto Me all the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb . . . the males shall be the Lord's."^ It is therefore the duty of the father to redeem him, even if he has already other children (see Eedemption of the First-born, Chapter XVI.). If, however, the mother had previously given birth to a child, even if that child was born dead, so long as it was alive when its head presented, this redemption is rendered unnecessary. The right to a double portion of inheritance does not apply to a first-born son who was born after the death of the father,^ or to a child that was born by Csesarean section.® If a first-born son dies during his father's life, the grandfather has the ^ Bcclea., Eabba, vii. ^ " Les Accoucbements dans les beaux Arts dans la litt6rature et au theatre," Paris, 1894, p. 576. ' Yebam. ii. 3. * Exod. xiii. 2, 12. ^ Baba Bathra 1426. " Becborotb viii. 2 (476). Digitized by Microsoft® XI.] The Birth of the Child 171 right to say that lie does not wish his grandchild to in- herit a double portion of his property. Further, the privilege of inheriting a double portion only applies to property, movable or immovable, that belongs to the father during his life, and not to that which is about to come to the father after death.^ As an example of the latter is to be mentioned a promissory note that falls due after a certain date. If the father has any creditors, the first-born son cannot give them promissory notes or other bills possessed by his father in payment or part payment of debt, but they have a right to claim it from the deceased's property.^ The first-born son represents his father in his absence, and is therefore entitled to extra respect from his younger brothers and sisters. The right of primogeniture belonged not only to the first-born, but also to his descendants. Thus, if A, the first-born of B, died during B's lifetime, leaving a daughter C, this daughter entered upon the full right of A at B's death.^ A posthumous first son has no right of primogeniture. Thus, if two sons (twins or of two wives) are born after the father's death, the estate is divided equally between them. (See, further, " Primogeniture," p. 363.) Identification of the First-born. When doubt arose with regard to primogeniture, especially in cases of twins, the following three persons were entitled to decide it : 1. The midwife, only immediately after birth. 1 Bechoroth viii. 9 (52a). ^ Shaalotli utesiuboth " Peri eretz " on Chosben Mishpat xi. ' Baba Bathra 117a. Digitized by Microsoft® 172 The Jewish Child [chap. xi. 2. The mother, during the first seven days. 3. The father, from the eighth day — i.e., day of cir- cumcision — onwards.^ When a first-born son enters upon his inheritance, he must contribute a double share towards the payment of his father's debts unless he renounces his birthright.* ' Kiddushin 74a = b_ Bathra 124a. Digitized by Microsoft® CHAPTER XII THE INFANT AND ITS MOTHER " E. Simeon ben Gamliel says : For tte sake of an infant even one day old the Sabbath may be desecrated ; but when a man is dead, even if he be as great as David, King of Israel, the Sabbath must not be desecrated for his sake " (Sabbath 151a). The Infant. Viability. — A child born at nine months or seven months is viable, but it cannot live if it is born at eight months, and the Sabbath must not therefore be dese- crated on its account.-^ This idea was in accordance with the teaching of Hippocrates, Pliny, and Galen, and stiU prevails among the bulk of the general public, although Aristotle, in agreement with modern opinion, considered eight months' children viable.^ In another passage in the Talmud it is stated that even a six and a half months' baby can live.^ It is, however, stated that " if the hair and naUs are found as they ought to be in a foetus at fuU term, the child is viable even though born at eight months."^ The Palestinian Talmud records a controversy between Jews and Christians on this matter. The latter ridiculed the idea that an eight months' child is not viable, although a seven months' child is; but R. Abuhu wittily pointed out to them that their own alphabet (Greek) attributes viabiUty to a seven months' 1 Sabbath 135a- = " Hist. Anim.," vii., ch. 33. 3 Yebamoth 42a. " Ihid., 806. 173 Digitized by Microsoft® 174 The Jewish Child [chap. but not to an eight months' child. For zeta, which stands for 7, is the first letter of the word t^div, which means life; whilst eta, which stands for 8, means death [r\TTa)} The fact that an eighth-month child sometimes does live was explained by the Eabbis on the supposition that in such a case the foetus was really ripe to be born at seven months, but was delayed in utero for another month. ^ Moreover, R. Abuhu asserted that such a child cannot really be considered viable until it has reached its twentieth year.^ The length of a new-born baby is given in the Midrash as a little more than a cubit (Amma G^duma).^ As a cubit is about 18 inches, this corresponds to about 20 inches, which is approximately the average length of a modern new-born baby. Although the baby is covered with mucus and blood,- yet everybody kisses it, especially if it is a boy.^ The following extract is more beautiful than true: R. Simeon b. Eliezer said that " a child one day old does not require watching lest serpents or weasels pick out its eyes. The lion runs away when he sees it, so mighty is the power of the living. When, however, man is dead, his corpse must be guarded from weasels and mice, even if it be that of the giant King of Bashan (Deut. iii. 11)."^ No animal is afraid of the dead. Baby's Immediate Care. — To resuscitate an apparently stillborn baby, one of the remedies is to place the placenta in oil if the woman is of very noble birth, or 1 Jer. Yebam. iv. 2; Gen. E. xiv. 2. ^ Yebamott 80&. ' Yebam. 80a and Eashi, ad loo. ^ Gen. E. xii. 6. ^ Pesikta de E. Kabana ix. 77&, quoted by Preuss, p. 466. * Sabbath 151& and Gen. E. xxxiv. 12. Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 175 wrap it up in wool or cotton, according as the mother is rich or poor; this will sympathetically warm and re- vive the child.^ Another method is to rub the child with the placenta.^ According to Wunderbar,^ this applies to a placenta still unseparated from the child, whereby more blood is transmitted to the child. But the more scientific method of insufflating air by means of a fan is specially recom- mended.^ To be born with a caul is considered a sign of luck. Immediately after birth the umbilical cord was ligatured and cut, and the baby was bathed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in swaddling-clothes.^ These offices had, according to all shades of opinion, to be done even on the Sabbath-day.® According to Kotelman,' the section of the cord was done by means of a stone, after the manner of the ancient Egyptians, and that a ligature, or some other means of stopping bleeding from the cord, was used is evidenced by the quotation from Ezekiel already re- ferred to.® " And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee ; thou wast not salted at aU, nor swaddled at all. . . . And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood ..." From this it is obvious that bleeding of the infant was evidence of neglect on the part of the midwife, although the bleeding referred to in this quotation could not have come from the cord, the latter not yet having been cut. 1 Sabb. 1296. = lUd., 134a. 3 " Bibl. talm. Medizin," 1 Heft, 3 S. 52. " Sabb. 134a. 5 Ezek. xvi. 4. ^ Sabb. 129a. ^ Kotelman, " Die Geburts-biilfe be iden alien Hebraer," Marburg, 1867, p. 43, quoted by Finlayson, Med. Mag., October, 1873, p. 243. 8 Ezek. xvi. 4, 6. Digitized by Microsoft® 176 The Jewish Child [chap. The salt was probably used for its antiseptic and stimu- lating properties. This is not actually mentioned in the Talmud, though Eashi gives this reason; but Galen^ speaks of the body of the infant being sprinkled with salt, " so that the skin may be rendered more dense and solid " (" sed corpori prius toti sale modice insperso, quo cutis ejus densior solidiorque iis quae intus sunt, partibus reddatur "). Osiander suggests that the salt was probably bicar- bonate of soda, which is even at the present time indigenous to Egypt, and which would make a soap with the vernix caseosa.^ This explanation, however, is not tenable, since the Hebrew for bicarbonate of soda is nether {nitrum), whilst the text in this case gives the word melach (which means table salt). The object of the swaddling-clothes was to straighten the delicate limbs, which have been pressed upon and bent during delivery.^ As regards the infant's bath, the Talmud says that the baby's pleasure is to be bathed in warm water, and when it gets a little older its pleasure is to break utensils.* Some mothers bathed their children in wine.^ Plutarch in his Life of Lycurgus says that the Lacedae- monians used to bathe their new-born children in wine in order to strengthen them.® After the bath it was con- sidered a good thing to rub the baby with oil. The learned octogenarian Chanina ben Chama, who was strong enough to stand on one foot and put on and take 1 Galen, " De sanitate tuenda," i. 7, Kiilin's edition, Tom. 6, p. 32, quoted by Finlayson, loc. cit., p. 243 (note). " " Handbuoli d. Entbindungskunst," Tubingen, 1820, ii. 213, quoted by Preuss. 3 Sabb. 666, Easlii. * Yoma 78&. » Tosefta, Sabbath xiii. 10. ° Quoted by J. Preuss. Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 177 off his boot from the other foot, attributed his strength to the warm baths and the oil with which his mother anointed him in his childhood.^ Although, according to Psalm cix., the oil is absorbed into the body, still, the Talmud distinctly states that the beneficial efiect is not due to any absorption, but to the massage.^ There is a superstition amongst Galician Jews that a child's bath must not be used for any other purpose, or the child will not prosper.^ Manipulation of the head of the new-born baby was also practised, in order to mould it into shape. The question why the heads of the Babylonians are round is answered by Hillel by the statement that the Baby- lonians have no competent midwives to bring the head into its proper shape.'* Moschion desires that the head be made round, and Hippocrates states that the Asiatic midwives mould the infant's head into a long shape.^ A certain emetic drug called asvhe yenuha (infant's herb) was used for cleansing the child's mouth.® Jewish children were, according to the Talmud, very beautiful, and so aroused the jealousy of the Romans that they were in the habit of making use of a special amulet consisting of handsome faces set in signet rings, in order to effect the begetting of good-looking children.'' Later they went as far as having Jewish youths them- selves tied to their beds. {Cf. Chapter I., p. 11.) 1 Chulin 24&. = Beraohoth 57&. ^ ScUfier, " Urquell," ii. v. 14. See article " Superstition " in " Jewist Encyclopaedia," vol. xi., p. 600. * Sabbath 31a, and Abbott d'R. Nathan. See also p. 9 of this book. "* See Prenss, oji. cit., p. 468; also Ploss, " Das Kind," i. 306. * Sabbath 123o (Aruch). ' Gittin 58a. 12 Digitized by Microsoft® 178 ; The Jewish Child [chap. Breast Feeding. This feeding was in general considered to be an im- perative duty of a mother, except in the case of a very rich or an ailing woman. Thus says the Talmud : " The following are the duties which a wife has to fulfil for her husband: She has to grind corn, bake bread, wash clothes, suckle her child, make his bed, and spin wool. If she has twins, the husband must provide a nurse for one, while she suckles the other. If at marriage she brought with her one servant, she does not grind, bake, or wash. If she brought two servants, she need not cook or suckle her child. "^ In cases of weak children, how- ever, lactation was absolutely obligatory,^ A mother who neglected her duty in this respect was considered worse than a monster, and was compared to the ostrich, which was erroneously supposed so to neglect her off- spring that " she leaveth her eggs in the earth . . . and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers."^ Thus does Jeremiah give a poetic representation of a neglectful mother: " Even the sea-monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of My people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the suckling child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst."* If a mother made a vow not to suckle her baby, then, accord- ing to one school, her vow holds good ; but according to the school of Hillel (whose decision in this matter was considered final) the husband can compel her to break 1 Kethuboth 596. ^ Ihid. ^ Job xxKix. 14-16. * Lam. iv. 3, 4. Digitized by Microsoft® xii.] TJie Infant and Its Mother 179 her vow and give her child the breast.'^ If, however, the woman is divorced from her husband, the latter cannot compel her, except in the case of a child fifty days old, which was considered to be old enough to recognize its mother and refuse to take the breast from a strange woman. It is not stated whether the danger lies in the change of milk, or whether it is on account of the risk of the baby refusing to suck from a strange woman. In such cases the husband must pay her and compel her to suckle the child.^ A blind child was be- lieved to be able to recognize its mother's milk by its taste and smell .^ Mar Samuel ridiculed the statement made by somebody, that a baby, even when it is only three days old, can distinguish between the milk of its mother and that of a strange woman, by the sarcastic remark that he can even recall the face of the midwife who brought him into the world !* Milk-producing breasts were considered a great bless- ing,^ and dry breasts the greatest curse.® Where for any reason, such as great riches or illness or death of the woman, or as a result of another emergency, the mother was unable to suckle her baby, a wet-nurse was employed,^ and she was treated with every deference 1 Kettubotli 59&. ^ Ihid., 596 and 60ffl. ^ Ibid., 60a. ^ J. Kett. V. 6. This remark reminds one of the following lines on " A Terrible Infant," by Frederick Locker : " I recollect a mirse called Ann, Who carried me about the grass. And one fine day a fair young man Came up and kissed the pretty lass ; She did not make the least objection ! Said I, Aha ! When I can talk I'll tell mamma I And that's my earliest recollection." s Gen xlix. 25. ° Hos. ix. 14. ^ Bxod. ii. 7, 9. Digitized by Microsoft® 180 The Jewish Child [chap, and respect. When Rebekah was married, her nurse was sent away with her;-' and when the nurse died she was buried under an oak, which received the name of Allon-bachuth {i.e., the oak of weeping).^ Poor mother- less babies were suckled by neighbouring mothers in turn* or fed on milk and eggs.^ If a child refused to take the breast, it was considered to be due to spasm of the facial muscles, and it was recommended to hold a beaker filled with hot coals near its mouth, with the object of relieving that spasm.^ Lactation was con- sidered of such enormous importance that all the domes- tic duties had to be put aside in its favour. This is clearly seen from the following: " And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up (to ShUoh) to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice. . . . But Hannah went not up ; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child (Samuel) be weaned. . . . And Elkanah her husband said unto her. Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him. ... So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him."* The Talmud says that Hannah before she had a child pleaded to God as follows: " Lord of the Universe, everything that Thou hast created in a woman Thou hast surely created with an object. Thou hast given her eyes wherewith to see, ears wherewith to hear, a nose wherewith to smell, a mouth to speak, hands to work, legs to walk, and breasts wherewith' to suckle a child. Give me a child so that I may use my breasts to suckle it.'"' 1 Gen. xxiv. 59. 2 m^^ xxxv. 8. ^ Abboth d'K. Nathan xxxi. (commencement). * Yebam. 426. e Sabb. 134a. « 1 Sam. i. 21-23. ' Beraclioth 316. Digitized by Microsoft® xn.] The Infant and Its Mother 181 Pregnancy was considered to have a deleterious effect upon tlie mother's milk, and such was the importance attached to suckling that it was one of the three cases in which a woman was permitted to use mechanical methods of preventing conception, so that the baby may not pine away by the occurrence of pregnancy.^ The other cases were extreme youth and delicate health on the part of the mother (see p. 37), and pregnancy — from the supposed danger of superfoetation. When begin- ning to suckle, one should start with the left breast.^ Suckling is the most important thing for a baby, who can remain at the breast for the whole day without harm.^ At night the baby sucks towards the early hours of the morning.* No woman should suckle her baby in the street, and one who does so is, according to R, Meir, to be divorced.^ If one of twins stops suckling, the other does the same and the breasts involute.* The child must be put to the breast within twenty-four hours of birth.'' Care of Mother during Lying-in and Lactation. For the sake of a puerperal woman it was permitted to profane the Sabbath.* Also certain religious rites were excused her for the sake of her health — e.g., the postponement of the ritual bath, in order to prevent her from catching a cold.® Rabbi Chisda's daughter was brought to consult Rava for such trouble.'^" Lying- in women were also allowed to indulge in a game of 1 Yebam. 12&, 346, and 69a; Kethub. 34a. 2 Sefer Chasidim, oh. 69. = T. Sotat iv. 3. * Berachoth 3a. " Gittin 89a. 8 Cant. R. to iv. 5. ' See Preuss, p. 470. 8 Sabb. 129a. » Ihid. " Ihid., 1336. Digitized by Microsoft® 182 The Jewish Child [chap. chess at a time when everybody else had been forbidden to do so.^ A husband had no right to prevent his wife from suckling her child, since it is she who is liable to suffer from engorgement of breasts due to non-lactation.^ The following is a curious, though in the present con- nection a somewhat uncomplimentary, maxim of the Rabbis: " More than the calf wishes to suck does the cow wish to suckle."^ Origin of Milk. As we have already seen, the Rabbis believed that milk came from the blood, and explained the amenor- rhoea of pregnancy as due to the transformation of the menstrual blood into mammary secretion.^ According to Dr. Tobias Katz,^ the cord should be tied three finger-breadths from the umbilicus. The baby should be given a piece of lint soaked in almond- oil or sugar and butter to suck. The mother should not put the baby to the breast for ten hours after partu- rition, " so as to get rid of the colostrum." She should also avoid giving the breast too often, because the milk gets spoiled inside the baby's stomach. Diet of a Nursing Mother. It was known that articles of diet have an effect upon the mammary secretion. Some foods suppress milk, others alter its composition.® The Talmud even went ^ Schmidt, " Jiidisclie Merkwurdigkeiten," pt. vi., ch. xxxv., p. 317. 2 Kethub. 61a. ' Pessachim 112&. ^ Nidah 9a and Bec]iorot]i 6&. ' Of. cit., p. 124a, col. 1. « Kethub. 606. Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 183 as far as to believe that the appearance and physique of the child depended upon the nature of the food con- sumed by its mother whilst carrying or suckling. Thus, if the mother takes mustard, the children grow up greedy ; if cress is taken, blear-eyed children may result ; the result of eating clay is that the child will have an ugly long neck; if she drinks new wine, the chUd will have a dark complexion; old wine and meat produce healthy children; fish partaken of by the mother will give rise to graceful children; eggs produce large-eyed children; parsley, beautiful children; coriander, mus- cular children; and citrons give the children a pleasant odour.^ Wine, according to another authority, in- creases milk, and the mother was therefore recom- mended to have an extra portion of it.^ There was, however, never any danger of giving the woman too much alcohol, for there is another statement that " One cup of wine is good for a woman, two are disgraceful, three demoralizing, and four brutalizing."^ A nursing woman was given a more liberal diet and less work to do,* but she was not exempted from fasting on the pre- scribed fasts.^ No woman was allowed to suckle two children at the same time.® The effect of pregnancy upon the milk has already been mentioned. It was believed that certain characters are transmitted by the suckling woman to the child, as is seen from the follow- ing anecdote narrated in the Midrash : " A Gentile once brought two youthful Jewish slaves with him from Palestine. When he came home, his mother served him with some mutton. Then one of the youths remarked to the other that the mutton had 1 Kethub. 60& and 61a ^ Ihid., 65&. = lUd,., 65a. * Ihid., 65&. = Taamtk Ua. « Kethub. 606. Digitized by Microsoft® 184 The Jewish Child [chap. a ' doggy ' smell about it. The master overheard it, and questioned his mother, who admitted that the mother of that lamb died immediately after giving birth to it, and the latter was reared by a bitch who gave it ■Buck. (Compare the story of Remus and Romulus, who grew up so strong because they were suckled by a she-wolf.) The man was overjoyed with the cleverness of his young slaves. After he had eaten and drunk to his heart's content, he stood up and danced, when one of the youths again remarked to the other, ' Look at the master's legs; they are exactly like those of a stage dancer. No doubt his father must have been an actor.' The master overheard it, and taxed his mother with it, who admitted that her husband was impotent, and, fearing that his relatives would inherit his property, misconducted herself with a stage dancer, and gave birth to him."^ " Large breasts," says the Talmud, " are an orna- ment in women (c/". Cant. iv. 5), but a deformity in men."^ A story is related in the Talmud of a man whose wife died leaving an infant at the breast. The man's breasts developed to such an extent that he suckled it.^ A similar instance in modern times is recorded in Stewart's " Physiology."* Mordecai is said to have suckled his niece Esther.^ Raba bar bar Chona, the Baron Miinchhausen of the Talmud, narrates having seen an Arabian woman whose breasts were so long that she could throw them over her shoulders and give her baby suck on her back.® ' Bcha R. and Yalkut Shemoni. ^ Jer. Keth. vii. 7; Gittin ii. 4. ^ Sabb. 536. '- G. N. Stewart, " Manual of Physiology," Tth edition, London, 19M, p. 1097. ^ Gen. R. xxx. 8. ° Kethubotli 75a, Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 185 Rabbi Dr. Katz^ gives full directions for the care of lying-in women. He gives particulars of the arrange- ment of the bed, avoidance of all kinds of movement and of cold air (in order to prevent postpartum haemor- rhage and abdominal pain or peritonitis), and not to fall asleep immediately after parturition, in case she faints. This fear still prevails amongst the more igndrant people. The diet during the first three days should consist of chicken,, soups, and toast, or fresh butter, or a new-laid egg in chicken broth. After the third day she may have chicken or veal. He also states, on the authority of another physician, that the woman may have a little wine, even if she has fever, because the alcohol strengthens the heart and causes lochia to flow, which cures the pyrexia. Rules with Regard to a Wet-Nurse. 1. No nurse may suckle her own or somebody else's baby in addition to her charge. 2. She must have abundant food even if her salary is not sufficient.^ 3. A Jewish woman may not suckle a heathen child, because in this way she brings up another heathen, but a heathen woman may, according to some, but not according to others, suckle a Jewish child. The reason given by those who are against this practice is that the nurse might kill the baby by pressing upon its fontanelle, (which, according to Rashi (Menachoth 37a), closes after the first year), or by puttiug poison on the breast.^ It is possible that this may mean that one cannot be sure 1 Of. ciU "^ Kethub. 606. ^ Aboda Zarah 26a. Digitized by Microsoft® 186 The Jewish Child [chap. of the absence of constitutional disease in a heathen, which might poison her milk. The Comparative Value of Mother's Milk and Milk of a Wet-Nurse. K. Achai says that he who buys food from the market is like a suckling whose mother is dead, and who is brought to a wet-nurse to suck without being fully satisfied ; but he who has his own fields is like a suckling who thrives on the breasts of its mother.'^ Purification of the Mother. The Levitical Code lays down strict rules which, with modifications, are observed by Jews even at the present time, with regard to the periods during which a puer- peral woman remains " unclean." If she bear a male child, the woman remains " impure " (wholly " impure " or only partly so) for forty days; if a female child, for eighty days.^ This double period of uncleanness in the case of a female birth is not in conformity with modern ideas, since it is a fact that the disturbance in the mother's system is greater in the case of male births (on account of their larger average size) ; but according to the Talmud parturition is more difficult with female children, because, lying (as they were believed to do) in occipito-posterior positions, they had to undergo a long rotation (see p. 154). According to K. Simeon ben Yochai, however, the extra period of uncleanness in the case of a female child was instituted as a sort of punishment to the woman for having given birth to a child which creates domestic sorrow rather than rejoic- > Abb. d'R. Nathan xxxi. 1. ^ See Lev. xii. 2-6. Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 187 ing (see Chapter XIII., p. 204). In the case of Csesarean section, there is no definite period of uncleanness, because, says the Talmud, the verse (Lev. xii. 2) says that " if a woman have conceived seed, and a male child is born, she shall be unclean," etc. One is, there- fore, to infer that she must only remain unclean if the child came in the same way as it was conceived.'^ The Biblical injunction about uncleanness was also preva- lent amongst other races. A woman was not allowed by the Greeks to come to the temple for forty days after childbirth. Jesus was brought up to Jerusalem when the days of the purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled f and the 2nd of February, which is forty days after the 25th of December (the birth of Christ), is still kept as the day of the " Purification of Mary." The cause of uncleanness for so many days is not understood. The reason for bringing a sin-ofEering after the expiration of the period of uncleanness is given by R. Simeon ben Yochai. He says that " when a woman is in travail she takes an oath (in her excitement) never to cohabit with her husband again " (a remark with which every experienced accoucheur is familiar), " but she does not keep her oath."^ Privileges of a Puerperal Woman. The Sabbath must be profaned for the sake of a puerperal woman, whether she demands it or not, so long as her womb remains open (has not involuted); but after her womb has closed one may only desecrate ' Nidah 40a. -' S. Luke ii. 22. = Nidah 31&. Digitized by Microsoft® 188 The Jewish Child [chap. the Sabbath if the patient's condition urgently demands it.^ Different opinions are expressed as to the length of time the womb remains open. According to some it was only three days, and according to others no less than thirty days.^ It is now known that involution is not complete until six weeks after labour. After the prescribed period of impurity, the woman had in Biblical times to sacrifice an offering to God.^ Nowadays, at the termination of her period of impurity, the woman must immerse her whole body in a ritual bath — i.e., one containing 40 saah (about 800 litres) of water.* Weaning. The cessation of suckling took place when the child was anything between eighteen months and three years old. Thus, according to a verse in the Second Book of Maccabees (vii. 27), children were nursed at the breast for three years. " my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee suck three years." Feasts were generally made on weaning a child; e.g., Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.^ The feast was in celebration of the fact that the child had passed the dangerous age of infancy. According to Moschion, the age for weaning among the Greeks was one and a half to two years; and, accord- ing to Schubart, in ancient Babylon and in Egypt babies were weaned at three years of age.* 1 Sabb. 129a. = lUd. ^ Lev. xii. 6-8. * Yore Deab 201. ' Gen. xxi. 8. * Schubart, " Die Amme in altea Alexandrien, " Jahrbericht f. Kinderheilk., 1909, p. 93. Digitized by Microsoft® xn.] The Infant and Its Mother 189 According to Eashi and the Midrash to 1 Sam. i. 23, 24, Samuel was weaned at the age of two years ;^ but from 2 Chron. xxxi. 16 it would appear that he was taken away from the breast when three years old, since children under that age were not admitted into the services of the Temple. The school of HiUel gives the proper weaning age as eighteen months.^ R. Eliezer advises weaning at twenty-four months, and R. Joshua allows breast feeding up to the age of five years !^ The usual age for weaning seems to have been two years, as can be seen from the following story told in the Midrash : An Athenian once came to a school in Jerusalem and found the children sitting there without their master. He began to ask them questions, which they answered. Then the children said to him: " Let us ask one another questions, and whoever is unable to answer shall forfeit his belongings." This was agreed, and the children then asked him the following conundrum: " Nine went out and eight came in; then two began to pour out for one to drink, and twenty-four were serving." The man was unable to solve the riddle, and was relieved of his belongings. When R. Jochanan, their teacher, returned, he reprimanded the scholars for ill-treating a visitor, and they told him of the wager. The Rabbi then solved the riddle for the man as follows: " Nine months of pregnancy terminated, and eight days preceding circumcision set in. Two breasts pour out milk for one child to suck, and twenty-four months of lactation serve the child."^ The man then got his things back. A nursing widow was not allowed to marry again ' J. Taanith iv. 1. ^ Kethub. 60&. ^ Ibid., 60a. * Lam. R. I. Digitized by Microsoft® 190 The Jewish Child [chap. before the child was fifteen months old, lest the occur- rence of pregnancy should compel her to wean it after the third month (because of the bad effect pregnancy has upon the milk). Others were more stringent, and did not allow her to marry before the child reached the age of two years.^ The Talmud further says that a widow cannot remarry simply on weaning the chUd, because she might wean it before the time in order to marry. ^ On the other hand, although a widower might not get married within three months after the death of his wife, yet, if he was left with little babies that required nursing, he was allowed to marry after the expiration of the seven days of mourning.^ Once a child has been weaned, it must not be put to the breast again except in cases of danger to the child.^ Diet after Weaning. Milk and eggs formed the principal food of a child after it was taken away from the breast.^ Honey and butter are mentioned in Isaiah as the food of a child old enough " to refuse the evil and choose the good."® Corn and wine are mentioned in the case of older children.''' The milk used was that of goats* and of sheep .^ Cow's milk was not much used, probably on account of its scarcity in the mountainous country of Palestine. Warm goat's milk drunk every morning is good for chest trouble.^" This is an interesting statement, as it is well known now that goats are not subject to 1 Kett. 60a and h. ^ Ibid., 60&, and Rashi. =* Moed Katan 23a. * Yore Deak Ixxxi. 7, Kethub. 60a. ^ Yebam. 42&. « Isa. vii. 15. Of. Yoma 756. '' Lam. ii. 12. B Deut. xxxii. U. " Prov. xvii. 27. " B. Kama 80a. Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 191 tuberculosis. Children used to suck the teats of animals, even of those ritually prohibited — e.g., the ass and the camel — if the child's welfare demanded it.'^ The milk was received in buckets? and kept in skins.® The value of milk as an article of diet is mentioned by Ben Sira, who speaks of it as one of the principal things for the whole use of human life.'* " One who wishes his daughter to be fair," says the Talmud, " should feed her in her youth on young birds and milk."* Whey is mentioned in several places,* but not in connection with infant feeding. It is forbidden to use milk of animals suffering from a visible disease, such as would render the animal ritually unfit for human consumption, or that of an animal found post mortem to have suffered from such a malady as late as three days before death.'' It is possibly for this reason that mUk bought from a non-Jew ought not to be drunk unless a Jew watched the milking process, so that one might be sure that the animal was healthy.* Milk left uncovered overnight should not, in places where there are reptiles, be used, because of the possible danger of a serpent having left its venom therein.® A cowshed must be at least 4 by 6 cubits^" — i.e., 6 square yards in area. The Talmud mentions a method of distinguishing between milk from ritually clean and that from ritually unclean animals : the former remains sweet longer than the latter; also the former is white, whilst the latter is yellowish." 1 Yebamotli 114a. ^ Job xxi. 24. =* Judg. iv. 19 * Ecclus. xxxix. 26. ^ Kettuboth 596. ^ Nedarim 51a and 6 and Pessachim 41&. '' Yore Deah Ixxxi .2. 8 See Aboda Zarab 356. ° Baba Bathra 986. " Chtdin 10a and 6 and 496. " Aboda Zarab 356. Digitized by Microsoft® 192 The Jewish Child [chap. Mode of Holding and Carrying a Baby. A baby in Biblical times used to be carried in tbe bosom, as is evidenced by the following references: " Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the suckling child ";^ " And Naomi took the child (her grandchild), and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it."^ Other methods mentioned in the Bible are the side and the shoulder. Thus, " Ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knee ";^ " They shall bring thy sons in their bosoms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders."* In Talmudical times the children were also carried in a basket on the back, after the manner of the Egyptians.^ Attendants on young children were either men or women. Thus, a nursing father is referred to in Num. xi. 12. The Evil-Eye. This is a belief that a glance from certain individuals can injure life or property. According to Kav, out of 100 people, 99 die through the evil-eye.® Jacob ad- vised his sons, when they went down to Egypt, not to enter all together at the same gate, on account of the evil-eye,'' which is particularly liable to do its work in cases of large masses of people, (See also p. 369.) A probable imitation of Catholic exorcism by means of incense is found among Jews, who, in order to do away with the evjl-eye in children, light a habdalah candle, hold it before the child's open mouth, and extinguish it, ' Num. xi. 12, ^ Euth iv. 16; see also Lam. ii. 12. 3 Isa. Ixvi. 12, ^ Ibid., xlvi. 22. * See Scliapiro, loc. cit., p. 134. " Baba Metzia 1076. ^ Gen. R. xci. Digitized by Microsoft® xii.] The Infant and Its Mother 193 so as to make the smoke go into the mouth.^ A piece of bread and salt, or Passover matzah, is put into the pockets of particularly beautiful children to protect them from the evil-eye. In olden times children were not taken to a wedding feast, for fear of the evil-eye of the crowd.^ A remedy for the evil-eye is for the mother to kiss her child three times, spitting after each kiss. Another protection against the evil-eye was to put the right thumb against the palm of the left hand, and that of the left against the palm of the right .^ A similar remedy against the evil-eye is still prevalent in Southern Italy,^ and also existed in Germany in the Middle Ages.^ The Child's Sleep. For some reason the babies, although they had separate cots or cradles, used to sleep at night with their mothers, their own cradles having been used for the day's rest.* That cases of overlaying used to occur is seen from the story of the "Judgment of Solomon."' In order, however, to guard the child against such acci- dents, it used to be the custom, and it still is in Eastern Europe, for female visitors to a lying-in woman, especi- ally a primipara, to speak among themselves, in the hearing of the patient, of some imaginary accident that ^ Grriinwald, " Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft fiii judische Volks- kunde," 1901, quoted in "Jewish Encyclopaedia," article "Evil- Eye," vol. v., p. 280, col. 2. ^ Lev. E. xxvi. 7. ^ Beracliotli 55&. * Clemens, " Sitten und Gebrauclie der Italiener," p. 176, quoted by Wunderbar, op. cit., part i., p. 39. 5 Scbefiel, Bkkekard 120, quoted by Preuss, op. cit., p. 160. « Jer, Makkoth ii. 4. '' 1 Kings iii. 19: "And tbis woman's child died in the nightr because she overlaid it." 13 Digitized by Microsoft® 194 The Jewish Child [chap. had recently happened to babies as a result of some carelessness on the part of an inexperienced or careless mother. The following medieval story is told of a woman who accidentally suffocated her baby in bed: She went to a Rabbi to ask how she could atone for her sin, and he advised her to fast eighty-four days on con- secutive Mondays and Thursdays. She went to another Rabbi, and told him her sin and the punishment imposed upon her. He pooh-poohed the idea of her fasting, and ordered her instead to eat and drink particularly well on the days on which the first Rabbi advised her to fast. When asked by the bystanders the meaning of such an extraordinary penance, he explained as follows : " This woman has sinned because she has destroyed a life. She has already had sufl6.cient punishment from the moral torture and anguish she has gone through at the loss of her child, and the only just and equitable reparation she can make is to make good that loss. If she eats and drinks well, she will very soon give birth to another child; but if she starves herself, not only will she become too iU to do that soon, but she will lose her beauty, and with it her husband's love, and may therefore never give birth to another child again. "^ The cots were made either of wood^ or of glass,^ and had very short legs, which were firmly fixed into the floor, for the greater safety of the chUd.^ Swinging cradles were, however, most commonly used.^ These had attached to them little beUs, whose monotonous 1 " Sifettee Tzaddikim," quoted by Solomon Feinerman, " The Sources of the Anecdotes about the Wonder-Eabbis," Hashiloah: Ldtterarisch-WissenschaftUche Monatsschrift, vol. xxi., Odessa, 1909, p. 440. 2 Gen. R. xci. 10. ^ Tosefta, Kelim. * Oholoth xii. 4. « Gen. R. liii. 10. Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 195 sound produced by the swinging helped to induce sleep. ^ A piece of waterproof material was placed under the child to keep the bedclothes clean,^ and as soon as the child was able to sit up it was dressed up in a leather pinafore, to guard it against scratches by a cat.^ "When the child was asleep, a fan was used to keep away the flies.* In certain places the head of a newly -born baby was rubbed with a piece of dough containing the juice of unripe grapes, in order to keep away harmful insects.^ " No child is to be left alone in its cradle by day or by night." This was the iujunction given by R. Eliezer the Great to his son Hyrcanus.® In some places the smiling of a child during sleep indicates the receipt of golden fruit by the child from a good angel with whom it is playing. In other places it indicates playing with Lilith (especially during the night of the Sabbath or new moon), and the child should be woke up.'' No baby may be frightened by saying that there is a cat or a dog coming to take it away.® " A baby should be as well looked after as a king, high priests, and learned men,"® is a saying which reminds one of the well-known picture " His Majesty the Baby." In Jerusalem a cock was once stoned to death be- cause he picked the brain of a new-born baby through the pulsating fontanelle, having mistaken it for an insect.^" 1 Tosefta, Kelim Metzia i. 21. Cf. Sabb. 58, Rasbi. 2 Kelim xxvi. 5. ^ Ihid. * Cbulin 916, Rasbi and Mabarsba. ^ Gen. R. xxxiv. 15. 6 Tbe Last Will of R. Eliezer Hagadol xl. ' See article " Lilitb " in " Jewisb Encyclopaedia." 8 Kitzur, Sbulcban Arucb xxxiii. 34. » Yellinek Betb Hamidrasb ii. 96. " Edyotb vi. 1. Digitized by Microsoft® 196 The Jewish Child [chap. Growth of a Child. It is superstitiously believed that if you step over a child it will stop growing; to make it resume growing, recross it. For investigations of the rate of growth of Jewish children, see Chapter XXV. Lullabies. The ambition of all Jewish parents is to see their sons grow up learned men^ and their daughters good house- wives and happily married. This ambition is expressed even in the lullabies with which the Jewish mothers sing their children to sleep. The following (quoted in Schechter's " Studies in Judaism ") is a beautiful trans- lation, by Mrs. Helen Lucas, of a typical cradle song for a boy: Oh, husli th.ee, my darling, sleep soundly, my son ; Sleep soundly and sweetly till day has begun. For under the bed of good children at night There lies, till the morning, a kid snowy white. We'll send it to market to buy sechorah,^ While my little lad goes to study torah.' Sleep soundly at night, and learn torah by day; Then thou'lt be a Eabbi when I have grown grey. But I'll give thee to-morrow ripe nuts and a toy, If thou'lt sleep as I bid thee, my own little boy. The following pretty song is one used for a girl : Schlof, mein feigele. Sleep, my birdie, Mach tzu dos eigele; Close your eyes ; Schlof, sich ois, mein kind; Sleep, oh sleep, my child; Du schlof st mit freid. Sleep with joy. Du weist nit kein leid; You know no sorrow; SchlofE, sich ois gesund. Sleep with health, my child. ' Merchandise " Knowledge. Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 197 Du west aufstehen fun wieg Hostu arbeit genug, Far dir ongregreit atzund: Stricken schiohalach, Lesen bichalach ; Schlof derweil, mein kind. When from your cradle You will get up, There's plenty of work for you: To embroider shoes, To read little books ; But meanwhile sleep, my child. Du west a kook ton fun der seit When aside you will glance Stehen yunge leit, Eeich gekleit und schein; Dich wellen sei lieben, Presenten geben ; Solstu sogen nein. Di eltern sollen leben Wellen in nadn dir geben Toisenter a sach. Chosen '^it kalele Wellen sich kushen in mailele, Mir wellen sich freien gleich mit eich. Young men will advance, Good-looking and of good address; Their love they will proffer. And presents will they oSer ; But don't hasten to say " Yes." Your parents that love you As a dowry will give you Many thousands in cash. Bride and bridegroom Each other will kiss, And we shall take part in your joy. Du west hoben a kleins. You will have a little one, A feins und a sheins ; Perfect and beautiful ; West es lieben wie ich lieb dich. You will love it as I love you. West es auskuschen yeder glidele. You'll kiss each little limb, Du west es singen dos liedele : And you'll sing this song to him : Schlof, sich aus gesund. Sleep, oh sleep, my child. The following are other attempts, by an anonymous author in the Jewish Chronicle of July 21, 1916, at rhymed translations of the cradle songs with whicli the Ghetto mother sings her baby to sleep. As the trans- lator remarks: " One cannot compare them with our native cradle songs, such as those that tell of baby rocked gently on the tree-tops, or some such melodious melody that is soothing in its very meaninglessness. Here, in her un- musical sing-song, the foreign mother of the Ghetto Digitized by Microsoft® 198 The Jewish Child [chap. permits her ambitions for baby's future to soar to quite giddy heights. Boy or girl, she visualizes its future, sings to it a song of fame and fortune, lovers and marriage. On the canvas of her imagination she limns a picture of her little one making his or her way to the marriage canopy. " If baby is a girl, mother croons a song such as this, though nothing could so charm as the original Yiddish version : Sleep's guardian angel WatcMully by, His wings protect you Till morning's nigli . . . And soon from your cradle, Life's labour to do, And learn to be clever, To 'broider sweet shoes. So sleep on, my darling, And soon, by-and-by. Your cteeks will bloom roses, sweet baby mine 1 So dainty, so handsome. Of lovers galore. My child, they'll adore you: Could lass wish for more ? " And so the Ghetto mother weaves bright fancies around the career of her baby. Here and there one cannot help observing how steadfastly these cradle songs have kept to their original wording, untroubled by fashion's frequent changes : And so, my little maiden. You'll wear a crinoline, Eclipse them all, at the stately ball A lover you shall win. Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 199 "No less hopeful are the cradle songs when baby is a boy: •* My Yankele shall learn the Law, The Law shall baby learn ; Great letters shall my Yankele write, Much money shall he earn. A pious Jew will Yankele be, A son of Israel true— A worthy father, husband, son, A good and pious Jew." RAISINS AND ALMONDS (ROZHINKES MIT MANDLEN). A cradle song with music from the Yiddish Opera '■^ Shulamith," by Abraham Goldfaden.^ In this charming song the daughter of Zion (Bath Zion) is represented fls a widow rocking her only orphan child, the Jew (Jiidele), to sleep. ATidcmte. i ^ ^ ^ s s ^ i^ In dem Beth Ha - mik - dosh in a - win - kel i ^ m ^ ^g che - der sitzt die al - mo - noli Bath Zi - on a- g fi m lein ihr ben - jo - chi - del JU - de - le weigt aie k''- :t=q:: I J J atzg: ^ - der und singt ihm zum schlo - fen a lie - del - e I /0> s schon ; al al la I Un - ter Jii - de 1 Reproduced by kind permission of Messrs. E. Mazin and Co., Ltd., 141, AVhitechapel Road, London, E. Digitized by Microsoft® 200 The Jewish Child [CHAP. itxn 33 f 33 steht a klor - weiss 5 V^-^ le.: zie - ge - le is foh - - - -F-4=- ?^ «3 ren hand - len dos wet J^=t ^ IZZ -P P- sein dein be rnf , . zhin- kes -^=^-^=- IZZ ^ ot±7*^ mit mand - len. sehlof - sze f :^=tte=^ ie»^ ^ ?^ Jii - de - le sehlof. . i ^LJ^^ ^=p: i^ ^■txt t>i Dr. Elkan Isaac Wolf, in a book written in 1777, gives several very instructive directions regarding ctiild hygiene (Griinwald, " Hygiene der Juden," p. 266). The child's bedroom must be ventilated three times a day, and he specially mentions that the baby's wet clothes must not be left in the room. He enjoins absolute cleanliness of the child by means of frequent washing, and advises the use of cold baths. Children, however Digitized by Microsoft® XII.] The Infant and Its Mother 201 young, are to be taken out in the open air even in winter. Proper covering of the body is recommended, but he speaks against coddling. He, in accordance with modern views, forbids the over-indulgence of children in sweets and other dainties. Congenital Malformations. Imperforate anus and hypospadias are mentioned, and operations to remedy these defects are described.^ Congenital absence of the prepuce is also mentioned. Moses and Job are said to have been born with this condition (circumcised).^ See also chapter on Embry- ology. Playing with Children. The story is told of a man who left a clause in his will saying that none of his belongings should go to his son until the latter made a fool of himself. R. Jose, the son of Judah and Rabbi, went to consult R. Joshua ben Korcha about this extraordinary clause. When they came within a short distance of his house, they were astonished to see R. Joshua, through the window, crawling upon all fours on the floor, with a piece of grass in his mouth, playing horses with his little boy. They came and laid the case before him, and then ques- tioned him about his curious behaviour. He laughed, and answered : " Why, the very thing that was stipu- lated by the dead man has just happened to me." When a man has children, he often makes himself look foolish for their amusement.^ 1 Sabb. 134a, Yebam. 76a. 2 Sabb. 135a, Yebam. 71a, Sotab 12a. ^ Gen. R. Ivii., and Shochar Tov xcii. Digitized by Microsoft® 202 The Jewish Child [chap. xil. The Rights of Illegitimate Children. If the father of an illegitimate child is known, the latter is his lawful heir/ An illegitimate boy must be circumcised on the eighth day, even if it happens to be the Sabbath-day. In Talmudic times the illegitimate child of a learned man took precedence over the High Priest, if the latter was an ignorant man;^ but in later times it became the custom to give the precedence to the priest.^ Every illegitimate child was proclaimed as such, in order that no marriage might be contracted with him or her later on.^ In cases of doubt regarding the legitimacy of a child, it was given the benefit of the doubt. Thus, a child born twelve months after the departure of the woman's husband is still considered legitimate (see p. 110), and later legislators even wished to legitimatize a child born after that interval, on the assumption that the husband returned privately in the interval.^ If an evil rumour has been spread about a woman, her children are still considered legitimate.® Even if a woman definitely says that the child is not from her husband, she is not believed;'' but if the husband says that the child is not his he is believed, according to some authorities, although the sages decided that he is not to be believed. 1 Yebamoth 42a. ^ Horyoth 13a. * Shulchan Aruch, Oracli Cliajdm cxxxviii. * See article " Mamzer " in Ozar Israel, vol. vi., and Maimonides, Issure Biah., xcvi 5 Tizr. Eben Haezer iv. * Sotat 27a. ' Yebamotli 476, Kiddushin 786, Baba Bathra 127a. Digitized by Microsoft® CHAPTER XIII RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES IN CONNECTION WITH A BABY " Turnus Eufus (the Eoman general) one day put the following question to E. Akiba: ' Why has God not made man just as He wanted him to be ? Why, for instance, has He commanded you to go through the operation of circumcision ? Could He not cause the child to be born circumcised V And E. Akiba answered: ' Every- thing that God has created was purposely made incomplete, in order that human ingenuity may perfect it. Take, for instance, the acorn and the cake that is made from it ; the cotton plant and the beautiful garments that are made from it. Man is born uncircumcised because it is the duty of man to perfect himself ' " (Pesiata E. and Tanchuma on Tazria). Circumcision. EvEEY Jewish male child is circumcised on the eighth day of his birth, even if that day happens to be the Sabbath;^ but if for any reason, such as bad health of the child, this rite is postponed, it must not take place on the Sabbath-day. For the operation to be performed, the child must be in a perfect state of health. Its weight must be not less than 7 pounds, it must have a healthy colour, its finger-nails must reach the tips of its fingers, it must have a healthy, strong voice, and be able to suck properly. The reason assigned by the Talmud for fixing the age of the child at eight days^ and not earlier, is that the rite should not be carried out 1 Sabbath 131a, h. 203 Digitized by Microsoft® 204 The Jewish Child [chap. at a time when everybody is merry-making, whilst the parents are in sorrow on account of the impurity of the mother.^ (See p. 186.) The Ceremony. The day of the operation is spent as a semi-festival. The room is specially decorated, and the guests are dressed in their best clothes. It is the custom to have at least ten adult males in the room — i.e., eight in addition to the operator (or mohel) and the godfather (or sandek). When the baby is brought in, the people say, " Baruch haba " (Blessed be he thatcometh). The numerical value of the letters of haba ({