JEWISH SERVICES
IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

JEWISH SERVICES
IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

By
LEWIS N. DEMBITZ

Philadelphia :
The Jewish Publication Society of America
J 898

Copyright, 1898, by
The Jewish Publication Society of America

Press of
Edward Stern & Co., Inc.
Philadelphia

PREFACE
Five years ago I entered upon the work of drawing up an
analytic sketch of the Jewish Services, but was prevented
by work more in the line of my profession from finishing
the task or even studying up the material in the fullness
demanded by honest authorship. Some years later the
Chairman of the Publication Committee of the Jewish
Publication Society, hearing of my labors in that line,
opened a correspondence with me about getting up a book
on the subject, to be published by that body. At a meeting
of the committee in charge the wish was expressed that the
sketch should be historical as well as analytic, and I
assented to this proposal, which greatly increased my
labor; for, in our days, history means, above all things,
going back to original sources; and to one residing in a
Western city, with no great libraries at hand, with but few
friends near him with whom to advise; to one not a profes
sional but an amateur only in Rabbinic lore, and who has
to attend his business office in business hours, it is a weari
ness to the flesh to hunt up and verify authorities in the
oldest and the original sources on such a wide subject as
the Jewish Services in Synagogue and Home.
Hence, like a careful bookkeeper, I put an E. O. E. at
the head as well as at the bottom of my statement:
ERRORS AND OMISSIONS EXCEPTED
I have availed myself freely of the historical researches
made by others, from Abudraham's work, written about
1340, to pamphlets bearing the date in 1897. Much of the
original material was not otherwise accessible to me, and
much more time would have been wasted in finding what
(5)

6 PREFACE
is hidden away in the Talmud and Midrash, often in the
most unexpected places. Wherever the usage of authors
demanded it, credit has been given to the scholars and
investigators of whose work I have availed myself.
The volume has been much swelled by the necessity of
laying before my readers the chief parts of our liturgy and
samples of the later and less essential parts in a faithful
English translation, as the greater number of those whom
this book will reach are not acquainted with the old Prayer
Book, that peculiar treasure of Israel, nor even possessed
of a copy, otherwise I might, like German authors on the
subject, have referred to parts of the prayers by name with
out embodying them in the text. Longer passages from
the Bible, such as whole Psalms, are not copied, but simply
cited. Citations from or references to the Bible are marked in
the text, as all readers have a copy within easy reach. The
chapter and verse number follow the Hebrew text; in
Psalms with a long title the verse number is higher by one
than in the English common version. Other citations are
made in the notes, to which also much of the minor his
torical detail is relegated. The name of a Talmudic treatise
with chapter and section means the Mishna ; the Babylonian
Talmud is cited by the letters T. B. before the treatise, and
the folio, with a or b for the page; the Jerusalem Talmud
in the ordinary way, by the section or Halacha of the
Mishna on which it comments. The citation of "Hilchoth"
indicates the Code of Maimonides.
With these few preliminaries I submit my work to the
kind reader, unlearned or learned.
Lewis N. Dembitz.
Louisville, August ist, 1897.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
BOOK I
GENERAL AND HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
PAGE
Chapter I. Divisions of the Jewish Body  n
Chapter II. Historic Background— Life-Center in Palestine. . 19
Chapter IIL Historic Background — Center no longer in
Palestine  33
Chapter IV. Midrash and Aggadta  44
Chapter V. Secret Lore, or Cabbala  50
Chapter VI. The Calendar  57
Chapter VII. The Synagogue and its Functionaries  64
BOOK II
THE DEVOTIONS OF THE SYNAGOGUE
Chapter I. Outline of the Liturgy  75
Chapter II. Source and Style  82
Chapter III. The Shema in the Evening  89
Chapter IV. The Shema in the Morning  95
Chapter V. Responses — the Kaddish  105
Chapter VI. The Constant Parts of the Tefilla.  112
Chapter VII. Modifications of the Constant Parts  121
Chapter VIII. The Work-day Benedictions  128
Chapter IX. The Middle Benediction on Days of Rest  140
Chapter X. The "Additional," or Musaf  148
Chapter XL The Day of Memorial.  155
Chapter XII. The Day of Atonement  165
Chapter XIII. Psalms and Bible Verses in the Service  180
Chapter XIV. Study as Part of the Liturgy  193
(7)

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Chapter XV: The Lesser and the Doubtful Benedictions  203
Chapter XVI. Other Prose Compositions  ZI2
Chapter XVII. The Late "Poetry"— General Plan  222
Chapter XVIII. Samples of Post-Biblical Poetry  231
Chapter XIX. Cabbalistic Interpolations  241
BOOK III
THE DESK AND THE PULPIT
Chapter I. The Weekly Pentateuch Lesson  247
Chapter II. Lessons Outside of the Weekly Order  254
Chapter III. How the Lesson is Distributed  ,  260
Chapter IV. The Lesson from the Prophets  265
Chapter V. The Liturgy of the Desk..  276
Chapter VI. The Five Small Books  284
Chapter VII. The Interpreter, or Methurgaman  288
Chapter VIII. Preaching  293
BOOK IV
INCIDENTS AND CEREMONIES
Chapter I. Posture, Sound, Thought  299
Chapter II. The Trope  3°8
Chapter III. Fringes and Phylacteries  '  312
Chapter IV. Ceremonies on Yearly Occasions  318
BOOK V
THE JEWISH HOME
Chapter I. Minian at the House  329
Chapter II. What Children Learn First  334
Chapter III. The Meal  339
Chapter IV. Sanctification and Separation  348
Chapter V. The Passover Night  356
Notes  371
Indexes  441

BOOK I
General and Historical Introduction

BOOK I
GENERAL AND HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I
DIVISIONS OF THE JEWISH BODY
The word "Services" has been chosen as a part of the
title of this work rather than "Ritual," which is too com
prehensive, or "Liturgy," which is too narrow. The work
is to treat of everything that is spoken or read in the Syna
gogue or in the Jewish Home by way of religious duty, and
incidentally of what is done to suit the action to the word.
We treat only of the services according to the old rituals,
unaffected by those reforms, beginning at Hamburg in
1819, based on the rejection of a part of the beliefs on which
the old order of services was founded. Although the
number of Jews and Jewesses who no longer share these
beliefs is quite considerable, the number of Synagogues that
have adopted a reformed service is, at the time of this writ
ing, quite small except in the United States and in Ger
many. But in many congregations of Europe and America the
services have been modernized without the abrogation of
anything that had been deemed obligatory in the order of
worship. Music suited to Western tastes has taken the
place of a drawling chant or of wild license and inharmoni
ous noise, and sermons in correct speech have become an
integral part of the service, in place of long and disjointed
talks in an uncouth jargon, filled either with bold misinter-
(«)

12 fEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
pretationof Scripture or with dry, legal hair-splitting, which
were formerly heard in the Synagogue at odd times. More
over, many of the "poetries," composed in the middle
ages to fill up time on Festivals and favored Sabbaths in
the absence of a preacher, have been dropped by the "pro
gressives," as indeed they had always been discountenanced
by many otherwise strict and old-fashioned Jews. As the
Jews are naturally gifted with a good ear, and many
also with a good voice for music, the "progressive" or
choir Synagogues have spread rapidly since Samuel Sulzer
introduced the beginnings of his "Song of Zion" at the
great Synagogue of Vienna in 1829. Even in Russian
Poland and Russia, at least in the great cities, the prejudice
against the innovation has been overcome, and many con
gregations lack the choir or the musically-trained leader
only by reason of their poverty.
But there is a division much older than any between
orthodoxy, progress, and- reform; it is that between the
Sefardim, or Jews of the Spanish and Portuguese ritual, and
the Ashkenazim, or German and Polish Jews. The Hebrew
names for the divisions are based on a notion which iden
tifies Sepharad, mentioned in the prophecy of Obadiah, with
Spain, and another which makes Ashkenaz, a grandson of
Noah, the ancestor of the Teutonic race.1 The Sefardim,
embracing the Jews dwelling in Spain and Portugal, in
Provence, Italy, North Africa, and Turkey, were, in 1492,
at the time of the expulsion from Spain, the more important
branch in wealth, in learning and refinement, probably also
in numbers; but they have dropped into the background
since the culture of the times has reached the Jews of Ger
many and adjoining countries, and since those in the
east of Europe have increased to such vast multitudes. At
present the Ashkenazim outnumber the Sefardim by fully
twelve to one, but the customs of the latter have by no
means lost their historic importance.
The services of the Synagogue are carried on in Hebrew.

DIVISIONS OF THE JEW 1SH BOD}' 13
The Sefardim and Ashkenazim differ mainly in their ways
of reading this language. The former have pretty nearly
kept up the classic pronunciation of Judea, the same by
which Hebrew names of persons and places were trans
literated into Greek, as we find them in the Septuagint (or
Greek Old Testament) and in the New Testament, as far
as Hebrew sounds could be represented by Greek letters.
Hebrew, read in the Sefardic fashion, is "the Jews' lan
guage" referred to in Isaiah 36: 11 and Nehemiah 13: 24.
The Ashkenazim have, on the other hand, brought with
them the pronunciation of Galilee,2 from which district a
great colony is said to have been deported to the lower
Rhine in the days of Hadrian. Thence their descendants
overflowed the north of Europe, especially Bohemia, Hun
gary, Poland. Witness the German speech, or at least the
German jargon which the Jews of these countries have
employed among themselves for hundreds of years in the
midst of a Slavonic population. Lately millions of them
have overflowed further east, into Russia, Roumania, and
Turkey. But before we can speak of these differences we must
first fix the sounds which the English letters are to desig
nate. The vowels, a, e, i, 0, u, have their "Roman"
values, the same as in German and Italian; / that of con
sonant y; ch has the Scotch or German sound; .-> is always
sharp. We might mark h with some diacritical mark when
it represents in Hebrew the stronger breath Heth, and
employ an inverted apostrophe for that peculiar guttural,
the Hebrew 'Ayin; but to do so regularly would be needless
trouble for the printer and the reader. Ts will be written
for the Hebrew Tzaddi.
I. The chief differences in reading are these:
The vowel called Kametz is to the Sefardim generally
long a, rarely short 0; to the Germans, always 0. Hence,
the latter read the name of the first man Odom. There is
a short a, which is pronounced alike by both branches.

14 fEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The vowel Tzere is to the Sefardim and to many Germans
and Poles long e, but in eastern Germany and with the
Ashkenazim of England it sounds like the diphthongal
English i (the short e all pronounce alike).
The vowel Holem is to the Sefardim long o, to the Ger
mans and Poles ou or some corruption thereof. Thus a
Cohen is in a London Synagogue a Cowhine.
The vowel Shurek, pronounced by the Sefardim u, is by
most Polish and Hungarian Jews sounded like the French
u or German ue. This peculiarity may indicate an overland
immigration into these countries' independent of the Ger
man element, for to the Germans proper it is u.
The letter Beth is to the Sefardim always b. But when
"weak," that is, when it follows a vowel and is not doubled,
it is to the Germans and Poles a v.
The letter Tav is to the Sefardim always t, but when
"weak" it is to the Germans and Poles a sharp s; the West
Africans then sound it ts, the English Bible turns it into
th. Hence, Rut and Rus are the Sefardic and German for
Ruth. The Sefardim put a short vowel between the two con
sonants which would otherwise introduce the same syllable
(known in grammar as the Sheva mobile). In the English
Bible this vowel is generally marked by an e, in a few well-
known names by a or o; the Germans and Poles read the
two consonants closely together. The last three points
are illustrated by the word Ketubim (meaning the books
of the Bible after the Law and the Prophets), which in the
German pronunciation becomes Xuvim.
The letter Ayin denotes a guttural peculiar to the Semitic
tongues, produced by breathing while the back of the
mouth is compressed. The Sefardim in Mohammedan
countries give to this letter the true old sound; those in
Holland, England, and the United States have turned it into
ng, which is wholly wrong; the Germans and Poles drop
it altogether, and thus fail to distinguish between 'Ayin and

DIVISIONS OF THE JEWISH BODY 15
Alef. Moreover, the Sefardim observe the rules of the
word-accent, which in most words ought to fall on the last
syllable; the Germans and Poles do not observe them, gen
erally letting the accent rest on the last syllable but one.
II. Next comes the difference in intoning prayers and
Bible lessons. The Sefardim have pretty much maintained
the old Oriental chants, which move in a very narrow com
pass, while the Germans and Poles have allowed a strong
European element to enter their religious music. Their
tunes and chants are lively and run through a considerable
compass. III. There is lastly a considerable divergence between
the German and the Portuguese service books. The more
important and old established devotions are the same, or
differ only in a few words (nearly always so, in that the
form used by the Sefardim is fuller of synonyms and more
diffuse), but the later additions have not always been
accepted by both branches. The German service book came
originally from Tiberias in Galilee, that of the Sefardim
(the "Ritual" of R. Amram) from the schools of Baby
lonia early in the ninth century. In later times the two
great branches often borrowed new compositions or the
use of Psalms and other Biblical passages from each other.3
The old standards fully recognize the right of congrega
tions in different lands to vary in their customs in all unes
sential details, and make it the duty of the individual to
conform to the customs of his own community.4 The
Mishna, after the Law of Moses our oldest Code, often uses
the phrase, "Everything according to the custom (Minhag)
of the country," and we speak now of the "Portuguese
Minhag" and the "German Minhag." The latter is divided
into the German proper (Western Germany) and the Polish
Minhag, that of Eastern Germany and the countries east
and southeast of it. The many migrations of Israel have
brought together in new abodes numbers of Jewish fami
lies, who had for generations respectively used one or the

16 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
other Minhag in their several homes. Old associations
being stronger than mere nearness in space, several com
munities would grow up, those of the same custom herding
together, and each of these communities would, in the same
city, set up a Synagogue for worship according to its own
Minhag. Thus there are Spanish or Portuguese Synagogues
in London, Paris, Hamburg, and Vienna, although in each
of these cities the bulk of the Jewish population adheres to
the German or Polish ritual. We find a like condition as
early as the twelfth century at Cairo, where a Palestinian
and a Babylonian congregation worshipped within the
walls of one city, the former reading the Law in a cycle of
three years, the latter in one year.5
In this book the sounds of Hebrew words and names
occurring in the text will, after the usage of all modern
writers, follow the Sefardic mode of reading, and be
represented by English letters as indicated above; but
wherever the name of a person or place occurs in the Eng
lish Bible the spelling there used will be followed. In
fact, this cannot differ much from the proposed sys
tem, being also based on the Sefardic way of reading
and on the use of the English letters indicated above,
except that simple z is used for tz (Zion ought to be Tzion),
and in all best-known names, such as Moses (Mosheh),
Samuel (Shemuel), Solomon (Shelomo), which had become
part of the language before the Reformation, the English
Bible follows the Latin version, the Vulgate. But while we
go with the Sefardim in pronunciation, we shall, in most
cases, present the forms of prayer of the "Germans," as
the Ashkenazic division of the race is vastly in the ma
jority, and as, moreover, these forms are generally more
concise.6 But while the Sefardim are painfully prolix in many of
the older prayers, they have kept their services almost free
from the "poetries," which began to overwhelm the liturgy
of the Synagogue late in the ninth century, soon after the

DIVISIONS OF THE JE WISH BODY 17
standards for the two branches of Jewry had been estab
lished. Of these compositions the German branch has
adopted many that have no devotional value, and some,
moreover, almost or quite unintelligible even to the best He
brew scholars. In giving very few specimens of this litera
ture, this work will, at least in a negative way, side with the
Sefardim and with the progressive party among the Ger
mans. The Jews of Yemen, few in number, poor, without
worldly power or much learning, are nevertheless of inter
est because some customs survive among them that have
died out everywhere else, and because, in the pronunciation
of Hebrew, they stand midway between Sefardim and Ger
mans or Poles. Like the former they sound the Sheva
mobile, i. e., they do not begin a syllable with two conso
nants, and they do not modify the aspirates of Beth and Tav.
They pronounce the vowels nearly like the Germans, and
they use in their manuscripts generally the "supralinear"
vowelling, which is suited to their pronunciation. In their
ritual, which, through the influence of Maimonides in the
twelfth or thirteenth century, was assimilated to that of the
Sefardim, there are yet some traces of the German ritual
which came to them from Palestine.7 It lies beyond our
purpose to analyze the services of the Karaite sect in the
Crimea, who profess to have cut loose entirely from the
Rabbinical traditions, or of the one small congregation of
Samaritans who are worshipping in their little Synagogue
at Nabloos in central Palestine, and who still sacrifice
their Passover lambs every year.
But there is a sect numbered by hundreds of thousands,
spread through large parts of Poland, Russia, Northern
Hungary, and Roumania, who should not be passed over:
the Hasidim, or "Pious," the followers of Israel Ba'al Shem
Tob (possessor of the good name, i. e., wonder-worker by
the use of divine names). This sect was founded in the first
half of the eighteenth century, and has grown considerably

18 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
in the second half of the nineteenth in measure as it mod
erated its divergences from the general body. The Ha
sidim do not deny the binding force of the laws and customs
of ordinary Jews, but they ascribe a higher value to the
mystic writings, the Cabbala, than to the Talmud, and their
spiritual guides are chosen not for their learning, but for
their supposed miraculous gifts. They pronounce Hebrew
like the other Jews of the countries which they inhabit, but
their Prayer Book is borrowed in the main from the
Sefardic ritual.8

CHAPTER II
HISTORIC BACKGROUND  LIFE-CENTER IN PALESTINE
As we shall in these pages seek to assign every part and
every feature of the Jewish worship of God, by spoken
words in the Synagogue and at the home, to the time of its
origin, we must first sketch and define the periods through
which the Jewish community has passed since the first
beginnings of the order of services which has come down to
our days. These periods fall naturally into two divisions —
the older, when the life of our religion centered within the
Holy Land, at Jerusalem, at Jamnia, and lastly in Galilee,
down to the compilation of the Mishna in or about the year
220 of the present era; and the later, in which the leader
ship of Israel, after remaining for a few hundred years with
the schools of Babylonia, fell into abeyance altogether, and
the nation had no longer a religious any more than a polit
ical center.
In treating of the Palestinian times we need not go back
of the Babylonian exile. The destruction of Solomon's
Temple is usually assigned to the year 588 before the com
mon era. In the year 538 Cyrus became King of Babylon,
and in the first year of his reign as such he published his
famous decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem.
The first colony went out under Zerubbabel of the House
of David, and built an altar on the sacred spot. In the
account which the Book of Ezra has left us of this great
event, we find the one line of our present Prayer Book of
which the continuous use may be traced back to the days of
the old Commonwealth. It was sung by men who had
(19)

20 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
seen the first Temple, as we know also on the inde
pendent testimony of Jeremiah: "Give thanks to the Lord
for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever."1
Much indeed of the Scriptures written before the exile
is read in our Synagogues either as a lesson or by way
of devotion. The Mosaic Code even commands the re
cital of some set forms of words, among them the Priestly
Blessing; and Moses in his farewell address demands that
the whole book should be read to the assembled men,
women, and children once in seven years. Conceding, as
orthodox believers maintain, that these precepts are as old
as the day of Moses, we know from other parts of the Bible,
that for hundreds of years the Mosaic Law was forgotten,
and not a copy of it was in common use.
The exiles in Babylon had no altar nor sacrifice, hence
their strong religious feeling took form in song and praise,
and in listening to the words of inspired teachers. The
"Sons of Asaph," who had acted as the choir in Solomon's
Temple — some of them as the poets and composers for the
choir — kept up their identity while on the banks of the
Euphrates, and sang before the new altar when they came
back to their old home.
There were delays in the building of the Temple; it was
not finished until the sixth year of King Darius. Little
or nothing is known of the religious life of the colony be
tween the Festivals in that year and the coming of Ezra, the
Scribe, and of Nehemiah, the governor, in the reign of Arta
xerxes Longimanus, nearly sixty years later. Here we come
to a great epoch in the life of Israel — the assembly of the
people on the first day of the seventh month, when. Ezra
read the Law of Moses to them between sunrise and high
noon.2 And herewith begins the first historic period in which
the mode of worshipping God otherwise than by sacrifice
was developed in Israel; it is the age of the men of the Great
Synod. As to all details, this period, say from the year 458

LIFE-CENTER IN PALESTINE 21
to the year 201 (the date assigned for the death of Simeon
the Just), is a blank. The Book of Chronicles, written dur
ing this time, records the names of some of the High
Priests; Josephus tells a few incidents of Alexander's entry
into Jerusalem, and how Palestine became an apple of dis
cord between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the successors of
Seleucus, the "Kings of Asia;" but of the inner history of
the people, in law, religion, or customs, we know nothing
but the results. Whether the Great Synod was a council
or only a collective name for many teachers and lawgivers,
and how many men were counted as members of the Synod,
is unknown. The only names handed clown to posterity are
those of Ezra, the founder, and of Simeon the Just, who was
the last among them.3
The men of the Great Synod gathered the national writ
ings; they decided what books should and what books
should not be considered as sacred. We are informed in
the Talmud that they put several of these books, namely
Ezekiel, the twelve smaller Prophets, Daniel, and Esther,
into shape.4 Although the Book of Daniel, many of the
Psalms, and probably the Book of Ecclesiastes were writ
ten in later times, it is clear that with the end of the days
of the Great Synod the idea of a collection of sacred books
— Law, History, Prophets, Songs, and Reflections — had
taken firm root in the Jewish mind.
But the feeling of the necessity for an "oral law," carried
down by honored teachers from generation to generation,
had also grown up. We find a fully developed germ of the
"Oral Law" in the second chapter of Haggai, where the
prophet asks the priest questions in the Law. Where the
Pentateuch laid down a command in a few words, in broad
outlines, the tradition of the fathers would fill in the
details. As to the worship of God by prayer, praise, or study,
the Mosaic law is almost silent. In this field tradition,
taking its root mainly in regulations by men in authority,
was most needed. At the end of the period an outline of a

22 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
daily service seems to have been known and in common
use by the more faithful among the people, as will be
shown hereafter.
Three maxims of the Great Synod are reported: "Be
slow in judgment" (showing that the men composing it
were judges as well as teachers); "set up many disciples"
(evidently in interpretation and in traditional law), and
"make a fence around the law" (showing that they assumed
a law-making power even beyond interpretation). One
saying is ascribed to Simeon the Just: "The world stands
on three things, on the (study of the) Law, on the Service,
and on Charity."5 The very opening of the Mishna proves
that the Great Synod did not regulate worship by spoken
words until it had first settled priestly usages.6
The next period after that of the Great Synod may be
reckoned to the death of Antigonus, the last of the Has-
moneans, in his futile struggle against the Roman power,
about 35 years before the Common Era. It comprises a few
years of quiet and prosperity before Antiochus sought to
force his pagan worship upon the Jews;7 also the war of
twenty-five years which ended with the full independence
of the country under Simeon, the brother of the heroic
Judas Maccabeus; the reigns of the Hasmonean princes,
the invasion of the Romans under Pompey, and the fitful
struggles that followed till the Hasmonean race, in the male
line, was extinguished. We find in this period of one hun
dred and sixty-six years the names of a few great teachers,
not more than two in any one generation, whose opinions
are recorded in the Mishna as authority in the Law; the
oldest of the line of teachers known as Tannaim.8 The
Bible took its final shape during this age, except that even
at its close there was still a dispute about the right of the
Books of Ecclesiastes and Canticles to a place in the
Canon.0 The first of the bearers of the tradition in this period is
"Antigonus, of Socho," of whose views little or nothing is

LIFE-CENTER IN PALESTINE 23
known but his motto: "Be not like servants who serve the
master in order to get their rations, but like servants who
serve the master without regard to their rations; yet should
the fear of Heaven be before your eyes." Talmudic story,
doubted by some modern writers, gives him two disciples,
Zadok and Boethos, who construed his motto into a denial
of rewards in a future life. The latter turned to Epi
curean philosophy, the former became the founder of the
sect of Sadducees (Tscdukiyim), who denied the resurrec
tion, insisted on a literal construction of the Pentateuch,
and rejected all traditional interpretation. They carried
out "eye for eye, tooth for tooth," by taking the eye or
tooth of the offender, while to the followers of tradition
this precept meant no more than an award of money dam
ages for the loss of the member or organ.
The latter, the men of the tradition, by their refinements
in criminal procedure almost abolished the death penalty,
and showed how its infliction by stoning or burning could
be rendered nearly painless.10 The Sadducees were numer
ous only among the wealthy and powerful classes; the
learned men, whom the mass of the people obeyed, were in
somewhat later times called Pharisees (Perushim or Per-
ishin, i. e., the Separated), while among themselves they
took the name of Companions (Haberim). But both of these
names were coined to distinguish them, not so much from
tbe Sadducees, as from the unlearned and indifferent mass,
the "people of the land" (Am ha-aretz).
As all subsequent religious life and learning were drawn
from Pharisaic sources, the leading tendencies of their
school must be briefly stated. They believed in an aristoc
racy of learning, that is, of course, learning in the Law.
Hence the rule in the Mishna, that though the High Priest
must be of the noblest blood and purest descent, yet if he
be "of the people of the land," i. e., unlearned, he is of less
account than a bastard who is a "disciple of the wise" (a
man of Rabbinic learning).11 In their ideal polity the San-

24 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
hedrin, made up of learned judges, was the supreme ruling
body; the King or High Priest must act only under its
advice.12 Though they scrupulously gave tithe of their pro
duce to the priests, yet they thought that every man should
be priest in his own house, and every dining-table his altar;
hence their rule to wash the hands before each meal and to
put salt upon the morsel first eaten.13 The written law
hardly knows of any other mode of worship but that of the
aitar, and though this was accompanied by beautiful hymns
and prayers composed for that very purpose, it could not
satisfy the hearts of the vast majority of Israel, who seldom
or never entered the court-yards. The Sadducees, tying
themselves to the letter of the Mosaic Code, could hardly
busy themselves with composing prayers for the Syna
gogue, as, in the language of the Sages, the obligation to
pray at all "floats in the air," i. e., has little or no sup
port in the Scriptures. But for the greater freedom with
which the Pharisees handled the Law, the religion of Israel
must have come to an end with the permanent destruction
of the Temple. They had the courage to add to the two
hundred and forty-eight positive commands found in the
Pentateuch their own further commands, to read Bible
lessons in the Synagogue at stated times, to sing Psalms of
praise on the Festivals and on the Feast of the Maccabees,
to say prayers three times a day, to bless God not only after,
but also before meals; indeed, they went so far as to draw
up benedictions according to which God has "commanded
us to read the scroll" (the Book of Esther), or "to read the
Praise" (Psalms 113-118).14
The Sadducees of earlier days must not be confounded
with the unpatriotic or Hellenizing Jews who sided with
Antiochus, and were by the Hasidim (the pious), or Patriots,
denounced in the later Psalms and in early parts of tbe
Prayer Book under the name of the Wicked, or Deserters
of the Covenant. In fact, the Sadducees became im
portant and powerful only in the reign of the Hasmonean

LIFE-CE.XTER IN PALESTINE 25
Priest-Kings, John Hyrcanus and Alexander Jannseus,
who were driven into their arms by the sharp opposition
of the great popular party, led, during the reign of the lat
ter, by Simeon ben Shetah, his brother-in-law, and Vice-
President of the Sanhedrin. The "Sages" were cruelly per
secuted, and though, after the King's death, his widow and
successor, Queen Salome, restored the Pharisees to power,
the feeling between the two sects remained very bitter, and
the Sadducees drifted away so far from patriotism that in
Roman times they were generally preferred by the foreign
oppressor for the positions of High Priests and Judges.
We come now to the second period of the Tannaim and
the last period of the Temple service. Antipater for a few
years and after him his son, Herod, Idumeans by de
scent, but Jews by religious profession, were kings by
the support of the Roman arms and in spite of the pro
test of all patriots, who looked upon them not as kings
of Israel, within the meaning of the Scripture, but as tools
of a hated conqueror. There was no hope of getting rid of
the foreign yoke by the unaided bravery of the nation, not
even by such bravery as the highest religious fervor could
inspire, such as gave to the Hasmoneans victory over the
Syrian armies. Nothing would suffice but a deliverance
by signs and wonders, like God's battling in behalf of His
people when He brought them out from under the burdens
of Egypt. Herod sought in vain to offset his cruelties against
the people and their learned leaders by an ostentatious
observance of the ceremonial law and by building a Temple
greater and fairer than that of Solomon; still he was to the
patriots nothing more than an enemy whom God had per
mitted to rule over them, to punish them for their sins.
And times got worse and worse; the Jewish courts, under
the advice of the Sanhedrin, refused to try capital cases;
the land was overrun with robbers and guerrillas in the
guise of patriots ;15 and thus things went on for many years,
except during the short interval when Agrippa, Herod's

26 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
grandson, by the favor of the Emperor Claudius reigned
as King of the Jews, acknowledged and beloved as such by
theSages.16 It was natural that in these times the mind of the
people should turn to the Messianic prophecies in Isaiah,
in Micah, in Zechariah, should connect them with the pre
dictions of God's conciliation with Israel in Deuteronomy
and with the promises of universal peace and well-being and
true belief which are scattered through the Prophets and
Psalms.17 Hence in this age the hope for the speedy com
ing of a Messiah (Mashiah, i. e., Anointed), a King of
Israel from the seed of David, took strong hold of the
people. The critical remark of a scholar that the Israelites
"have already consumed their Messiah," meaning that in
King Hezekiah the most striking prophecies had been
fulfilled, could not change the popular faith.18 Only in this
age, during the first fervor of Messianic hopes, and while
claimants to the Messiah's office fought bravely against
the Romans,19 could Christianity arise; a religious belief
in which the personality of a man, claiming to be the prom
ised Messiah, fills the chief place.
As the hope of a coming Redeemer and the wish for his
speedily coming and ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven
on earth had a marked influence on the Prayer Book, we
must for that reason alone distinguish the last one hundred
and five years of the Temple from the preceding ages. But
there is another change; the Jews are no longer a Common
wealth; they are only a Church; not only in their own eyes,
but in those of the heathen. Their minds are turned from
politics to the study and practice of their religious law more
than ever before. The schools of Hillel and Shammai
gather many hundreds of pupils, who in their turn become
teachers for another generation. Tlie Patriarchate, stripped
of its political power, becomes hereditary, with few breaks,
with the descendants of Hillel, who for four centuries
remained faithful to the cause. While only a few sayings
of the older Sages are recorded, the disputes between the

LIFE-CENTER IN PALESTINE 27
schools of Hillel and Shammai cover hundreds of points,
sometimes weighty, as in the matter of divorce, oftener on
unimportant ceremonial questions.20 For those who lived
at a distance from Palestine, took no part in the ser
vices of the Temple, and were not bound by the laws of
tithing and tribute and first-fruits, etc., applicable to the
Holy Land alone, orthodox Judaism took pretty much the
shape then which it had within living memory and which
it still has in the East.
A grandson of Hillel was Rabban Gamaliel, so well
known to the Gentile world as the teacher of Paul of Tarsus,
and it seems that he was the last President of the Sanhedrin
while it sat at Jerusalem.
Among the other great names of this century are Jona
than ben Uzziel, the expounder and translator of the pro
phetic books; Rabbi Ishmael, one of the latest of the High
Priests; and Rabban Johanan ben Zaccai, who survived
the tragic end of Jerusalem, and became the founder of
the new Judaism.
In the period just considered a sharp difference was
developed between the "Haberim," or companions, or "dis
ciples of the wise," in short, the Pharisees, and the common
people (Am ha-aretz). Of this the Synoptic Gospels bear
abundant witness. The dislike was mutual. Rabbi Akiba,
who died as a very old man and as the most esteemed Rabbi
of his age in the next following period, had in his younger
days been one of the "people of the land," and he acknowl
edges that while he was such he felt, at the sight of a "dis
ciple of the wise," the desire to "tear him to pieces like a
fish."21 Many differences between the "companions" and
the "people" are found both in the Gospels and in the Tal
mud. The most striking is the unbending custom of the
former to wash their hands before partaking of bread;
another, their distrust of the latter as to regularly tithing
their corn, oil, and wine; for both of which reasons the
former were unwilling to eat "with publicans and sin-

28 JEWISH SER VICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
ners."22 The great practical difference was that between
learning and ignorance. As the religious law embraced not
only ceremony and dogma but the moral duties of man to
man and the mutual rights of men and of women in all ques
tions of contract, of tort, of inheritance, of marriage and
divorce, and of criminal procedure, and as in those days
there were very few branches of knowledge outside of law
and religion to which studious minds could turn, it came
naturally that the Pharisees, notwithstanding their aversion
to Greek philosophy and heathen influences, were much
more enlightened than the "people of the land." The latter
wanted an emotional religion in which good and evil spirits,
especially the latter, played a prominent part. They were
fond of miracle workers, while the learned Rabbis, from the
days of Joshua ben Sira (Jesus Sirach) down, looked upon
medicine as a science.23 The "people" were in constant
fear of hell and its torments, while the learned of the age
referred to Ge-Hinnom seldom and then only by the use of
popular sayings. Enlightenment remained in the lead as
long as Jewish life centered in the Holy Land.
After the destruction of the Temple, Rabban Johanan
ben Zaccai obtained leave from Vespasianus to establish a
school of the Law at Jamnia,24 and there laid the founda
tion of the present Synagogue, which has no need for altar
or offerings. But the people continued to long for the old
service; they had been told that the blood of sacrifice was
indispensable to the atonement of sin; there could be no
sacrifice but on the Holy Mountain, and access to that was
denied by the stern Roman. For all national holidays, all
great rejoicings, Jerusalem had been the scene. "Who has
not seen the gladness of the water-drawing house, has never
seen gladness in all his days," was the sad plaint of the sur
vivors to the younger generation. We thus find a new ele
ment naturally introduced into the order of prayers: Build
thy Temple again, which has been destroyed through our
own sins, and restore its service! The desire for a speedy

LIFE-CENTER IN PALESTINE 29
coming of the Messiah became stronger, and was inter
twined with the hopes for the recovery of Jerusalem and
the rebuilding of the Temple.
Fifty years after its destruction by Titus, the Jews in
northern Palestine had so increased in numbers and pros
perity that they felt strong enough to essay a new rebellion
against the Roman Colossus. Its military leader, Simeon
bar Cochba (son of the star), announced himself as the
promised Messiah, and it found spiritual support from R.
Akiba, the most learned and pious Sage of his time, who
accepted Bar Cochba's claims only when, after a learned
and labored research, he had come to the conclusion that
there could be a restoration without the previous re-appear
ance of the lost tribes.25 The rebellion or series of rebel
lions was not finally put down for twelve or thirteen years.
The forces under Bar Cochba finally stood a siege in the
mountain fortress of Bethar; they were, of course, over
come; five hundred thousand men, women, and children
lost their lives ; R. Akiba and many of his colleagues died as
martyrs; thousands of the survivors were deported to the
shores of the Rhine; Northern Palestine for twenty years
became a waste, as the South Country had been before.
Yet the cruel lesson left the hopes for the coming Messiah
as deep-seated as before.26 The school and Sanhedrin at
Jamnia were now broken up ; it took many years before the
torn threads were gathered up and a new school and new
Sanhedrin were established at Usha, further north. Under
Simeon ben Gamaliel, of the old line of Patriarchs, the
school soon attained high standing, and drew to itself great
numbers of eager learners. The Sanhedrin again fixed the
New Moon and Feasts for the Jews of the dispersion; this
being the badge of supreme authority. It attained its high
est splendor with Rabbi Judah the Saint, a man noted for
his great learning, the purity of his life, for his wealth, and
for the favor in which he was held by the Romans.27 Two
generations before him R. Me'ir had made an attempt to

30 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
codify the tradition, or Mishna (perhaps R. Akiba before
him) ; this was probably only by word of mouth, or in a pri
vately-kept manuscript, in short aphorisms which the disci
ples might learn by heart; for it was still deemed dangerous
to write down the oral law and thus put it on a level with
the Mosaic Code.28 With these older works before him,
Rabbi Judah undertook to collect the substance of all the
Pharisaic learning down to his own time.
The product is the Mishna, with its sixty-three treatises,
which, in turn, are subdivided into chapters and sections,
all arranged in six "orders."29 This became henceforth
the basis of all discussion, and thus a broad line was
drawn between the old Sages, whose opinions were here
recorded, and their successors in later ages. But much
of the old lore remained outside of the compilation, and is
known as Baraitha (the outside). This has been preserved
either in certain commentaries on the second, third, fourth,
and fifth books of Moses and in additions to the Mishna,
written by Rabbi Judah's disciples,30 or by quotations in
the Gemara, of which hereafter.
The Mishna treats in full detail of King and of High
Priest, of capital crimes and punishments, of the Temple and
of sacrifice,31 not for historic information, but for the day
when Israel, free from foreign yoke, will again live under
its own King and High Priest and its own laws, and bring
grateful offerings on Mount Zion. One passage sets forth
the signs which will indicate the speedy coming of the Mes
siah; but this is generally thought to be a later addition to
the Mishna as first compiled.
In the disapproval of superstitions the later Tannaim are
even more decided than their predecessors; probably by
way of reaction against the miracles and exorcising of the
Jewish Christians. R. Akiba reckons among those "who
have no share in the world to come," him "who whis
pers over a sore," that is, who pretends to cure it by mean -
tation or by casting out devils.32 The same sober arid

LIFE-CENTER IN PALESTINE 3 1
enlightened tone is not always found in the Baraitha as in
the Mishna; perhaps because superstitious sayings were
rejected by the great compiler of that Code; more probably
because those who in the Gemara claimed to quote ancient
sayings from hearsay after hearsay, projected their own
superstitions into an earlier and more enlightened age.33
The moral standard of the Mishna for the daily inter
course between man and man is very high. After the legal
requisites to make a binding contract of sale are minutely
set forth, the vengeance of God is invoked upon him who
takes advantage of these rules to break his plighted word.
To hurt a man's feelings by reminding him of his weak
nesses is deemed as wrong as to cheat him in trade; to
"blanch a man's face in public" is one of the unpardonable
sins. One of the old heroes refuses the Patriarchate be
cause to gain it he would have to yield to the majority
his opinions on a few trifling points of ceremonial law; he
answers, "I would rather be thought a fool all my life than
be wicked for even one hour."34
The language of the Mishna is Hebrew of the Galilean
dialect in its decay, with some Aramaic and some Baby
lonian forms, and mixed with many Aramaic and Greek
and a few Babylonian and Latin words, but it is still
Hebrew.35 Some noted Rabbis of this period will be spoken of here
after as identified with some one or other tendency or insti
tution. During all these ages in which "the law went forth," if
not from Jerusalem, at least from Palestine, many Jews, and
towards the last a majority of them, lived outside of the
sacred borders. In Babylonia and Mesopotamia descend
ants of those whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried there lived,
multiplied, and prospered; Hillel himself was born there,
but became a leader of thought only after coming to Jeru
salem. We also hear in the Mishna often about the Jews
settled in Syria, right north of the border, and in Cappa-

32 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
docia. All these adhered closely to the teaching of the
Pharisaic Rabbis. Then there were vast numbers at Alex
andria and in other cities of Lower Egypt, who carried on
their worship and studies mainly by the aid of Greek trans
lations, and who were, in a measure, allowed to go their
own way. Among them Philo, a contemporary of Paul
of Tarsus, is most noted. Among books which have come
down to our time, his works are the first to exhibit Hebrew
faith blended with Pythagorean and Platonic and perhaps
with Hindoo speculations. Of this hereafter. There were
also Greek-speaking Jews in great numbers in Cyrenaica,
the present Tripoli, thoroughly in sympathy with their
brethren at the old home. Many of them fought under Bar
Cochba in the last war for Israel's independence. There
were Synagogues in Rome even in the days of Caesar, and
they have been there ever since. Horace* and other Latin
writers speak of the wide spread of Jewish beliefs and of
Sabbath observance.36 The New Testament bears witness
to the diffusion of Jews through Greece and its colonies;
Josephus, to the conversion of the King and many of the
citizens of Adiabene, or "Little Media."37 But, with the
exception of the Alexandrians, all took their law as it came
to them from Jerusalem, Jamnia, and the seats of the Patri
archs at Usha and Beth Shearim in Galilee.
Besides the divisions of the Jewish body named above,
there were, according to the Mishna, both before and after
the destruction of the Temple, sectaries, hated and consid
ered as dangerous, known as Minim.38 What the origin
and what the tenets or distinguishing marks of these sec
taries were, whether in fact one or several bodies of dis
senters were thus designated, is uncertain. It. is possible
that Jewish Christians are generally meant, but some pass
ages forbid this assumption.39

CHAPTER III
HISTORIC BACKGROUND  CENTER NO LONGER IN
PALESTINE
In about 220 the Patriarchate was moved to Tiberias on
the Syrian border, where it remained till it disappeared two
hundred years later. But no great men arose like Johanan
ben Zaccai or R. Akiba or Rabban Gamaliel. Tiberias could
not rule the dispersion; the leadership of Israel fled to
schools planted on the Euphrates among the descendants
of those whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried from Judea.
Of the later teachers at Tiberias only three need be named,
R. Hiya, the foremost pupil of Judah the Saint; R. Simlai,
who counted the 613 (365 positive and 248 negative) pre
cepts of the Tora, and showed how Prophets and Psalmists
had reduced them to their kernel in eleven principles or
even one, and, lastly, the Patriarch, Hillel the Younger,
who, yielding to the growing enmity of the Christian em
perors in about 360, gave up the old badge of Palestine's
supremacy, the proclamation of New Moons and New
Years, and adopted the Athenian calendar, modified for Jew
ish purposes, as will be shown in another chapter. To these
might be added Resh Lakish and Joshua ben Levi, masters
of legend in their own time and its heroes in following
generations.1 The discussions of the Sages of Tiberias upon the Mishna
have been collected into the so-called Jerusalem Talmud,
but by reason of the low esteem in which they were held
by the Jews of other countries, great parts thereof have been
lost, and other parts preserved only in single, often quite
imperfect and incorrect copies. The treatises^orL.mayaw
3 (33) ^WalT 0f *6e"

/^ 1

34 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
are treated least fully, and in these discussions, as far
as they have reached us, very few new forms of prayer are
found; but they contain much important information not
found elsewhere on the growth of the liturgy.
About the life of the Jews in Babylonia down to the re
vival of the Persian Kingdom by Ardeshir, son of Sassan,
in the year 227, nothing is known. But at this time, when
by the decay of Palestine the men of the East came to* the
foreground, history dawns upon them. We find the institu
tion of a hereditary Chief of the Exile (Resh Gelutha), to
whom the former Parthian, and now the Neo-Persian, Kings
allowed very large governing powers over the Jewish popu
lation, which appears to have lived in compact settlements
and to have consisted mainly of industrious, well-to-do.
contented farmers. It was afterwards contended that these
Chiefs had had a continued succession from the days of
Zerubbabel, and were through him descended from King
David; but this is hardly more than a myth. The Chief of
the Exile, often himself a man of Rabbinical learning,
appointed the chiefs of the colleges, which took rise about
the year last mentioned.2
The subject to be taught in these schools was the whole
mass of traditions and a world of thought and of method
which had grown up in the course of at least four hundred
years. Naturally, therefore, the first two teachers of the
East had studied in the West; they were Abba Areka, after
wards known as "Rab," and Samuel, a man possessed of
all the learning of his time, including medicine and
astronomy. The former became head of the school at
Sura, the latter at Nehardea, and as such they formed the
first of the Babylonian "couples," whose opinions the
Talmud habitually gives side by side. These two men,
especially the former, did much towards bringing the order
of prayers into the fixed form which it has at the present
day. Both died before the middle of the third century.3
The discussions of the Eastern schools or colleges (Methi-

CENTER NO LONGER IN PALESTINE 35
batha) arc very full on the laws of Mine and Thine, on the
observance of Sabbath and Festivals, and on the service of
the Synagogue, but leave untouched parts of the Mishna
dealing with tithes and other burdens on the farm (as
these applied to the Holy Land only) and those which deal
with Levitical cleanness. The teachers who appear either
at Tiberias or in the East, and whose discussions are based
on the Mishna, are known by the general designation of
Emoraim, as distinguished from the Tannaim that pre
ceded them; and their discussions are known as "Gemara,"
that is, completion. The Jerusalem Talmud seems to have
been completed in the second half of the fourth century;
the Babylonian Talmud (which records many of the best
sayings of the later Palestinian teachers) was not closed
till about the year 480, and in its present form contains a
few somewhat later additions. The sudden outbreak of a
persecuting spirit in the Persian government, which dis
persed teachers and scholars, may have been a determining
cause for reducing into a written collection, and thus pre
serving for the Jews elsewhere and for later generations,
the best results of what had been said and done in the
schools, now of Sura (or Mahasia) and Pumbeditha (which
succeeded Nehardea), during the lapse of almost three
hundred years. In this collection, known as the Babylonian
Talmud, is preserved, forming its most valuable part, much
of the Bara'itha, that is, the sayings of the olden ante-
Mishna times, which are quoted therein from recollection
and tradition, often to exhibit their conflict with the official
body of the Mishna ; and though not so reliable as the latter,
yet needed as material for the history of Jewish institutions,
such as the services of the Synagogue. The best sayings
of the Palestinian teachers (such as those named in the
beginning of this chapter) are also found in the Babylonian
Talmud. The chain of tradition is carried down to five
sets of disciples, who became in turn the leading teachers
of their day, as Rab and Samuel had been in their day; the

36 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
fifth and last of these, R. Ashe and Rabina, are called the
"end of authority," and they made the first attempt to write
down the Babylonian Talmud.4
After Rab and Samuel all touch of the Eastern schools
with Hellenic learning was lost. Thus, where the Mishna
declares that an "Epikuros" has no share in the future
world, the Babylonian doctors, commenting thereon, have
no idea that this is the name of a Greek philosopher; nor
do they know the bearings of his system, and they try to
derive the word from a Hebrew or Aramaic root. They
often disclaim all knowledge of geography or of astronomy,5
though Samuel still claimed that the paths of the starry sky
were as familiar to him as the streets of Nehardea,6 and the
opinions of the Talmud on all branches of science, on lan
guage, and on history are in most cases crude and unschol-
arly. But in the face of much ignorance and of not a little
superstitious ghost-lore, the freedom with which opinion
was expressed in discussion would do honor to later and
more enlightened ages. Thus, in a discussion about the ex
pected coming of the Messiah, we find one Rabbi (Giddol),
whose authority is often quoted as good law, making sport
(as it seems to the writer) of all Messianic hopes, while
another (Hillel), like our higher critics, says: Israel has
already "eaten" its Messiah in King Hezekiah. For this
view he is not excommunicated, but only confronted with
the words of a prophet who lived after that King: "Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion, etc.: behold, thy King cometh"
(Zech. 9: 9).7 The high moral standard set by the Sages of
the Mishna is fully maintained; the law of Mine and Thine
is worked out iii a righteous spirit and with wonderful
acuteness; woman is cherished and honored. Abhorrence is
expressed for him who divorces a wife that is the mother of
his children. Raba, chief of the school at Mahusa, tells his
towns-people : "Do honor to your wives; only thus can you
prosper." And whatever wild fancies the Babylonians may
have entertained about angels and devils, hell and paradise,

CENTER NO LONGER IN PALESTINE 37
they never gave expression to them in the benedictions and
devotions which they drew up and recommended to their
people.8 The Talmud often speaks of the old divisions between
Pharisee and Sadducee, between "companions" and "people
of the land;" but, when we scan it attentively, we see
that this is altogether "ancient history." There was no
organized body of Sadducees on the Euphrates; if men in
power at times acted on Sadducean principles, it was from.
ignorance or inborn cruelty.9 The laws of Levitical purity
and of tithes, by the careful observance of which the "com
panions" had mainly distinguished themselves from the
"people," had fallen into disuse, or never were applicable
"outside of the land." Occasionally we hear of the mass
of Babylonian Jews becoming weary of Rabbinical hair
splitting;10 but, upon the whole, they followed the leader
ship of the learned, and attended in great crowds the half-
yearly meetings in the month before the Passover and in
that before the autumnal feasts, to listen to the popular
teachings of the Heads of Assembly (Reshe Calla).11 Nor
were they disturbed by' the Christian heresy; it is said,
"There are no Minim at Nehardea."12
Both the Talmuds are written in Aramaic dialects; the
Palestinian in one nearly allied to that of the Christians of
Antioch and Edessa; the Babylonian in one which seems
to be the natural outgrowth of the Biblical Aramaic, found
in the books of Ezra and Daniel.13 It is necessarily much
mixed with Hebrew, the former also greatly with Greek
and Latin, the latter slightly with Persian. The quotations
of Mishna and Baraitha and Scripture maintain, of course,
their original garb.
So much had to be said about the Talmud, because it, and
particularly the part elaborated on the banks of the Eu
phrates, was for almost fourteen hundred years the chief
mental food of the Jewish nation.
Wholly independent of the Babylonian schools, and long

38 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
after the authoritative teaching of the Oral Law had ceased
at Tiberias and Cassarea, a band of men in Northern Galilee,
whose names and exact era have been utterly lost and for
gotten, performed a great service not for their race only,
but for men of all races and creeds who seek to understand
the Hebrew Scriptures. They contrived a system of vowel
signs and other diacritic marks (such as the Dagesh for
doubling consonants or for taking away the aspiration
from some of them), and they applied these signs and
marks with great consistency to the text of the twenty-four
books. Their system, as the names of some of the vowels
show, was borrowed from that of the Syrians, which in
turn was due in part to Greek influences. For a language
no longer spoken, in which the change of vowels is so fre
quent and means so much, this help to the learner had
become almost indispensable. It seems that the system
took shape in about the year 6oo.14 During the sixth and
seventh centuries the Babylonian schools did but little to
affect the current of Jewish life. However, in this time
efforts were made in the Tosifta (Addition) to collect and
to write down at the end of each treatise of the Mishna such
of the old traditions on the Law as were not elsewhere to
be readily found. The Treatise of Scribes (Soferim) as to
the preparation of scrolls of the Law and of phylacteries and
about their use in the services, and the Treatise on Joys
(Semahoth), so called by euphemy, which treats of the rules
of Mourning, were also elaborated in this period, or not
much later.15 The men in authority were known as
Seburdim, "opinion givers."
In the eighth century, under the powerful and benign
government of the Khalifs of Bagdad, the schools at Sura (or
Mahasia) and Pumbeditha again rose in importance. The
head of the former took the title of Gaon (excellency), in imi
tation of that of Illustrissimus, which the Patriarchs at
Tiberias had enjoyed under Diocletian and his successors.
The Gaon was a sort of Grand Rabbi for all the Jews of the

CENTER NO LONGER IN PALESTINE 39
world by means of "Questions and Responses" (Shcclthoth
u-Thcshuboth), of which volumes are still extant. Ques
tions were directed to him from distant lands, which he
answered, and these answers generally were regarded as
law. Natronai and Amram were particularly active in the
ninth century ; the latter, by way of a response, sent out to
Spain the sketch of a liturgy which goes by his name.
Saadia, in the tenth century, is better known through other
literary work than through what he wrote or said ex
cathedra. Sherira, who died at the end of the tenth century,
is mainly known as an historian, the predecessor and in
part the authority of Jost and Graetz. With R. Hai, who
died in 1040, the line of the Geonim came to an end.
And now a Grand Rabbi on the Euphrates was no longer
needed. In the ninth century the Jews of Europe and
Africa show signs of literary activity. The earliest name is
that of an Italian, Moses ben Kalonymos, who carried Rab
binic learning to Germany, where it flourished among his
descendants for four centuries. Eleazar, surnamed Kalir,
was about the first author of poetry for the service; some
derive his surname from Cagliari, some place his birthplace
in Africa. Saadia, of Fayum, in Egypt, reached such fame
as a philosopher, poet, and commentator that he was called
thence to the post of Gaon, or Excellency, at Mahasia. R.
Isaac Alfassi (i. e., of Fez) in the eleventh century worked
out a Code of Talmudic law, which is still studied, as the
pioneer in its line. In the eleventh century the "golden
Spanish Age" began and ran its course to the end of the
thirteenth. Its brightest stars are Solomon Ibn Gebirol
as poet, both sacred and secular; Jehuda Hallevi, who alone
wrote poetry in the truest sense in Hebrew after its extinc
tion as a living tongue, and who, in his Cuzari, has left a
monument to his own scholarship and clear head, and an
immortal defence of his religion; the brothers Ibn Ezra,
sacred poets; the keen-witted philosopher, Abraham Ibn
Ezra, the first who taught men to read the Bible according *

40 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
to its context and natural sense, and not as a quotation
book; the grammarian, David Kimhi, and after these Moses,
the son of Maimun, scholar, physician, Talmudist, creed-
maker; the man who identified the God of the Bible with
the God of philosophy; the author not only of the ration
alizing "Teacher of the Perplexed" (More Nebuchim), but of
a commentary on the Mishna and of that Code of Talmudic
Law (including much of the service book) which for nearly
three centuries was acknowledged as authority in all the
countries along the Mediterranean; for when Maimonides
left Spain for Egypt and took service at Cairo with Sultan
Saladin, his overmastering fame imposed on the Orient
the customs and ritual of Spain. All these and others who
wrote on ethics and metaphysics from the Jewish stand
point were born and raised under Moslem surroundings,
and many of their works were written in Arabic. But the
fall of the Kingdom of Cordova, in 1212, did not cut off the
line of great men in Israel. Even in the Kingdom of Ara-
gon, which had been Christian for centuries, a man arose
almost equal in genius and importance to the coryphei of
Arabic Spain, R. Moses ben Nahman (Nachmanides), of
Gerona. Though a thinker and deeply versed in the secular
learning of his age, he was, by the warmth of his tempera
ment, led to favor the Mystics in some of their vagaries.
But the Commentary on the Pentateuch, supplementing
those of Rashi and Ibn Ezra, which he wrote in Palestine as
an exile from home, in his last days, proved his well-bal
anced mind and clear understanding; it was not improved
on till the new weapons of modern science were brought to
bear on the exegesis of Holy Writ. The Jewish scholars
of the thirteenth century did a great service to their brethren
in northern Europe as well as to their own countrymen by
translating from Arabic into Hebrew the works of Jehuda
Hallevi, Maimonides, and their fellow- workers.
A Spanish Jew of much less ability or fame cannot be
.passed by here; it is David, son (or grandson) of Abu-

CENTER NO L ONGER IN PALESTINE

41

Dirhem, generally known as Abudraham, of Sevilla, who,
about the year 1340, wrote a critical analysis of and com
mentary on the services of the Synagogue as they were then
carried on in Spain. His book has been to the writer one of
the richest sources for the historic features of this work.
In France (of which the Jews of Angevin England were
an outlying post) and in Germany, there was none of the
broad culture reaching back through Arabic channels to
the philosophers and mathematicians of Athens and Alex
andria. But, as far as the old traditions, common sense,
and hard work sufficed, great results were achieved. Rabbi
Solomon ben Isaac, better known by his initials as Rashi,
who was born in northwestern France and died at Worms
in 1 105, performed alone the stupendous task of comment
ing by running notes on the Pentateuch and other parts
of the Bible and very nearly on the whole of the Baby
lonian Talmud. The great Spanish commentators on the
Pentateuch, Ibn Ezra and Nachmanides, had his com
mentary of the Pentateuch before them, and added their
own notes where his seemed to them either insufficient or
erroneous. His comment on the Talmud was accompanied,
in the twelfth century, by "Additions" (Tosefoth), the work
of his immediate or mediate disciples, foremost among them
his grandson, Rabbenu Jacob the Perfect (Tarn). The last
in time of the "Tosafists" was R. Meir of Rothenburg, who
died in prison, in 1293, the victim of oppression.
In northern Europe there was then much less tolerance
of opinion than among the Sefardim. Some of the Rabbis
along the Rhine hedged the Prayer Book about with a
sacredness hardly less than that due to Scripture. Fore
most among them was R. Jehuda, the Pious, who de
nounced all changes from the "type" as wicked and blas
phemous.16 In the year 1208 (4968 A. M.) Rabbi Simha, of Vitry in
France, who calls himself a disciple of Rashi, but was so only
in an indirect way, published his Mahzor, or Cycle, for the

42 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
year. It has reached our days in several manuscript
copies; it was brought out in print by the Mekitze Nirda-
mim Society in 1892.
During the later middle ages Spain and Germany re
mained in touch. While Rashi formed the starting point
for the Spanish commentators of the Pentateuch, the Arabic
works of the great Spanish writers, in Hebrew translations,
were studied in the North, and though the rationalizing of
Maimonides in his "Teacher of the Perplexed" and in the
opening chapters of his Code met with violent opposition
in France and Germany, his creed of thirteen articles was
approved, and, when set to measure, sung in all the Syna
gogues on both sides of the Rhine. The successors of
Rashi down to Meir of Rothenburg were quoted and
admired in Spain, and a disciple of R. Meir, R. Asher,
known as Rosh, fleeing from oppression at home, became
Rabbi at Toledo, where he died in the early part of the
fourteenth century.17
The next important events in the religious history of the
Jews to be considered are the compilation of a new Code
by R. Joseph Karo, a Palestinian of Spanish origin, in the
middle of the sixteenth century, in accordance with the
Sefardic custom, and its annotation by R. Moses Isserles
(R'mo) of Cracow, said to have been a friend and assistant
of Kepler, early in the seventeenth century; the modifications
being made to adapt the book to the usages of the German
and Polish Jews. This code, especially in the form put upon
it by the young scholar of Cracow, shows an iron rigor
worthy of the mathematician. Its leading rule is this:
Whatever restriction or irksome duty the Jews or any large
section among them have laid upon themselves, is and
remains the law for all and for all time.
Karo's Code is known as the "Set Table" (Shulhan Aruch).
Of its four parts, one, the "Path of Life" (Orah Hayim),
treats of the services and of the Sabbath and Feasts; one
deals with the dietary laws; one, with husband and wife; the

CENTER NO LONGER IN PALESTINE 43
last, with property rights. Unlike Maimonides' Code it
does not start on a dogmatic basis nor deal with things long
since out of date. Property rights are treated because, in
those times, Jews everywhere enjoyed a kind of autonomy
in their disputes. Joseph Karo's work was soon acknowl
edged as the standard in all Sefardic communities, and, as
annotated at Cracow, by all the German Jews. It regulates
carefully every act of life from the cradle to the grave; its
rules are well arranged, and each of them is easily found.
By the common herd in Germany and Poland, young
Moses of Cracow was long held in higher esteem than old
Moses himself and all the Sages of the Mishna.
Thus, much that had been liquid became fixed. However,
additions were still made to the liturgy, some by the sinister
efforts of the Cabbalists, some through the wondrous effects
of one short poem, some through the desire of orphans to
procure "merit" for their dead parents.
The establishment of wealthy colonies by the fugitives
from Spain and Portugal in Amsterdam, London, and Ham
burg, during the seventeenth century, brought about some
mutual borrowing between the Jews of the German and
those of the Sefardic Minhag. It was always easy to add,
but until within living memory almost impossible to drop,
anything once introduced into the service book.
The persecutions to which the Jews were subjected at
different times and in different countries for eighteen hun
dred years have had very little effect in modifying the ser
vices or in producing new prayers or plaints except in the
fast day services. Their effect was simply to intensify
Israel's faith and render it less receptive of foreign beliefs
and modes of thought. Hence it is not necessary to speak
of them in this place.
In the next chapters the history of two kindred lines of
religious thought and literature, having a strong bearing
on our services, will be touched upon separately.

CHAPTER IV
MIDRASH AND AGGADTA
The Talmud, taken in its widest sense, deals not with
rules of conduct (Halacha) only, but with matters of belief
as well. It tells many stories, both about Biblical per
sonages, filling out the loose outlines of the text, and about
the wise and great men (and a few women also) of
whose thoughts and discussion the Talmud is made up;
other stories too; bold metaphors about things divine; not
a little about angels and evil spirits; homilies on detached
verses of Holy Writ ; guesses (sometimes containing a grain
of history) about the origin of Biblical books; views of na
ture, of medicine (always rather crude), and what not. These
things are not discussed between contending schools or
between the greater and lesser number; they are simply
accredited to the one man who says thus and so. Beside the
Talmud and the old Commentaries already spoken of, which
in some sense are a part of the Talmud, there is a literature
of works, known as "Midrash,"1 reaching down to a very
late age, not dealing with matters of conduct, but only with
the other subjects of religious and national life com
prised under the Hebrew word Haggada, i. e., Tale, or
its Aramaic transformation, Aggadta.2 Midrash means
literally a searching, and denotes an interpretation of Scrip
ture other than the obvious one. When the search is not
to lead to rules of conduct, but only to an impressive say
ing, a sense is arrived at neither obvious nor seriously
meant for the true one ; in fact, two or three different mean
ings are often suggested for the same verse. In short, the
Midrash is hardly more than a collection of heads for ser-
(44)

MIDRASH AND AGGADTA 45
mons.3 This whole branch of literature belongs much more
to Palestine than to Babylon; the teachers quoted in the
Midrash are mainly Palestinians; on disputed points it
agrees more with the Jerusalem Talmud than with the
Babylonian, and the language is richly interspersed with
Greek words, the distinguishing mark ri the "West."
Our old Sages would not, or could not, vote on points
for belief. Thus, when they wanted to decide which
books should be received into the Canon, they first made a
rule that whoever touches a sacred book must afterwards
wash his hands; then they voted whether you must wash
your hands after touching Canticles or Ecclesiastes.1 But
on a few great questions, such as the belief in a future life,
or the hope for a coming redeemer, a decision was prac
tically made by embodying such belief and hope in the form
of prayer and then ordaining, as a matter of conduct, that
every Israelite should recite this prayer thrice a day. For
tunately the portions of the service which law-observing
Jews of any learning consider as obligatory were framed
when good sense and enlightenment still ruled; that is, either
before or very soon after the compilation of the Mishna.
The formulas of those early days were extended, and some
what "enriched," between the first half of the third century
and the close of the eighth. But beyond a multiplication
of words of like sense, in a manner repugnant to Western
taste, hardly any fault can be found with these extensions;
there is very little allusion to "Aggadta," and none that
is offensive to reverential feelings,5 and this for a good
reason — there was still a central authority in the schools of
Tiberias and of Nehardea, Sura, and Pumbeditha. As
Midrash and Aggadta represented at most the opinions of
single men, often only their suggestions or the play of their
wit, the Patriarchs or Geonim at the heads oi these schools
would not lightly, by embodying this material in the order
of prayers, force it upon the consciences of the people.
A strong instance of a Midrash which has borne fruit

46 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
in an important part of the services is that which turns
the Day of Memorial, or New Year's Day, into the Day
of Judgment. Psalm 81 : 4, 5 reads according to the Jew
ish rendering: "Blow ye the cornet (Shofar) in the new
moon: at the darkening, the day of our feast; for it is
a statute for Israel, a judgment with the God of Jacob."
The plain meaning of "judgment" here is a synonym for
statute; the Hebrew word (Mishpat) is very often used in
this sense. But the "search" of Scripture leads elsewhere.
The only Feast which falls on a new moon, or darkening, is
that on the first day of the seventh month, when the Law
bids us blow the cornet. This is a "statute for Israel," but it
is a Day of Judgment not for Israel alone, but for all nations;
the day of "judgment with the God of Jacob," the one day
in the year on which he judges all the world.6 It is not at
all improbable though, that the belief in this yearly judgment
day had grown up independently before the research into
this Psalm verse yielded a ground for such a belief. But
there is hardly any other Midrash, any other view or
thought not plainly or apparently Scriptural, which can be
found in the old liturgies as they were received in Europe
and Africa early in the ninth century.7
Again: The eighth or concluding day of the Feast of
Tabernacles became at an early day a symbol for the time
when the Messiah should deliver Israel. The wars of Gog,
of the land of Magog, predicted by Ezekiel, were expected
to occur shortly before the Messiah's triumphant entry into
his Kingdom.8 Hence a chapter from the prophecy on
Gog, prince of Rosh, is read as a lesson on the Sabbath
preceding that festive day. The choice of the lesson rests
on a. Midrash, but the lesson might have been chosen on
other grounds, and few inquire why Gog-Magog is read on
that day. *
But when we come to the so-called "poetries" which were
added from time to time to the old liturgy, then Midrash
and Aggadta enter largely. Sometimes the old materials

MIDRASH . IND AGGADTA 47
are simply thrown into better Hebrew and poetical form, and
have thus become better known to the Jewish public through
the service book for the Festivals than they ever could become
through the heavy volumes of the Talmud or Midrash, from
which the poet culled them. Such is the story of the Ten
Martyrs, ten highly-learned and pious Rabbis, murdered
cruelly by the order of Roman emperors; true in the main,
but full of legendary embellishments.9 There is a story
about Abraham, extensively known even among Christians
and Moslems, how, in his youth, he was by Nimrod's com
mands thrown into a fiery furnace for his refusal to serve
idols. It comes from a "search" into the words "Ur of the
Chaldeans," from which the patriarch was brought. Ur in
Hebrew means a bright fire; but in Babylonian, Ur means
"city," and is the name of a city. The story is briefly told
in Festival hymns among the trials of the Patriarch.10
There is another class of Midrashim in which the Israel
ite as the child of God takes some liberties in speaking of
his Heavenly Father. We quote an example. A Rabbi says :
Whence do we know that God puts on phylacteries?
It is said (Isa. 62: 8): The Lord has sworn by his right
hand, by his strong arm. The strong arm means the
phylacteries; for it is said (Ps. 29: 11): The Lord gives
strength to his people! And how do I know that the phy
lacteries are a strength to Israel? Because it is written
(Deut. 28: 10): All the nations of the earth shall see that
God's name is pronounced upon thee, and shall be afeard
of thee. To the question which is naturally asked, what is
written in these phylacteries? the answer is: Where is like
thy people Israel one people on the earth (1 Chr. 17: 2)? In
other words, as Israel in the words inscribed professes the
One God, so their Heavenly Father makes a corresponding
profession of one people.11 The notion of God putting on
phylacteries being once started, there was a ready explana
tion of the words with which Exodus 33 closes: Thou
shalt see my back parts, but my face cannot be seen. This

48 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
means naturally then that God showed Moses only the
knot in tbe rear by which the phylacteries are tied round
the head.12 These passages are alluded to in the words of
the "Song of Glory:" "He showed the knot of the Tephil-
lin to the meekest of men."13
Sometimes a Midrash has been thought out after the
introduction of words or ceremonies in the service, osten
sibly to find grounds for them, but really to awaken pious
feelings or memories when these words are spoken or the
ceremony is performed. Thus the Sages at Tiberias give five
several reasons for the custom of drinking four cups of wine
at the Passover night service. The first of them derives the
number four from the fourfold promise God made through
Moses to Israel (Ex. 6): I will bring you forth, I will
deliver you, I will redeem you, I will take you for a people.
The other reasons are rather far-fetched. This alone is
widely known. A well-posted father tells it to his children
at the Passover supper/ and it thus becomes part of the
exercises.14 In fact, much of the matter read on that night is Mid
rash, i. e., free interpretation, or Haggada, written expressly
for the occasion. Perhaps the service of that night is
called the Haggada of the Passover, not in the sense of the
story, but in that of homiletics for the Passover night.15
But Midrash and Aggadta have entered the Jewish
services mainly by becoming the groundwork of the
sermon, and it is so yet wherever the preacher can find an
appreciative public. The old-fashioned "Darshan," or
"Maggid,"16 in his "Drosho" could string out the legends
and wonderful interpretations found in the old repositories,
with his own additions, for hours at a stretch without fatigu
ing his hearers. As Aggadta is the opinion of only one man,
which none need believe unless it strikes him as plausible,
the preacher may develop his material according to his own
taste, with only this limit set to his free movement, that
he must not land at some conclusion at war with the
Halacha, or laws of conduct, or with the fundamental

MIDRASH AND AGGADTA

49

beliefs of Israel, or, as it would be put in short, he must not
go off into "Epicurism."17
The reader who has no Jewish books at hand can find the
most typical example of the Midrashic style (without the
above limitations) by reading in the New Testament the
Epistle to the Hebrews. The writer of this Epistle not only
misconstrues every verse, but also misreads several words of
the Scriptural text. Even this he has in common with good
Jewish masters of Midrash, who often, in order to point
a moral or adorn a tale, tell their hearers or readers: Do
not read thus (the true reading), but thus (a slightly changed
reading with a fanciful sense). Of the narrative Aggadta, a
very striking example is found in the fourth chapter of the
Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus of Nazareth and Satan are
represented as pelting each other with quotations from Holy
Writ, the victory of course remaining with the former.
Among the ignorant some mischief has been done by
Midrash and Aggadta. They do not understand its extent
and true nature; they do not. know its undisguised con
tradictions nor the principle taught by even the deeply or
thodox, that Aggadta is binding on no one's conscience;18
hence the unlearned, and particularly Jewish women, have
often taken the most striking and most easily remembered
legends, which are apt to be also the most grotesque, as
true coin, thus throwing discredit on our literature, if not
scandal on our religion. It must, however, be said in
defence of the Talmud, that while many of the Emoraim
speak of God in bold metaphors without rebuke from their
companions, there is an undercurrent of protest against
all anthropomorphic thought, which breaks out frequently
in an observation on some Bible verse like these: "If it was
not so written we should not dare to say it," or "The Tora
spoke in human language," or "The Tora said so only to
break it to the ear," and very often by a word meaning,
"were it possible," coined on purpose to indicate that any
thing human predicated of the Almighty is not to be liter
ally understood.19
4

CHAPTER V
SECRET LORE, OR CABBALA
Possibly in very early and certainly in very late times the
secret lore, known as Cabbala, had its influence on the
service book, and some of its features must be here stated,
and its history briefly sketched. While in their outward
form the writings of the mystics often resemble the ordinary
Midrash, they differ greatly in this: they are always pain
fully serious. The believing reader feels that these books
should be approached in awe and by none but the worthy.
The speculations of the Cabbala, like those of the Gnosis,
of Neo-Platonism, and of Christian dogma, flow from one
source — the dissatisfaction of brooding minds with the stern
simplicity of the One God idea. The First Cause1 is infinite
in space and time; one and undistinguished by parts or
qualities; how can we conceive the transitions from the
undivided and Infinite One to the manifold, the complex,
and the small, in the phenomenal world? How can we
grasp the thought of that moment in past eternity when,
inthe words of the Lord to Job, he "cast the corner-stone of
the earth."2 Even in our days of evolution it is as hard as
ever to think of the moment when the slow changes began
with which it deals, and still harder to conceive that they
have gone on from evermore.
Hence men contrived something to interpose between
the First Cause and the phenomenal world, an emanation
or successive emanations, or the Demiurgos, or Mechani
cian, of Plato, Wisdom personified, the Word, or Logos,
of the Gospel of John, the First Effect3 of later Cabbalists.
The Shechina, that is, the residence or presence of God on
(50)

SECRET LORE, OR CABBALA 5I
earth, was also turned by the mystics into a phase or per
son of the Deity, somewhat like the Holy Ghost of the
Christians.4 Beneath the lower aspects of the Deity, cre
ated beings of vastly greater than human power were con
ceived — the angels or messengers of God's will. In the
Bible the distinction between God's action and that of his
messenger is not always clear; the "Angel of the Presence"
is introduced by the Prophets when the action is God's
own; and so with the Metatron5 of the Talmud. In the
older books of the Bible the angels who appear have neither
name nor individuality; each of them comes on his one
errand, does it and disappears.6 Neither Isaiah with his
six-winged Seraphim, shouting Holy, Holy, Holy, nor
Ezekiel, with his Beasts and Wheels, intended to teach the
comparative rank of the celestials; and the angel who
encourages Zerubbabel and the High Priest in Zechariah's
dream is but a passing phantom. In the late Book of
Daniel, however, the Persian influence tells ; his angels bear
names, and are strictly personal. He speaks also of a
heavenly "prince" of Persia and a like "prince" of the
Greeks, national types, genii, and champions of earthly
Kingdoms in the realms above; an idea fully developed
in the later Cabbala, in which the "Prince of Edom," i. e.,
of Christendom, plays a great part.7
Later on a heavenly hierarchy was built up: Cherubim,
Seraphim, Hayoth, and Ofannim (the beasts and wheels
of Ezekiel), and six other classes, which it is needless to
name. Many individual names were invented, some of
which became common property, while some were known
only to the initiated. The study of the opening chapters of
Ezekiel the "Work of the Chariot," or "Mercaba," became
a special branch of learning; the full acquisition whereof was
expected to confer on the possessor powers beyond those
of ordinary men. The teachers of the Mishna thought that
only the wisest could be trusted with such dangerous knowl
edge.8 It is reported that only four entered this "Paradise,"

52 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
and that R. Akiba alone among the four "entered in peace
and came out in peace."9 A majority, which unfortunately
was afterwards overruled, held that the first chapter of
Ezekiel should never be read as the lesson for the day.10
Men who looked on every word and letter of Scripture
as inspired held, of course, that whichever of God's names
is employed therein is always chosen to denote the aspect
or attribute at work in the passage or connection. The
Talmud shows that it was publicly agreed on and taught,
that Elohim implies the quality of Justice, and the Tetra-
grammaton, the Attribute of Mercy.11 But the Mystics
went much further; they set up their ten Sephiroth — ten
Categories at first, afterwards ten Attributes of God, the
nature of which is understood only by them; the seven
lower12 and the three higher, Wisdom, Reason, and Knowl
edge, or the Crown.13 Thus, with the Cabbalists, God's
name coupled with that of Abraham, of Isaac, or of Jacob,
would indicate the first, second, or third lower Sephira; the
Tetragrammaton itself, according to position, might imply
the effects of this or that of the ten, or perhaps of all of
them together.
The Sephiroth were combined into the figure of a man,
the Adam Kadmon, or heavenly archetype of the terrestial
man; a notion which became in the early middle ages known
to the Gentile world.14 The mystics found divine names
and groups of Sephiroth in passages from Holy Writ and
from the oldest prayers, where the uninitiated would not
even suspect them. The "names" thus picked out and built
up like anagrams were thought to work wonders when
recited with proper devotion or when transcribed.
The oldest text-book of the Cabbala, the "Book of Form
ation" (Jetzira), is ascribed to R. Akiba (though the most
ardent claim Abraham himself as the author), and it seems,
after weighing the discordant opinions of modern writers,
that the book was written either by R. Akiba or at least
in his time.15 The book has come down to our times in

SECRET LORE, OR CABBALA 53
recensions of varying length, but the longest contains
less than four thousand words. It sets forth the "thirty-
two paths of wisdom," along which God has shaped and
governs the world ; that is, the ten Sephiroth and the twenty-
two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The Sephiroth of this
book are neither the Spheres of Ptolemy and of Dante, nor
the first ten numbers; nor are they divided into seven lower
and three higher; nor do they bear the names afterwards
bestowed on them; they are simply six directions in space,
two in time, and the two extremes of good and evil.16 No
important secrets can be obtained from the little volume.
The love for numbers, on which to base the nature of all
things, came down from Pythagoras, who probably had
himself acquired it on Semitic ground, to the Cabbalists of
the middle ages. Beside the Sephiroth and beside the let
ters, grouped in three and seven and twelve in this first text
book, we find later on the four worlds: that of Creation
(Beria), that of Deed ('Asiya), that of Formation (Jetzira),
and that of Uplifting (Atziluth), a distinction which capti
vated the philosophic mind of Leibnitz, when, as a young
man, he entered into the circle of the Rosicrucians at
Nuremberg. The five stages of the human soul, derived
from its five Hebrew names found in Scripture, also were
deeply studied; the distinctions were deemed important
truths ; in our times they have given rise to the seven souls
of esoteric Buddhism.17 The forty-nine days between Pass
over and Pentecost played a great part in the younger
mysticism; and seventy-two "names" were built up from
three verses in Exodus 14, which happen, each of them, to
be made up of seventy-two letters.18
While these tendencies were at work, new books, bolder
and bulkier than those preceding them, would come out
from time to time, either as commentaries on the "Book of
Formation," or as separate treatises under the assumed
name of some of the early Sages of the Mishna.
Such were the two books which first appeared late in the

54 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
tenth century under the name Hechaloth (Temples), pur
porting to be the work of R. Ishmael, a Sage of the second
century, from which Cabbalistic notions spread among the
learned of the time, not only in the shape of new prayers,
but also in the way of new meanings to old parts of the
liturgy.19 The great teachers of the Arabic period in Spain,
Jehuda Hallevi, Maimonides, and Ibn Ezra, all of whom
flourished in the twelfth century, held aloof from the Cab
bala. The latter was, like the teachers of the secret lore,
fond of Pythagorean dalliance with numbers, but he struck
out on independent lines. However, in the next cen
tury, Nachmanides, of Gerona, in Christian Spain, the most
beautiful character among Jewish scholars since the days
of Hillel, imbibed a leaning to mysticism from his early
teachers, which he shows in his writings, though he never
became a declared adept.
In the same century and in Spain, two new publica
tions appeared, more bulky than any of the former, in which
the Cabbala is set forth as a system. The first of these is
the Bahir (the Bright) ascribed to Nehonia ben Hakkana,
one of the oldest Sages of Mishna times, of the contents of
which nothing is now read except a short prayer; for
after about forty years it was supplanted by a much more
ambitious work, the Zohar (Radiance), which, even in small
print, makes three stout octavo volumes. The Zohar has
ever since been the leading text-book of the Cabbala. It
was undoubtedly written by R. Moses de Leon, a Jewish
scholar of the thirteenth century; all from his own head
except as far as he used well-known materials; but he gave
out that the book had been discovered in Palestine, and R.
Simeon ben Joha'i, of the days of the Antonines, figured as
the author. The Zohar takes the shape of a running com
mentary on the five books of Moses, in discourses by R.
Simeon and his son, purporting to have been delivered
while he was, according to a Talmudic story, for twelve
years a fugitive from Roman persecution, hiding in a cave,

SECRET LORE, OR CABBALA 55
where he was fed and attended by his disciples. It is written
in the Aramaic of Northern Palestine. The forgery, however,
is apparent enough. In the first place, the scant vocabulary
betrays an author who has never spoken Aramaic as his
mother tongue; secondly, conditions much later than the
times of the Antonines are often referred to. Thus the
inhabited earth is divided out between Edom and Ishmael,
i. e., between Christianity and Islam; the Messianic time is
predicted in numbers of the Era of Creation, which was
unknown and not even thought of in the days of R.
Simeon and for many centuries after him. But positive
proof of the fraud perpetrated by R. Moses de Leon
has been unearthed and published in recent years.20
The Zohar, grown on Spanish soil, shows a strong impress
of Christian dogma. Its Messiah is superhuman, and there
is a sort of Trinity, though it differs greatly from
that of the Christians.21 For more than two centuries it
was but little read; the Aramaic tongue, once popular, was
now much less known than Hebrew. Moreover, simple-
minded Jews were unwilling to read it, deeming themselves
unworthy to delve in the most sacred mysteries. But in
the middle of the sixteenth century Isaac Luria, surnamed
from his birthplace II Calabrese, studied it, found in it the
consummation of all divine truth, and made its contents
known to the Jews of three continents. The art of printing-
came to his aid. The Zohar was translated into Latin, and
captivated many Christian minds. The fearful calamities
which afflicted Israel in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen
turies prepared them to read and to believe anything which
would transplant them from their sad surroundings into
heavenly spheres and amidst choirs of angels. Books in the
spirit of the Zohar followed to supplement its work.22 Pass
ages from it (among them a truly sublime prayer) passed into
the service books.23 The false Messiah, Shabbathai Tzebi,
who appeared at Smyrna in 1666, found in the mystic ten
dency of the Jews of the time a great help for his unholy

56 IEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
ambition, and so did his successors, Hayim Vidal and Jacob
Frank, in the next century. But the wholesale apostasies
caused by these men led to a strong reaction against the
Zohar and Cabbalism, the story of which is well told in
the last volume of Graetz's History of the Jews. But there
is a considerable sect in Eastern Europe, that of the Hasi-
dim, founded by Israel Ba'al Shem Tob, and counting its
adherents by hundreds of thousands, to whom the Zohar is
still as sacred as the Bible itself.24 Outside of that sect,
the un- Jewish dogmas of the Zohar and its arbitrary asser
tions of knowledge about things unknowable are now be
coming better understood even in the most orthodox
circles;25 yet it seems almost impossible to erase from the
service books all the follies and blasphemies which have
crept into them from this source, mainly in the eigh
teenth century.26
The very name of Cabbala, i. e., tradition, given by its ad
herents to the secret lore, is a usurpation. In the Mishna
this word is usually applied to the sayings of the Prophets,
on the ground that the tradition passed from Moses and
Joshua to the Prophets.27
The Midrash, or Aggadta, often seems to flow imper
ceptibly into Cabbala; but there is always this distinction,
that the former is open to the public, while the books of the
latter, even when printed, profess to belong to the initiated
alone.

CHAPTER VI
THE CALENDAR
The elements of tlie Jewish Calendar are the day, the
month, and the year. The day begins in the evening at the
moment when, on a clear night, three stars are first visible,
which is supposed to be about twenty-five minutes after
sunset. Hence the Sabbath begins on Friday evening, ear
lier in winter than at the equinoxes ; earlier at these than in
midsummer; also earlier in the winter, and later in the
summer, in the high North than in sub-tropical countries.
The Bible says, "from eventide to eventide ye shall ob
serve your Sabbath," and as the law and usage grew up
before the time of clocks, they naturally conformed to the
actual night-fall of the place and season.
The month on which the Jewish Calendar is based is that
which begins with the new moon. In astronomy this means
the moment at which the center of the sun's disk and that
of the moon's disk are in the same longitude; but in the
Rabbinic traditions it meant the time when the moon had
so far overtaken the sun in longitude that its sickle with the
convex edge turned to the right could be seen. Upon the
evidence of witnesses who had observed it, the Sanhedrin
or the Patriarch would, as long as these authorities were
recognized, proclaim the new moon.1
When the Patriarchate at Tiberias felt its power waning, it
adopted the rule of the Calendar which Meton had intro
duced at Athens in the days of Pericles, by which a
constant period of time, the average of many lunar months,
was made the measure of each month. The length of this
period was known with a great degree of correctness. It
(57)

58 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
must have been calculated from two solar eclipses several
hundred years apart, which could be easily done, consider
ing the early times in which Egyptians and Babylonians
had observed such events. The length of this month
was taken at 29 days, 12 hours, and 793 "parts," there being
1080 parts to the hour; or 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes,
3-3- seconds. This is correct within less than a second.
The moment at which the month begins is known as its
Molad, or birth, and this is noted in every Jewish* calendar
for each month.2
As twelve of such months make only 354 days, 8 hours.
48 minutes, 40 seconds, the Festivals set for days in named
months would soon drift back into the wrong seasons of
the year. As a sheaf of barley was to be offered during
the Passover, it must have been within the province of
King, or Senate, or High Priest to add a month to the
twelve when necessary to bring the Feast to its proper
season. The Sanhedrin, when constituted, deemed the
right to proclaim the new moon and to make a "pregnant"
year, that is, to add a thirteenth month, as the highest mark
of their sovereignty in Israel.
Before the Babylonian exile, the twelve months had
Hebrew names, of which only four have been preserved:
that of the first month, including the Passover, Abib (corn-
ear); the second Ziv (splendor); the seventh Ethanim (con
stant streams); the eighth Bui (of uncertain meaning).
Generally the Bible speaks of the months by number, the
first, the third, the seventh month. After the exile we find
the Babylonian names of the months, which are still used
in every Jewish Calendar, i. e., Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz,
Ab, Elul, Tishri, Marheshvan, Kislev, Tebeth, Shebat,
Adar. If these are insufficient, an Adar Sheni (second Adar)
is added.
It was long an open secret that the Sanhedrin would add
or not add a thirteenth month by the rule that the Passover
must always be celebrated on the first full moon after the

THE CALENDAR

59

vernal equinox; hence the canon of the Council of Nice
fixing Easter on the Sunday following this first full moon.
But as disputes might easily arise as to the true time of the
equinox, Hillel the Younger, the Patriarch, thought it
better to adopt a rule based on a simple count rather than
one resting on astronomical observation. The Metonic
cycle, or Athenian calendar, is made up of nineteen years,
that is, twelve of twelve months each, and seven of thir
teen months each. In the form in which the Jews adopted
this cycle, the following years have thirteen months each : 3,
6, 8, 11, 14, 17, 19. These 19 years have 235 months, or 6939
days, 16 hours, 33 minutes, 3 \ seconds, and this period
is more nearly correct than 6939 days, 18 hours, the length
of 19 years by the Julian calendar, but it exceeds by over
two hours the length of 19 tropical years as it has since
been ascertained.3
The Bible always counts the Passover month as the first,
and what we call nowadays the New Year is known in
Leviticus and again in Nehemiah as the first of the seventh
month. The Era of Seleucus, which was in use among the
Jews for many centuries, was counted from a new moon
near the fall equinox in the year 311 before the Christian
era, and has undoubtedly had its effect upon the Jewish
year; but Nachmanides, in his Commentary on Leviticus,
argues strongly for the position that the Mosaic Law con
templates two beginnings of the year; one in our Tishri,
as well as that which Exodus 12 fixes on the first day of
the Passover month. For in the Sabbatic year there was
to be neither sowing nor harvest, and as the grains of Pales
tine are all winter crops, seed and harvest fall into one year
only if it begins in the fall.4
In practice the month can contain only whole days, and
so the twelve hours and a fraction above 29 days are dis
posed of by making the months alternate between 30 and
29 days. Nisan, Sivan, Ab, Tishri, Kislev, and Shebat have
each 30 days, the other six months, each 29 days. When

60 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Adar is doubled, the first Adar has 30 days, the second 29.
This does not fully absorb the 44 minutes 3-g- seconds above
the twelve hours. For this purpose Marheshvan is as often as
necessary lengthened to 30 days. But for ritual purposes
the year is occasionally shortened by having only 29 days
in both Marheshvan and Kislev. Here of course considera
tions enter that were unknown to the Athenians, from
whom the calendar was borrowed.
It is a rule that the Day of Atonement (Tishri 10th) may
not come on a Friday or a Sunday on account of the great
inconvenience of preparing food on Sabbath for the fast
day or vice versa. Another rule forbids putting on a Sab
bath the old national holiday, the seventh of the Feast of
Huts (Tishri 21st); hence the first of Tishri, the Day of
Memorial, or modern New Year, cannot come on a Sun
day, Wednesday, or Friday.
Then there is the older rule that the Molad of Tishri must
occur before midday, otherwise there would not have been
time for the sacrificial service, and the next day is the New
Year. Thus, if by calculation this Molad should strike Saturday
afternoon, the first of Tishri must be put off to Sunday, and
this being disallowed, further on to Monday; the adjustment
for this purpose is made at the end of the months of
Marheshvan and Kislev in the preceding year. There are
some niceties in the calculation which it is needless here to
pursue.5 The first of every Jewish month is celebrated as a half
holiday, the Rosh Hodesh, or New Moon, of the Bible.
When the preceding month has thirty days, its last day is
celebrated in like manner. Thus Iyar has "two days of
Rosh Hodesh;" namely, the 30th of Nisan and the ist of
Iyar, while Nisan itself has only one, its own first day.6
The Biblical yearly days of holiness and rest are enum
erated in Leviticus 23 and again in Numbers 28 and 29, thus:
Passover on the 15th and 21st of the first month (Nisan);

THE CALENDAR 6 1
the Day of Memorial on the first of the seventh month
(Tishri) ; the Day of Atonement on the tenth, the first day
of Huts on the fifteenth, the "Eighth a rest" on the 22d of
Tishri. Pentecost is to be celebrated fifty days after a
"Sabbath" in or near the Passover. Taken literally, as the
Samaritans did, Pentecost would always fall on a Sunday.
The Pharisees for good reasons construed the word "Sab
bath" to mean the first day of the Passover, which always
brings the Pentecost on the 6th of Sivan, the third month;
and they construed the nineteenth chapter of Exodus so as
to locate the Revelation on Mount Sinai on that day.
Hence Pentecost, which in the words of Scripture is only
a harvest feast for the first-fruits of wheat, attained a higher
meaning; it became, in the words of our Prayer Book, "the
day of the gift of our Law."7
New Year is celebrated for two days even in Palestine,
on the ground that, if the new moon were still proclaimed,
it might be announced so late as to require the next day for
the completion of the service. The Day of Atonement
being a fast cannot be doubled.
The five other holidays are doubled outside of Palestine
on the following historical grounds, which would a fortiori
apply to the New Year too. While the Sanhedrin at
Jerusalem or, in later days, the Patriarch at Tiberias
announced the new moons, the news was flashed from
mountain top to mountain top throughout Palestine but not
to other countries; those in Babylonia would not receive
the news even in two or three weeks. Hence, not feeling
sure whether the preceding months should not have thirty
days, they kept two days of each Feast; and this usage
became so deeply ingrained that when, about the year 361,
the fixed calendar was introduced, nobody felt himself
authorized to abolish these double holidays.8 The reason
for them has wholly ceased since Palestine is connected
by electric wires with all parts of the world. For if there
were a Sanhedrin or Patriarch now to proclaim the new

62 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
moon, the Jews of Chicago or Melbourne would know its
true date within the next twelve hours.
Besides the Festivals and New Moons mentioned in the
Law, we find in other parts of the Bible a reference to cer
tain other days. First, Purim, or the Feast of Esther, on the
14th of Adar, in lengthened years on the same day of the
second Adar. Second, the four Fasts for commemorating
sad events in the downfall of the first Jewish Common
wealth, that is, the 10th of Tebeth, when Nebuchadnezzar
began the siege of Jerusalem; a day in Tammuz, when he
entered the city through a breach, which has been fixed on
the 17th of that month, i. e., on the same day on which Titus
entered at the downfall of the last Commonwealth; the day
in Ab when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Temple,
now fixed on the 9th of Ab, when the Romans burnt the
last Temple; and the third of Tishri, when Gedaliah, the
prince of the House of David, whom Nebuchadnezzar left
as governor of the remnant of Jews in Judea, was murdered,
and the last trace of the first Commonwealth was wiped out.
Lastly the calendar gives us the eight days of the Feast
of Maccabees, or Hanucca, beginning on the 25th of Kislev.
It remains for us to speak of the Jewish era. In the
Books of Maccabees we find all dates fixed by the Era of
Seleucus. This was still used for historic dates by the lead
ing Rabbis in Babylonia late in the tenth century. For
dating documents the Mishna requires the year of the reign,
meaning that of the Roman Emperor, and for Eastern
countries that of the Kings of Parthia; but it became after
wards the custom to date all documents by the Era of
Seleucus, which thus became known as the "year of deeds."
But when Jehuda Hallevi wrote his Cuzari about the year
1 140, he speaks of the Year of the World (then 4900) as
something in common use among the Jews, and claims that
they reckoned already by it in the year 4500, in which he
lays the story which is made the vehicle of his teaching.
It is clear, therefore, that this mode of counting years could

THE CALENDAR 63
not have been a new thing with Jehuda Hallevi's contem
poraries.9 At what particular time it was first suggested
or introduced, and when it displaced the other Era (which
survived in Arabia long after Jehuda Hallevi's days) cannot
be ascertained. It is said that the Year of the World is
found earliest on epitaphs in Italy. The Jews of Yemen
reckon by the "year of deeds" to this day.10

CHAPTER VII
THE SYNAGOGUE AND ITS FUNCTIONARIES
The first Jewish Commonwealth, which came to its sad
end when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, seems to
have known no such institution as the Synagogue, though
there must have been even in it some public worship of
song and prayer, both in the Temple and outside of it. The
beginning of the Synagogue as a place, not only for wor
ship, but also for instruction and edification, is shown in
the eighth chapter of Nehemiah, when Ezra read the Law of
Moses to the assembled people, men, women, and children
old enough to understand; he and the other chiefs of the
community standing upon a wooden turret, and the
hearers surrounding them upon all sides. That wooden tur
ret survives in our times in the platform with the reading
desk upon it. The late Hebrew word for the platform is
Bima, derived from the Greek Bema, the tribune from which
speakers address the public. It is in Germany and Austria
generally known by the Arabic name Almembar (pulpit),
corrupted into Alcmmer. This platform should stand in
the middle of the Synagogue, after the pattern of Ezra's
turret; but in all more or less modernized German Syna
gogues it has been pushed forward to the "Ark."1
The Talmudic tradition traces the Synagogue as a place
for reading the Law at stated times (say every Sabbath,
Monday, and Thursday) back to Ezra in an unbroken line.
But this is hardly possible. The Book of Chronicles, writ
ten long after Ezra, which carries some of the genealo
gies down for over a hundred years after him, nowhere
alludes either to the place or to the weekly readings.
(64)

THE SYNAGOGUE AND ITS FUNCTIONARIES 65
Some of the later Psalms, especially Ps. 119, may possibly
allude to frequent readings from the Law, but hardly to
any consecrated places other than the Temple and its court
yard, which in a sense might be called a Synagogue.2
The Greek name of the Jewish house of worship means
simply a meeting; it is but a translation of the ITebrew Beth
ha-Kcucscth, the House of Meeting. Not only is the word
foreign to the latest Biblical books, but also to the older
works among the Apocrypha, such as Ecclesiasticus and
Maccabees. But in these latter books (e. g., 1 Mace.
12: 11) we find the Greek word Proseuche (house of prayer)
as a place of devotion other than the Temple. It seems
probable that the new word Synagogue, with its wider
meaning, came into use when other exercises were added
to prayer. At any rate, in the Gospels we find this new word
in full and exclusive use for all houses of worship outside
of the Temple, and these are already so numerous, being
found in all the villages, that the institution cannot have
been recent at that time. In the Synagogues of Galilee, as
the Gospels relate, lessons were read from the Prophets,
and persons of learning and piety were expected to preach
on the lesson; it is very evident that there was also prayer
and readings from the Law; in short, all the elements from
which the exercises of the modern Synagogue are made up.
The "Ark," called in the Mishna Teba, i. e., box, chest,
but in modern Hebrew Aron, like the Ark of the Cov
enant, whose place it has taken, is a press or wall closet
in which the Scrolls of the Pentateuch are kept stand
ing upright. It is placed slightly above the floor of the
nave, and is reached by steps. The Ark is set in or against
that wall of the Synagogue towards which the worshippers
turn, at least in that part of their devotions known more
especially as the Prayer. The leader, who reads the liturgy
aloud, stands in the same direction as the people. He does
not address them, but is their messenger, or representative.
The wall in or against which the Ark stands is in the
5

66 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
direction of Jerusalem, according to the request of King
Solomon, that the people of Israel may pray "towards this
place," the Temple which he built. Hence in Europe and
America the Ark stands towards the East, but no attempt
is ever made to strike the exact point of the compass, as
the Moslems do when turning towards Mecca.3
Before the Ark is a heavy curtain, which is named after
the curtain which, in the Tent of Meeting and in the
Temple, screened the Holy of Holies.
The Sefer Tora (Book of the Law) is a parchment scroll
in which the whole Pentateuch is written by hand upon
calfskin or sheepskin, with an ink made of lamp-black, in
the Hebrew text and in the so-called square or Assyrian
character,4 without vowel points, accents, or verse divisions ;
but the paragraphs are marked according to the Masora, or
tradition of the text, some by starting on a new line, some
by leaving a shorter or longer blank in the same line. The
scroll is mounted on wooden rollers, is first wrapped in a
white band, and then encased in a silk or velvet robe. A
silver hand for pointing is hung by a cord or chain; often
silver ornaments are placed on the heads of the rollers.
Every Synagogue of any pretensions has three or more
scrolls of its own.
According to the best approved usage the leader in
prayer does not stand on the platform from which the Law
is read, but in a low place near by the Ark, according to
Ps. 130: 1: "From the depths have I cried unto thee." In
olden times the leader "went down before the Ark" only
when the Prayer in the narrower sense (see Book II, ch. 1)
was reached.5
The Lessons from Law and Prophets are read from the
platform, the scroll or book of Prophets being laid on the
desk (Shulhan, i. e., table). The preacher usually stands cn
the steps before the Ark with his back towards it and his
face towards the people.
The main floor is occupied by men and boys only; a

THE SYNAGOGUE AND ITS FUNCTIONARIES 6j
raised gallery or, in small Synagogues of insufficient height,
a side room is set aside for the women.6
Pretty much every Synagogue has an anteroom; one of
its uses is that those who mourn for a parent or other
close kindred may tarry in it on the first Friday evening
after the funeral to await the announcement of the Sab
bath, when they are formally ushered in by the leader
and presiding officer with words of comfort. This ante
room or some other small apartment in the building is in
the larger Synagogues used for work-day services.
The so-called Temples of our times are simply Syna
gogues. The word Temple for a Church or Synagogue is
a misnomer, or at least a fancy name; it means really a place
of sacrificial worship.
Synagogues, unlike Mosques or Catholic churches, were
always furnished with benches and chairs.7
Near a Synagogue a Beth Hammidrash, or House of Study,
is often found, a room filled with theological books, the
Bible and its commentaries, the Mishna, the Talmud, the
Midrash, the Codes, and whatever else may be deemed of
interest. Some of these rooms are nothing but reference
libraries, that is, study is carried on privately, every man
poring over any book that suits him; but in most of them
the Rabbi holds forth at stated times, at least for an hour
or so about sunset, reading and expounding consecutive
parts of Bible, Mishna, or Talmud.8
When ten or more are together in such a room, and the
time for services comes around, they hold them in the Beth
Hammidrash, as they would in a Synagogue, and this was
done already in the days of the Talmud. It may be re
marked here that this number of men and boys (over thir
teen years of age) is indispensable for public services with
their responses and for the readings of the Law and Proph
ets from the desk.
This number ten according to the Mishna is the minimum
of the "congregation," not only for liturgic, but also for

68 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
political purposes, and this rule is probably as old as the
institution of the Synagogue."
It is the better opinion that if nine fully qualified persons
are present, a boy under thirteen, but old enough to have
some religious ideas, will do for the tenth.10
The highest functionary of a Jewish congregation is the
Rabbi, literally "my Master," originally, in the days of
Jewish independence, a Judge in civil and criminal matters,
as well as an adviser in religious questions.
Among the Sefardim this official is generally known as
Hacham, the learned.
Where Jews live together in sufficient numbers to main
tain a Rabbi or a Rabbinical Court (Beth Din) of three
Judges (Dayanim), they form a Congregation, and this may
worship at one or at a hundred Synagogues, big and little.
Where the community is too small to maintain a Rabbi, it
is known as a Jishub (settlement), and is generally depend
ent upon the Rabbi in the nearest town. The establish
ment of several congregations in the same city has in late
years often happened through disagreement between the
more orthodox and more progressive or reforming ele
ments, and in the eighteenth century already through the
schism of the Hasidim, and even before that time, as above
seen, when Jews of the Sefardic and of the German ritual
settled at the same place in sufficient numbers of each.
The title of Rabbi certifies the recipient's learning in the
traditional law. It is conferred by one or more Rabbis in
continuous succession by means of a Hattarath Horaa, a
license to teach or rather to decide. In olden times, but in
Palestine only, the succession of Rabbis was perpetuated
by the laying on of hands, and this ceremony was thought
to confer privileges which neither learning by itself nor a
written certificate thereof could impart.11
With the services of the Synagogue the Raobi as such
has nothing to do. Not being chosen for his good voice,
he is not expected to read either the prayers or lessons;

THE SYNAGOGUE AND ITS FUNCTIONARIES 69
he is indeed, by his learning, fitted to preach' in the Syna
gogue, but anybody else who has sufficient acquaintance
with Bible and Talmud and eloquence enough to interest
an audience may preach without holding the "license to
teach." The English Bible uses the word "priest," a corruption of
the Greek pnsbytcros, literally, an elder, to translate the
Hebrew Cohen, a sacrificer, the Hiereus of the Septuagint
and Greek Testament. There are Cohanim at the present
day, great numbers of them, who claim descent from those
who acted as such in the days of the Temple; and there are
Levites claiming descent from the Levites of those days.
At present the Cohen is not a functionary; his presence is
not required, except to impart the priestly blessing (Num
bers 6: 22-27), which in modern times is only done on the
Festivals, and a certain precedence is given to the Cohen,
and after him to the Levite.
The word Minian (number) designates the presence of
ten or more male Israelites when met for public service.
One of them, as "messenger of the assembly" (Sheliah
Tzibbur), reads or chants the prayers. The needful qualifi
cations are correct Hebrew reading, understanding the
contents of the Prayer Book, and a good moral and religious
standing.12 No man who is under excommunication can act
as leader, or be counted of the ten.13
Where a permanent congregation erects a Synagogue it
nearly always employs a man to read the services on
Sabbaths and Holidays. Such a man is in modern phrase
called the Hazan, a word meaning literally "overseer"
(whence the Christian episkopos), which formerly, before
the vowel points and accents were placed under the text of
Scripture, denoted an official who held the traditions as to
the true pronunciation, and saw to it that the lessons were
correctly read.14
In German a regular Hazan is called Vorsanger or Vor-
beter, i. e., leader in song or leader in prayer; also Cantor,

70 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
the corresponding Christian title. The professional Hazan
is chosen with a view to a good voice, musical training,
and thorough acquaintance with chants and accustomed
tunes; his shortcomings in morals and religion being too
often overlooked. In progressive Synagogues he has to
be a thoroughly trained vocalist, for he is the tenor solo of a
series of oratorios.
The Hazan, or oftener in the great Synagogues another
man with other qualifications, reads the lesson from the Pen
tateuch; he is known as Ba'al Kore (master reader). This
title is modern formerly to know this lesson was the main
duty of the Hazan, or overseer; for the members in turn were
expected to read parts of the lesson, while the Hazan
prompted them. The Ba'al Kore should know all the nice
ties of Hebrew grammar, and be able to read with the
proper feeling and expression; his voice should be loud and
clear, so he may be readily followed and understood. But
the chant prescribed for him is simple, and requires for
its rendering very little vocal skill.
In olden times, when everything was written without
vowel points and accents, the reading of the prophetic les
son was the most difficult function, the style being more
rugged than the prose of the Tora and less familiar than
the prayers. Hence, when any one was found with the skill
and learning to read the prophetic lessons well, he would
generally (if over thirteen years of age) be invited to read.
the prayers too; and it seems that occasionally, as early as
Talmudic times, he would be paid for the exercise of his
skill.15 Nowadays to read this lesson is rather an honor to
pay for than a task to draw wages for, except in such con
gregations in which few can read correctly, even from our
printed volumes with their vowels and accents. There are
still Synagogues in Poland and elsewhere in which parch
ment copies of the Prophets are kept with the bare letters,
like the Scrolls of the Law, and a permanent official has to
read the lessons.

THE SYNAGOGUE AND ITS FUNCTIONARIES

71

Every Synagogue has a lay member for its business head,
who presides at the services to preserve order and to give
directions. He is known as Parnas (provider, a word prob
ably derived from the Greek pronoos). The next in com
mand, or Vice-President, bears the title of Gabbai (literally,
collector). Whoever performs the duty of presiding officer
at the desk upon the platform is for the time being the Segan
(assistant), a title borne in the Temple by one of the fore
most priests. The usage demands that lay officers of the
congregation should stand by the reader during the lessons
by way of respect for the Law.18
The Parnas commands the services of a paid official, the
Shammash, the same as the diaconos of the Acts; he is sex
ton, beadle, and usher, and goes all the errands to be run
in the progress of the services.

BOOK II
The Devotions of the Synagogue

BOOK II
THE DEVOTIONS OF THE SYNAGOGUE
CHAPTER I
OUTLINE OF THE LITURGY
It may seem strange to Our young men and women, but
it is true, that the devotions of the Synagogue differ but
slightly from those which the law-observing Israelite recites
at his home when he does not attend public worship; the
difference lying mainly in the responsive passages in the
latter, which are not fitted for private worship. It may
astonish them still more to hear that the services for the
Sabbath and Holidays are built up on the same plan as
those for work-days, and that the orthodox Jew considers
it just as wrong to miss his prayer on Monday night or
Tuesday morning as on Friday night and Sabbath morn
ing.1 The most important parts of our liturgy are two, the
reading of the Shema (Hear, O Israel) and the Prayer
proper, or Tefilla, called by the Portuguese Jews and those
of England generally Amida, the "standing," a convenient
name. We shall hereafter denote it either as Prayer, writ
ten with a capital, or as "Amida."2
The "Shema" is to be recited, preferably to be read, twice
a day, in obedience to the command in Deuteronomy
6: 7: "Thou shalt impress them upon thy children,
and shalt talk of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and
when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down,
(75)

76 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
and when thou risest." A like command is found in Deut.
n, and each is applied to the paragraph of which it forms
part. Another command is found in Deut. 16: 3: "That
thou mayest remember the day when thou earnest forth
out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life," which from
early times was understood to require a mention of the
great event on every day and in every night. Not every
body took these commands so literally, for it is said of the
saintly R. Judah that his reading was confined to the first
verse, "Hear, O Israel, etc." He evidently trusted that
in his studies and discourses he would speak sufficiently
on the subjects embraced, and that recital in the very words
of the Bible was not necessary.3
The words, "when thou liest down and when thou risest,"
were, as far back as tradition reaches, construed to be
addressed, not to the individual, but to the nation. Hence
each Israelite may "read" his Shema for the night at any
part of the time during which men usually go to bed, and
for the morning during the whole time at which people
of any class rise; and thus alone public services could be
held, of which the reading of the two passages in the sixth
and eleventh of Deuteronomy and the mention of the deliv
erance from Egypt are the most weighty parts. The limits
drawn by the old standards are pretty wide for the reading
at night, from early starlight till midnight, for the morning
service, from the light of dawn till nine o'clock in the fore
noon.4 These limits were pushed out even further with
the view of bringing worshippers together in the House
of God; that is, the night service, except that which follows
a Sabbath or Festival, may be read at the Synagogue before
starlight, in order to make it follow an afternoon service at
the same place; and even should the morning Shema
be reached after nine o'clock, the service goes on never
theless, including the "benedictions" preceding and follow
ing the Shema.5
The other main element, the Prayer, or Amida, is known

OUTLINE OF THE LITURGV 77
among the Jews of the German and Polish Minhag as the
Shcmonc Esrc, or Eighteen, a name, as will be shown, not
quite appropriate.0 This Prayer contains, not only peti
tions for Divine grace and help, but praise and thanks as
well. It is intended to satisfy the cravings of a pious heart
for communion with God and at the same time the com
mand of the Law that we should serve God, and its assump
tion that we will serve him with all our heart and with all
our soul.7 But the Pentateuch nowhere intimates how
many times the Israelite should pray, or what he should
have to say. The forms now in use took their rise under
the men of the Great Synod. One reason assigned for their
work is the decay of the Hebrew language, the inability of
the people and perhaps even of priests and preachers to
pour out from their hearts well-worded devotions in that
tongue, and the resulting need for set forms of prayers, in
which all could unite, which all would soon know by heart.
and then repeat even in private.8
In Psalm 55, written probably after the institution of the
regular Prayer, the righteous man declares, "evening,
morning, and at noon-day will I complain, and moan, and
he shall hear my voice;" and this praying thrice a day is
found also in Daniel as a custom which the Israelite cannot
forego without incurring the guilt of impiety.9
Of the three daily Prayers, two are joined to the reading
of the Shema, following upon it both in the night (or even
ing) and in the morning service; the third is recited in the
afternoon, and is known as Minha, literally, a gift, thence
the meal-offering, the name being suggested by the pass
age in 1 Kings 18: 29, where Elijah prays in the afternoon
at the time of the "evening oblation." The Prayer in the
morning and that for the afternoon, or Minha, are deemed
more obligatory than that in the night service, for the two
former correspond in point of time to the daily sacrifice in
the Temple, and by reciting them the worshipper complies
in spirit with the words of the Prophet Hosea (14: 3) : "We

78 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
shall render as bullocks (the offering of) our lips." The
Prayer in the evening is not demanded as a duty, and
though law-observing Jews will not miss it any more lightly
than the two others, there is yet the broad practical dis
tinction, that in public service the morning and afternoon
Prayers are repeated by the leader, or Cantor, while the
evening Prayer is not repeated.10
The accounts in Daniel and in Psalm 55 present one
man in solitude uttering his Prayer, but the Mishna shows
that some of its benedictions were publicly recited in the
Temple, and it often refers to a leader reciting it before
an audience. It seems that any one could say his Prayer
privately, but when a sufficient number met, one would
lead and the others listen. But there is the custom,
fully established in the times of the Palestinian Talmud,
that in the Synagogue everybody says his Prayer silently,
and that the leader repeats it aloud. The reason given is
that he must thus relieve those unable to recite the Prayer
of their duty ; but this does not fully explain why the others
should first speak it in low tones, unless to the end that
each may add his own heart-felt supplications.11
When time presses, e. g., when night-fall is too near for
finishing the afternoon service, the leader begins the Prayer
aloud with the rest and recites three benedictions, then all
proceed silently. Some congregations, otherwise carefully
observant of the old forms, act thus regularly with the
"Additional Prayer," as to which many of the old Sages
held, that it is fitted only for public worship ("town com
pany" they call it), and this view would justify such a
shortening. As to this service it should be remarked that, as the
Prayer takes the place of the communal sacrifice, on those
days for which the law prescribes additional offerings, there
is another Prayer "added" (Musaf) after the morning
Prayer and before that for the afternoon; in most places
right after the former, without any intermission beside the

OUTLINE OF THE LITURGY

79

"lessons" for the day.12 But in many Synagogues of Austria
and Hungary, and in Western Asia also, the true morning
service for the Sabbath is held at a very early hour, at six
or seven; the worshipper then goes home, takes breakfast,
and comes back at ten o'clock for the "lessons," for the
sermon, and for Musaf. This is correct, for it is a leading
Jewish principle that whatever duty can be 'performed
at break of day should be performed before the morn
ing meal and before any business or pleasure is entered
on; and this principle applies most strongly to the Reading
of the Shema "when thou risest."13
Thus there are three Prayers on work-days; that for the
afternoon can be joined with the Reading of the Shema
and Prayer for the following night into one continuous
service; there are four for Sabbaths, New Moons, and Fes
tivals, generally making three distinct services, and there is
a fifth Prayer on the Day of Atonement known as Neila, the
"door-closing," which is begun shortly before sunset.14
The morning service has been much lengthened beyond
the two essential elements above named. It begins (leaving
out one or two poems) with benedictions and prayers which
express a devout man's feelings when he has risen from bed,
and has cleansed and dressed himself, and which were really
intended for the home;15 then come passages from Penta
teuch, Mishna, and Bara'itha as a minimum of study; then
the "hymns," Psalms, and other Bible poetry with befitting
benedictions; the two essential elements named come next;
then on New Moons, on the three Festivals, and on
Hanucca the "Psalms of Praise;" then the lesson or lessons.
There are other accretions towards the end of the morning
or of the "additional" service, but few in the afternoon and
evening. One of these is the recital, thrice a day, of Psalm
145, on which the Talmud lays great stress, first as one of
the morning hymns, again after the morning Prayer, and
again in the afternoon, when it and the Amida make up, in
the main, the Minha service.16

80 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The question as to the order of the evening service,
whether the Prayer is to precede or follow the Shema, was
still in dispute in the third century; some insisted that the
latter should be last and thus nearest to bed-time. The pre
vailing usage was probably always the same as it is now, so
as to give to the morning and evening services a similar
structure. 1T
We do not speak here of the responses, as their place
and nature cannot be- understood before the material
which the home has in common with the Synagogue is
fully explained. We may here speak of the persistence of
new elements when once introduced into the service on any
ground. Abudraham, writing in Spain early in the four
teenth century, says of the abstract of the Prayer which the
leader chants in the Friday night service after the congrega
tion have silently read the full text: It was introduced in
Babylonia, when most houses of worship were in the fields,
lest those coming late would have to walk home alone, for
while the leader chants it, they can catch up and then go
home, free from danger, in company. With us, who live
and worship in towns, there is no danger in walking alone,
but the custom of our fathers remains with us. And about
the Kiddush (Sanctification) made on Friday night over
the wine cup in the Synagogue he says: It is really im
proper, for the Sabbath must (quoting the Talmudic saying)
be consecrated only at the supper table, and he quotes R.
Hai, the last Gaon, that is, the last man who spoke with
authority to all Israel, in reproof of the custom, which
arose at a time when a room was usually attached to the
Synagogue for lodging and feeding travellers on the Sab
bath, so that they might hear the Sanctification over the
cup of wine. He says the reason has ceased; we no longer
lodge travellers in the Synagogue building; "yet, as our pre
decessors have set up the rule, though for a reason which
no longer exists, the rule remains unshaken."18
As matters thus stand, with all the old and new elements,

OUTLINE 01- THE LITURGY 8 1
the work-day service, except on Mondays and Thursdays,
including responses and the repetition of the Prayer by the
leader, is gone through with without undue hurry in about
forty-five minutes; on New Moons, including Musaf, in
about an hour. The afternoon service on work-days takes
at most ten minutes, the evening service fifteen minutes or
less. On Sabbaths and Festivals, even without preaching, more
time is required, first, on account of the longer "lessons"
and additional Psalms in the liturgy; secondly, because the
leader, with or without a choir, will give free rein to his
musical tastes, seeing that his hearers are not supposed to
have any other business on hand than to enjoy the glad
and solemn service.
In a very few parts the liturgy has in late centuries
been shortened by the omission of redundant matter. We
shall be so much occupied with an analysis of the Prayer
Books of the present day and the history of their gradual
growth that we will be unable to give much time and space
to an account of such parts of the liturgy as have been dis
carded in the orthodox rituals of our time.
One class of services has fallen into disuse since Talmudic
days, or is now attended only by those of avowedly ascetic
habits. These are the Watches, or Posts (Ma'amadoth, lit
erally, "stands"), growing out of the public fasts which, dur
ing the days of the Temple and for some centuries there
after, were called by the spiritual chiefs in the time of dis
tressing drought, yet distinct from them. The liturgy for
those fasts, which are now quite obsolete, is minutely set
forth in the Mishna. The Ma'amadoth are given pretty fully
in the oldest "Arrangements" and in some modern prayer
books, but they are not deemed at present, even among the
most orthodox, of universal obligation, and therefore lie out
of the province of this volume.19

CHAPTER II
SOURCE AND STYLE
A great part of the services is made up of entire Psalms
or other long passages of Scripture, such as the Red Sea
Song (Ex. 15); another considerable part, of single verses,
culled from different books and chapters; thus, the verses
sung in German congregations at the return of the Scroll to
the Ark are taken from Numbers, from the Psalms, from
Proverbs, and from Lamentations. Sometimes a verse will
be found intertwined in a non-Biblical composition as if it
were a part thereof, or changed only by turning the first
person singular into the first person plural, in which, as a
rule, all the prayers are composed; as Jeremiah's verse,
"Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed, save me and I
shall be saved, for thou art my glory," becomes, in one of
the Eighteen, "Heal us, O Lord," or by turning prom
ise into request, as Isaiah's prophecy, "I will restore thy
judges as of old, and thy counsellors as at the beginning,"
becomes "Restore our judges." Oftener a verse is quoted
with an introductory, "it is said," or "it is written," as a
foundation of our hopes, or as a reason for what we say
or do; thus, in the after-dinner grace, ''For all this may Thy
name be blessed, etc., as it is written (Deut. 8: 10), Thou
shalt eat and be full, and shalt bless the Lord, thy God, for
the good land which he hath given thee."
But, leaving aside whole chapters or whole verses, a set
purpose can be seen in the earlier compositions to keep close
to the spirit and to the very words of Scripture. Thus, where
a benediction begins, "Thou hast loved thy people, the house
of Israel, with everlasting love," it is an echo of Jeremiah's
(82)

SOURCE AND STYLE

33

words (31: 3): "I have loved thee with an everlasting
love;" and when, a few lines further on, we declare that "we
meditate on them (the words of the Law) by day and by
night," it is only because it is written that the righteous
man "meditates by day and by night" (Ps. 1: 2; cmp.
Josh. 1 : 6). We shall, wherever it is of interest, point out
the Scriptural materials from which the prayers are com
pounded like mosaic work; it would be a waste of space
to go through the whole service book, tracing each phrase
to its original. It was done by Abudraham in the fourteenth
century so fully and patiently that he frankly says of every
expression which he cannot trace, "this is the language of
the Sages."
The devotions that are not taken bodily from Scripture
are almost always drawn up in the first person plural, the
"we" standing for all Israel,1 and the people are always
called by that name, never Jews. Jerusalem or Zion is men
tioned only as a place, not as the embodiment of the nation.
It will be seen that in some passages we are taught to pray
for the welfare of mankind, especially that all may be
brought to the knowledge of the One God, and we are
made to acknowledge God's kindness to all flesh.
The names given to the Supreme Being in the older
prayers are the same that are used in the Bible; no
wonder, as these compositions are as old as many of the
Psalms, or older. But later on we meet with the para
phrase, "The Holy One blessed be He," which the Rab
binic schools employed in order not to pronounce a real
Name too lightly or too often, and occasionally with a very
distant circumlocution for God, "the Place" (ham-Makom),
as to the origin of which Hebrew scholars are very much
in the dark.2 We also meet in our liturgy, "our Father
who (art) in heaven;" oftener, "our Father and King," and
in one composition we praise and pray to "the Merciful"
by a half Aramaic name (ha-Rahaman), which has been
borrowed by Mohammed, and plays a great part in the

84 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
chapter headings of the Koran.3 We also find "the King
of kings," an appellation suggested by Daniel.
The "four-lettered" Name was not sounded by the Jews
as written (Yod He Vav He), but was read Adonai (in Gali
lee Adounoy) i. e., the Lord, even before the Maccabean
wars. (Where it is preceded by the name Adonai the un
speakable Name is read Elohim, and our version says, "the
Lord God.") The Greek version, made in part in the third
century before the Christian era, turns the Name regularly
into ho Kyrios, the Vulgate says Dominus, the Syriac version
Morio, all according to the pronunciation, not according to
the spelling. But in the Temple, till its destruction by
Titus, the High Priest in the three confessions of sin on the
Day of Atonement pronounced the Name as written. The
common priests did the same in blessing the people in the
words of Numbers 6 : 24-26, at least in the Temple, for they
were bidden to do so: "They shall place my name on the
children of Israel and I shall bless them." But outside of
the Temple, in the Synagogues even of the Holy Land, they
ceased doing so long before the fall of Jerusalem, being
persuaded of their unworthiness to utter the great Name
except under the most solemn command.
At any rate, before the redaction of the Mishna it was
deemed impious even to think of the sound of the four let
ters, probably because adepts in the secret lore claimed that
by correctly sounding and properly thinking the Name they
could work miracles, not always of mercy, and thus it was
thought best that the true vowelling of the Name should
be forgotten.4 The vowels put under and over the letters in
our Hebrew Bibles are those of Adonai or, in the excep
tional case, of Elohim.
The Name as written is now never heard in a Jewish Syna
gogue, except in the sermon of a very modern preacher.
The Hebrew of the older compositions differs but little
from that of the Bible; some of the later ones fall more or
less into the jargon of the Mishna, while in others a pure

SO UR CE A ND S TYLE

85

Biblical Hebrew, with its older grammatical forms, is intro
duced, not as a living, but as a learned tongue. The few-
Aramaic or half-Aramaic pieces will be noticed separately.
We must here explain the Benediction (Beracha), which
is the unit of the older non-Biblical parts of the service. The
word may mean a blessing bestowed on man by God, or
asked from him, but in the law of the liturgy it denotes a
devout passage which opens, or the closing sentence of
which opens: Blessed (be) Thou, O Lord. The formula
grew up in the Temple (see 1 Chron. 29: 10), "Wherefore
David blessed the Lord before the whole Congregation,
and David said: Blessed be Thou, O Lord, God of Israel,
our Father, from everlasting to everlasting." According to
the Mishna, at the service in the Temple Court, all benedic
tions before any special thanks or praise proceeded, "God
of Israel, from everlasting," till the words "unto everlast
ing" were added to confute heretics who said there is only
one world ('Olam, everlasting, came later on to mean also
world). b
Outside of thcTemple the words, '.'Blessed (be) Thou, O
Lord," alone characterized the benediction. When they
stood at the beginning of a piece, the further words, "Our
God, King of the world," were added, except in the oldest
and most important benediction, the first of the Prayer, in
which "King of the world" is not found, probably because
at the time of its composition these words had not yet come
into vogue. When a number of benedictions are strung
together, as in the Prayer, the first alone has the charac
teristic words at the beginning and again in a short con
cluding sentence, while the following have them only in
such sentence at the end. Thus the first benediction of
the Prayer opens: "Blessed be Thou, O Lord, our God,
and God of our fathers," and closes, "Blessed be Thou,
O Lord, shield of Abraham." But the second benedic
tion opens, "Thou art mighty," and gains its character

86 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
only from the closing words, "Blessed be Thou, O Lord,
who reviveth the dead."6
There are many short benedictions for things enjoyed
or by way of thanks for the merit of doing a religious act
which have the characteristic words only at the beginning,
e. g., that before eating bread: "Blessed be Thou, O Lord,
our God, King of the world, who bringest bread forth from
the earth."7
Such sanctity is ascribed to the "benediction" in this
sense, that it is deemed a profanation of God's name to
pronounce one that for any reason is not obligatory. Ex
cepting the grace after meals, which is of Scriptural obliga
tion, if you are in doubt whether you have already recited
one of the prescribed benedictions, do not say it again, for
the obligation is only Rabbinical, and it is worse to say a
benediction twice than not at all.8
The Rabbis who, in the Babylonian Talmud, lay down
such a principle, disable not only their successors but them
selves from drawing up any new benedictions, though they
may lengthen the old- ones by the insertion of new matter.
In fact, the two or three benedictions which cannot be
traced back to the days of the Mishna or to* the next hun
dred years following its completion have never received
the full and undivided assent of all sections of the Jewish
people. In putting most of the benedictions into English there is
a peculiar difficulty. They start with the second person,
"Blessed be thou," and almost invariably pass into the third.
For instance, "Blessed be thou, etc., who by his word
darkeneth the evenings." The verb, it is true, is in the
original a participle, as if we said, "the darkener of the even
ings," but the pronoun his is there explicitly. This apology
must be given beforehand for our shortcomings in this
respect. To turn all the pronouns and forms of the third
into those of the second person is hardly feasible; the writer

SOURCE AND STYLE 87
has tried it as far as he could, but in a few benedictions he
has let the third person stand as in the original.
From the tone in which the Talmud speaks of the services,
it appears that the outline was fixed long before the filling
up of the several benedictions. The leader had much dis
cretion when he prayed aloud for the congregation. The
individual worshipper was expected, at least in the
Prayer, to insert his own petitions according to his wants.0
And besides this testimony of the dead, we have the
living evidence before us that the general contents of
the benedictions and the closing words of each are the same
in the Sefardic and in the German Ritual, but the words of
request which precede the close, or "sealing," nearly always
differ more or less. It follows that the contents of a bene
diction will generally throw but little light on the true time
when it was first introduced. Thus, a benediction in which
the speedy advent of the Messiah is prayed for may have
been used before a coming Messiah was thought of, for it
closes, "Blessed be, etc., who causes salvation to grow," a
sentiment to which no one could ever object.
Another formula, not nearly so important or sacred or
old as the benediction, should be mentioned, the petition
opening with the words, "Be it thy will (literally, the
will be before thee), our (or 'my') God and God of our
('my') fathers, that, etc." It is not found in the oldest and
most obligatory devotions. The modern Cabbalists use it
very freely.10 A petition beginning, "Be it thy will," is
sometimes made part of a benediction, though never in the
oldest and simplest form of the older benedictions.
The Mishna and Talmud refer to many benedictions and
other devotions by the first two or three words, thus indi
cating that the compositions were already in common use,
and would be recognized by such short reference.11 The
short benedictions before enjoyment or before the perform
ance of some duty are always given in full, yet many of these
must have been in common use long before, and mention

88 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
is made only to clear up some fine point in the wording or
some casuistry about the occasion on which the benedic
tion should be spoken. Some of the longer prayers given
in full and recommended by this or that Rabbi must also
have been in vogue in much earlier times, as will be pointed
out hereafter by comparison with the so-called Lord's
Prayer.12

CHAPTER III
THE SHEMA IN THE EVENING
The first treatise of the Mishna begins with the reading
of the Shema, as if it were the most solemn and most im
portant act in the life of the Israelite. The precept implied
in the first two verses of the first section is recognized in one
of the Gospels (Mark 12: 29-30) as one of the two weightiest
commands of the Law. It is the desire of every good Israel
ite to die with the words declaring God's unity upon his
lips. The Moslem has learned from the Jew to say with his
last breath: I witness that there is no God but the God
(Allah). From immemorial times the reading of the Shema has
been preceded and followed by benedictions.1 In the even
ing and in the morning two benedictions precede the read
ing. The first of these refers to the time of the day, and gives
the name to the whole morning or evening service; the
second in each service thanks God for his love in teaching
us the Law, and prays for the continuance of this love. It
is known as Ahaba (Love). The benediction which follows
the reading leans upon the deliverance from Egypt, told in
the last verse thereof, and is known as Geulla (Redemption) ;
in the evening service another benediction follows, in which
God is besought for his protection during the night. Here
follow the evening benedictions:
I. Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who
by his word darkeneth the evenings, who in wisdom openeth the
gates, and with reason changes the times, and causeth the seasons
to alternate, and who orders the stars in their watches in the
expanse according to his will. He createth day and night, he
(89)

90 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
rolleth light away before darkness, and darkness before light;
he who moveth the day, and bringeth on the night, and who
divideth between day and night; the Lord of Hosts is his name
[The Germans add: The living and steadfast God, may he always
reign over us for evermore]; blessed be thou, O Lord; he who
darkeneth the evenings.
Here the Germans are guilty of a needless interpolation,
foreign to the matter in hand. The word rendered "stead
fast" is rather late Hebrew; it is found in Ecclesiastes in the
phrase, the earth "standeth" forever, but is not applied to
God either in the Bible or anywhere else in the older liturgic
pieces.2 In the next piece the Sefardic Minhag differs from the
German only by the insertion, in the form given below, of
single unnecessary words:
II. Thou hast loved thy people, the house of Israel, with ever
lasting love, thou hast taught us Law and commandments, ordi
nances and rights. Therefore, O Lord our God, when we lie down
and when we rise, we shall talk of thy ordinances, and rejoice in
the words of thy Law, and in thy commandments for evermore.
For they are our life and the length of our days, and we will
meditate on them (or breathe in them) bv day and by night. And
do not withhold thy love from us forever. Blessed be thou, O
Lord, who loveth his people Israel.

First Section
Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God, the Lord is One. (Blessed
be the name of his glorious Kingdom forever and aye.) And thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and
all thy might. (Here follow four more verses, Deut. 6: 6-9.)
Rashi gives a most natural meaning to the first verse.
Let us understand that the Lord who now is worshipped
by Israel will hereafter be alone worshipped by all mankind,
and will thus be the only God in recognition as he is already
in truth. The un-Scriptural line which follows the first verse

THE SHEMA IN THE EVENING 91
took rise in the second Temple; it was deemed the proper
reaction to the spiritual shock of hearing the otherwise
unspeakable Name pronounced,3 and was thence trans
ferred as a sort of rest after the solemn announcement of
the highest truth.
The second section treats of reward and punishment, not
of the individual saint or sinner, but of Israel as a whole; it
is in Deut. ii: 13-21.
The third section consists of the last five verses of Num
bers 15. It treats of the fringes on the corners of the gar
ments, and ends thus:
In order that ye may remember and do my commandments, and
that ye be holy to your God, I am the Lord your God, who have
brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the
Lord your God.
It seems, from Jeremiah 23: 7, that mention of the
Exodus had been made in public worship even during the
first Temple, perhaps in the evening as well as in the morn
ing. But the "fringes" belong to the day; the verses treat
ing of them were read at night only for the sake of uni
formity, and their recital in the evening service was at one
time in dispute.*
In public worship the last two Hebrew words (The Lord)
(your God) are joined to the first word "True" in the fol
lowing benediction.5
The Geulla for the evening service is marked by the word
"faithful," suggested by the words of Psalm 92, "and
thy faithfulness in the nights." It reads:
III. True and faithful is all this, and standeth firmly for us: that
he, the Lord, is our God, and no one else; who ransoms us from
the hand of kings, our King who delivers us from the hand of all
the fear-inspiring; the God who avengeth us upon our adversaries,
and requiteth on all our enemies their deserts [Germans insert:
Who doeth great things past finding out; yea, marvellous things
without number (Job 9: 10)]. Who holdeth our soul in life, and

92 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
suffers not our feet to be moved (Ps. 66: 9); he who leadeth us
over the high places of the earth, and who lifteth our horn above all
those that hate us; who worked for us miracles and vengeance,
signs and wonders in the land of the sons of Ham; he who smote
in his wrath all the first-born of Egypt, and brought his people
Israel from the midst thereof to everlasting freedom; he who made
his children to pass between the parts of the Red Sea, and sank
their pursuers and enemies in the deep; then his sons saw his
might, they gave praise and thanks to his name, and willingly
received his dominion; Moses and the children of Israel broke out
into song before him, with great rejoicing, and thus they all said:
(Ex. 15: n). Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the Gods?
Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing
wonders. Thy children saw thy Kingship, even the sea parting before
Moses; they struck up: "This is my God," and cried:
(Ex. 15: 18). The Lord shall reign forever and ever!
It is said Qer. 31: 11): For the Lord hath ransomed Jacob, and
redeemed him from the hand of one stronger than he.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, who hath redeemed Israel.
The two verses from Exodus are joined in by all present;
they are sung by the choir when there is one.
We find a short form of the Geulla in the Talmud, for
either the evening or tbe morning: "We thank thee, O Lord
our God, for that thou hast brought us forth from the land
of Egypt, and ransomed us from the house of bondage, and
hast done for us wonders and mighty deeds upon the sea;
and there we sang to thee." The words, "true and faithful,"
are supposed to precede this form,, and that which was sung
must follow it; that is, the verses from the Red Sea Song
given above. But .this was evidently not the established
form of the benediction, only what the men of the Law
declared to be the minimum of its contents. It is
too dry and bare for the Jewish taste in liturgical matters.
In the benediction as now known there is no trace of either
rhyme or acrostic and only three or four uri-Biblical
words;6 hence it is quite probable that it was from its first
constitution not much shorter than at present. Another

THE SHEMA IN THE El EN ING

93

opinion in the Talmud demands a reference to the smiting
of the first-born, which is made both in the evening and in
the morning benediction. Another calls for the words, "the
rock of Israel and its redeemer;" and these words are used
by way of conclusion in the German Minhag whenever on
Festivals "poetries" are inserted.7
The next benediction is peculiar to the evening:
Let us, O Lord our God, lie down unto peace; let us rise, our
King, unto life; spread over us the tabernacle of thy peace, and
build us up with good counsel of thy own; be thou a shield about
us, and remove from us the enemy and pestilence, the sword and
famine and grief, and remove the adversary from before us, and
from behind us, and hide us in the shadow of thy wings; for thou
art the God who guardeth and delivereth us, for thou art a gracious
and merciful God and King; guard thou our going out and coming
in for life and peace from henceforth and for evermore.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, who guardeth his people Israel forever.
"The adversary" is the English for "Satan." It is not
clear, however, that a personal devil is here meant any
more than in the story of Balaam, where the angel tells
him, "Behold, I came as an adversary (Satan) to thee." The
adversary before us is the man, the spirit, or the evil impulse
who or which seduces us to do wrong; the adversary behind
us is the human or superhuman being who accuses us of
wrong done.
On the Sabbath and on Festivals, in the German Ritual,
only the "Blessed be thou" at the end is taken off, and the
following substituted:
'And spread over us the tabernacle of thy peace: Blessed be
thou, O Lord, who spreadeth the tabernacle of peace over us, and
over all his people Israel, and over Jerusalem."
The Sefardim go further back in this change from work
days to holy days; on the latter, they say, we should not ask
God to guard us — theSabbath or Festival is in itself a pledge
of his watchful care — nor think of sword or pestilence;

94 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
hence they stop with "be thou a shield about us" in the
work-day fonm, and there add on the Sabbath and Festivals,
"And spread," etc., as above.8
Here, in Talmudic times, the Prayer would have followed
at once, but a third benediction has grown up which has
never been fully recognized by all; of this hereafter.

CHAPTER IV
THE SHEMA IN THE MORNING
The doubts about the third paragraph of the Shema
do not touch the morning service, nor was there ever an
attempt to add another benediction to those established in
the first age, for the old Sages insisted strongly on joining
"Redemption to Prayer," with nothing to intervene.
But while the number of parts, three paragraphs and
three benedictions, was always undisputed, the volume of
the latter has been very much swelled from their small be
ginnings. It is generally believed that the first benediction in the
morning was made up originally of forty-five Hebrew words,
equivalent to over eighty English words. Below, all the
rest is enclosed in brackets, each accretion separately, while
the original parts are marked by the number of words.1
I. (1-6). Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world,
(7-IS) who hast formed light and created darkness, who makest
peace and createst all; (16-26) who dost in mercy light up the earth
and those Who dwell thereon, and renewest on each day unceas
ingly the work of creation. [Ps. 104: 24. How manifold are thy
works, O Lord; in wisdom thou hast made them all; the earth is
full of thy riches.] [The King, who alone is exalted from ever
more, who is praised and glorified from the days of eternity!
Everlasting God, in thy abundant kindness be merciful to us, Lord
of our strength, rock of our refuge; shield of our salvation; fortress
around us!* God, the blessed, great in knowledge, has set up and
made the beams of the sun; the Good One has created glory for
his name; he has placed lights around his power; the heads of his
hosts are holy, exalting the Almighty, always** telling God's glory
and holiness.] (27-40.) Be thou blessed, O Lord our God, for the
(95)

96 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
excellent work of thy hands and for the luminaries of light, which
thou hast made, they should glorify thee. Selah.
[Be thou blessed our Rock, our King, our Redeemer, who hast
created holy beings; may thy name be ever praised, our King, who
hast shaped attendants, and all of whose attendants stand in the
heights of the world, and proclaim in awe together aloud the words
of the living God and everlasting King. All of them are (a)
beloved, all of them are (6) pure, all of them are (c) mighty; all
of them (o) do in awe and fear the will of their Master; and all of
them (/>) open their mouths in holiness and purity, with song and
music, and they bless and praise, they glorify and revere, they
hallow and honor with homage
The name of the God, the great, mighty, and fearful King, holy
is he.
And all of them (19) receive from each other the yoke of the
heavenly Kingdom, and give leave to each other to sanctify their
Maker with calmness of spirit; with pure and pleasant speech, all as
one sound the Thrice-Holy, and say in fear:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, full is the whole earth of
his glory.
But the wheels and holy beasts arise with a great rush to meet
the Seraphim; over against them they praise and proclaim:
Blessed is the glory of the Lord from its place].
[They put forth sweet songs to the blessed God; they discourse
music and sound praises to the King, the living steadfast God; to
him who alone worketh *mighty deeds, who maketh* new things,
the Master of *battles, who soweth *righteousness, who causes
*salvation to spring forth, who worketh *healing, who is fearful in
*praises, the Lord of *wonders, who reneweth in his goodness
always and on each day the work of the beginning.]
[As it is said (Ps. 136: 7): Thank him who made the great
lights, for his mercy endureth forever.] [Let a new light shine
over Zion, and may we all soon deserve its radiance.] (41-45.)
Blessed be thou, O Lord, Maker of the luminaries.

The first sentence (7-15) is taken from Isaiah 45: 7: (I)
form light and create darkness; (I) make peace and create
evil; but toned down in the last word: it is a protest against
the dualism of Persia, with its Ormuzd and Ahriman, the
gods of light and of darkness. The third sentence in the old
form and the close of the benediction, by asserting that the

THE SHEMA IN THE MORNING 97
Lord made "the luminaries of light" (cmp. Gen. i : 16), stand
out as a protest against Greeks, Canaanites, and Baby
lonians, who worshipped the sun and moon and the stars.
Nay, the Israelites of the second Temple who learned to
recite this benediction felt a proud distinction over their
forefathers of the first Commonwealth, many of whom at
sunrise turned to the rising luminary in worship.2 The mid
dle part of the old formula is a protest against the teachings
of Epicurus.3
The Hebrew word therein for Creation is Be-Reshith,
"In the beginning," which, from the first two words of
Genesis, has in the later language grown into a single word
answering to Creation in English. The meaning of the
sentence is that God does not leave the world to blind
forces, but by watching over it he renews the work of Crea
tion. Of the later insertions the oldest were most probably the
two Psalm verses, one near the beginning, the other near
the end.
Next is the account of the heavenly bodies, who are
endowed with life, and identified with attendants at God's
throne, who sing the Thrice-Holy, and who bless his glory.
These responses will be met with hereafter in the repetition
of the Prayer in public; they may have been put here to
give them a place in private devotion.
That this accretion is pretty old, dating at least to the
year 300, appears from a reference in the Jerusalem Talmud
to a leader in the services who became confused at the
mention of the Ofannim (Wheels).4 The words "beloved,
pure, mighty, do, open," are marked with the letters a,
b, c, o, p, to indicate the letters of the Hebrew alphabet
with which they begin. There may once have been a com
position running thus through all the letters, which was
recited only on occasions, and was afterwards shortened
for every-day use.

98 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The other pieces, "The King who alone," near the begin
ning, and "They put forth," near the end, are written in
a more labored style, and betray a later date. There are
five rhyming clauses in the sentence "Everlasting God;"
easy enough, as the rhyme is made by the suffix for "us" or
"our." The next sentence (* — * *) is made up of twenty-
two words with initials in the order of the alphabet at some
sacrifice of grammar. In the new piece near the end there
are eight words,* all ending in oth, the mark of the feminine
plural. Then follow the simple words, "who reneweth,"
which are borrowed from the old formula, in order that
the benediction at its end might be brought back to its
motif. The idea of imparting life and personality to the heav
enly bodies is not drawn from the Aggadta but from
Biblical sources, such as Psalms 104 and 148.
The last sentence before the sealing, "Let a new light,"
is not found in the Sefardic ritual nor in the Mahzor
Vitry, the oldest standard for the Germans. It has been
opposed by the greatest authorities, such as R. Saadia, as
being out of place, for this benediction deals with the
natural light of day, such as it now shines for all alike; not
with light in any figurative sense which is to shine in the
future. Altogether the two rituals agree pretty closely on the
whole of this benediction.
For the Sabbath it has been much extended. Before
(16-26) of the oldest form is inserted:
All should give thanks to thee, all should praise thee; all should
say: none is holy like the Lord. All should exalt thee, Maker of
all; God who opens each day the doors of the eastern gates, and
hews out windows in the skies; who bringeth the sun from its
place, the moon from its wonted seat, and illumines all the world
and its inhabitants, whom he has made through the quality of
mercy.

THE SHEMA IN THE MORNING

99

(After 16-26 of the old form, and the work-day insertion
to "fortress around us," proceed:)
None is of a kind with thee; there is none beside thee; there is
none but thee; none is like thee. None of a kind with thee, O
Lord our God, in this world; none beside thee in the next world;
nothing outside of thee, our Redeemer, in the days of the Messiah;
none compared! to thee, our Saviour, at the resurrection of the
dead.5 Almighty Master of all creatures,
Blessed and praised by each breathing mouth;
Grace and greatness fill his world,
Deepest wisdom encircles his seat.
He is enthroned above the heavenly forces,
Worshipped in reverence upon the chariot.
Zeal for the right stands at his throne;
Highest mercy pervades his presence;
True and good are his luminous spheres:
In wisdom, reason, knowledge he shaped them,
Kingly might he placed in them,
Letting them rule o'er the living world.
Massive with light, pouring forth radiance,
Nowhere and never their brightness endeth.
Setting with joy they rise with gladness,
Obedient e'er to their owner's will.
Praise and honor they yield to his name;
Cheers and songs to the fame of his empire.
Quick to his call the sun shone forth;
Round, like it, he built the disk of the moon.
Shouts of praise rise from all the host on high;
Thronging seraphs and angels sing glory and greatness."
The above twenty-two verses represent as many Hebrew
lines, the first two of five words each, the last two of six,
all the rest of four each, and ordered by the letters of the
alphabet; the same arrangement has been followed in the
version, substituting the nearest equivalents for the Hebrew
letters. The original runs much more smoothly than this
version, for Hebrew acrostics of even short lines are easily

IOO JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
made by reason of many synonyms and of the great free
dom in the order of words.
Connecting with the last clause above, the benediction for
the Sabbath proceeds thus:
To the God who rested from all his works, and on the seventh
day sat exalted on the throne of his glory; who wrapped the day of
rest in beauty, and who called the Sabbath delight. This is the
excellence of the seventh day, that thereon God rested from all his
work. Nay the seventh day itself says praises and speaks: "A
Psalm, the song for the Sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to
the Lord." Therefore, let all creatures glorify and bless God, and
give praise, honor, and greatness to the divine King, the Maker of
all, who gives a holy rest as a heritage to his people Israel on his
Holy Sabbath. May thy name, O Lord our God. be hallowed,
and thy memorial, O our King, be glorified, in the heavens above
and on the earth beneath. Be thou blessed, our Saviour, for the
excellence of the work of thy hands and for the luminaries of light
which thou hast made, they should glorify thee. Selah.
After this the Sabbath form is like that for week-days.
On Festivals falling on week-days there is no change,
unless "poetries" of later ages are inserted.
The insertion for the Sabbath is written in a language
and style as late as or later than the latest insertions in the
common form.
In the paragraph last given, the seventh day is personified
and named as the author of Psalm 92 from its title,
as Asaph is of Psalm 83, or David of Psalm 23. This
notion is found in the Midrash on the Psalms, written
towards the end of the ninth century. But the piece in the
Prayer Book seems older than the Midrash. It seems that
this imagery, turning the Sabbath into a Psalm writer, was
first conceived by him who composed this part of the morn
ing service.7
In the second benediction known as "Love" (Ahaba),
thanks are rendered for the Law and for Israel's mission.

THE SHEMA IN THE MORNING ioi
It stands in the German ritual, putting in brackets those
parts which, in the opinion of scholars, are of later origin,
as follows:
II. Thou hast loved us, O Lord our God, with abundant love,
thou hast foreborne with us in great and overflowing pity. Our
Father! our King! for the sake of our fathers, who trusted in thee,
and whom thou taughtest the laws of life, teach us also graciously.
[Our Father, the merciful Father, who showeth mercy, show it to
us, and put it into our hearts to understand, even wisely, to hear,
to learn, and to teach, to keep, to do, and to fulfill all the words of
the study of thy law lovingly.] Illumine our eyes in thy law, let
our heart cleave to thy commandments, and unite our hearts to
love and to fear thy name, so that we may never come to shame.
[For we trust in thy great and fearful holy name, we rejoice and are
glad in thy salvation; and bring us unto peace from the four corners
of the earth, and lead us walking erect unto our land.] For thou
art the God who worketh salvation, and thou hast chosen us from
every people and tongue, and hast brought us near to thy great
name [Selah] in truth; to give thanks to thee and lovingly to pro
claim thee One. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who hath chosen his
people Israel in love.
The Sefardic Minhag adds over forty words, a few here,
a few there, both in the older and in the later parts of the
benediction. The Mahzor Vitry contains the same pad
ding. The bracketed parts betray their late origin, because the
benediction, to judge from its counterpart in the evening,
is a place rather for thanks than for supplication ; the second
of these parts also, because to pray for the gathering of
the dispersion is out of place in the context, and those
who drew up the old formulas were great sticklers for the
"unities." The four corners of the earth were probably
suggested by the fact that the worshipper took into one
hand the four fringes at the corner of his shawl, as he is soon
to read the section from Numbers concerning them.8
The three Scripture passages are now read as in the even-

102 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
ing. In public service the leader again unites the last
words, "The Lord your God," with "True" or "Truth" at
the beginning of the benediction that follows.
Dropping some of the sixteen synonyms at the begin
ning, we have:
III. True and established [upright, lovely, majestic, received,
good, and fair] is this word to us forever. [Truly, the everlasting
God is our King, the Rock of Jacob is our saving shield; in all
generations he standeth, his name standeth, and his throne standeth,
and his Kingdom standeth, and his faith endureth forever. His
words are living and steadfast, true and pleasant, unto everlasting,
for our fathers, for us, and for our children, for our generations,
and for those of the seed Israel, thy servants. For the first and
. for the last, the word is good and standeth forever. True and
faithful, the ordinance will not pass away. Truly, thou, O Lord,
art our God, and the God of our fathers, our King, the King
of our fathers, our Redeemer, the Redeemer of our fathers, our
Maker, the Rock of our salvation, our Liberator and Saviour;
from everlasting is thy name; there is no God beside thee.]
[Thou hast been the help of our fathers from all time, a shield and
saviour to their children after them in every age. Thy seat is in the
eternal heights, thy judgments and thy righteousness go to the
ends of the earth. Happy is the man who listens to thy command
ments, who takes to heart thy Law, thy Holy Word. Truly thou
art a Master to thy people and a mighty King to plead their
cause.] [Truly thou art the first and the last, beside thee we have
no King, Redeemer, or Saviour.] From Egypt thou hast redeemed
us, O Lord our God, and from the house of bondage thou hast
ransomed us; *thou didst kill all their firstborn, and didst redeem
thy first-born; thou didst split the Red Sea; thou didst sink the
haughty, and broughtest over the beloved* (Ps. 106: n): And the
waters covered their enemies, there was not one of them left.
[Therefore the beloved praised and exalted God, and the beloved
gave out music, songs, and hymns, blessings and thanks, to the
King, the living and everlasting God; high and exalted, great and
fearful, who lowers the proud, and raises the lowly, frees the
captives, and redeems the humble; he helps the poor and answers
his people when they supplicate to him; praises to God on high,
blessed and again blessed.] Moses and the children of Israel struck
up a song to thee with great joy, and all of them said (Ex. 15: 11, as
in the evening) : The redeemed took up a new song to thy name

THE SHEM. I AV THE MORNING Ic>3
on the shore of the sea; all gave thanks and homage, and said
(Ex. 15: 18): The Lord will reign for evermore. [Rock of Israel,
arise to the aid of Israel, and redeem according to thy word Judah
and Israel.] (Isa. 47: 4): Our Redeemer! the Lord of Hosts is
his name, the Holy One of Israel; blessed be thou, O Lord, he
has redeemed Israel."
The parts of later growth have been put in brackets.
"True and established" are the initial words given in the
Mishna; the heaping up of fourteen other qualities of the
Law. which is heaping up so many compliments to its
author, is against the rules of taste laid down in the earlier
days.10 There is also this positive proof of interpolations
in the first part of the benediction, that the West Germans
abridge it very considerably, reducing the sixteen synonyms
to eight whenever "poetry" is inserted on the Festivals and
certain Sabbaths. Several subsequent passages begin with
the word Emcth, i. e., truth, true, truly. This word occurs
only once in the Geulla of the evening, and very probably
only once in the first draft of that for the morning. The
first of these longer insertions, which so eloquently claims
that our Law is unchangeable, and that God alone is our
Redeemer, was evidently written as a protest against grow
ing and threatening Christianity. The next bracketed part
(Thou hast been the help) is in no way indicated by the
short Talmudic form quoted in the preceding chapter, and
has no bearing on the redemption from Egypt. The next
sentence, in separate brackets, looks like another protest
against Christianity. "From Egypt thou hast redeemed
us" is of the very essence of the benediction; but the lines
between asterisks, though as a whole indispensable, look
like a poetic expansion. The next bracketed part (There
fore the beloved) is certainly such, of the kind as, in the
oldest time of the liturgy, would have been left to the taste
of each individual leader. Nearly all the rest is old, as the
two verses from the Red Sea Song are clearly indicated
by the Talmudic form. The words, "Rock of Israel," were

104 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
strongly objected to as unauthorized as late as the thir
teenth and the fourteenth centuries by German as well as by
Spanish scholars. They bring in a request for a redemption
hereafter, while the benediction should deal only with the
redemption in the past,11 and the Geulla in the evening ser
vice does not contain a word of request. The verse from
Isaiah naturally leads to the close, but has probably taken
the place of a short un-Biblical clause; many service books
put it in parentheses.

CHAPTER V
RESPONSES — THE KADDISH
It is the custom now, and was such in the earliest time
in which the "benediction" made a part of the service, that
when it was pronounced in public by a leader, those present
would adopt it as their own by answering, "Amen." Accord
ing to the Mishna, the Jew might respond Amen even to the
benediction of a Samaritan if he had heard it all.1 But Amen
was said only in the Synagogue or at the table, not in the
Temple; there the answer was: Blessed be the name of his
glorious Kingdom forever and ever.2
After the three distinguishing words of the benediction
(Blessed be thou, O Lord), spoken by a leader, it has for
many centuries been the custom for the hearers to answer:
Blessed be he, and blessed his name. This, as well as
the response in the Temple, is based on the verse in Deut.
32: When I call on the name of the Lord, give ye homage
to our God.3
A more important response is that which follows the lead
er's address by which the evening service and the more
essential part of the morning service are introduced. When
the assembled worshippers are thus addressed and do thus
respond, they are said, in the words of the Mishna, to
"break" (or "to cut pieces") on the Shema, and this can
only be done in the presence of ten men.4
It is on the Shema, because the address and response
precede its first benediction, which is deemed a part of it.
The words of the address are four:
1. Barechu, bless ye. 2. Eth, the mark of the objective.
3. The four-lettered Name. This would have been enough,
(105)

106 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
but by stopping here the leader would have excluded him
self from those who bless God, and so he adds : 4. Ham-
meborach, the blessed. The whole' thus becomes, "Bless ye
the Lord, the blessed."
The people answer, and the leader repeats after them
(the latter usage seems to be an after-thought), "Blessed be
the Lord, the blessed, forever and ever." In the answer the
first word is Baruch, the second "blessed" as in the address,
Hammeborach." The privilege of being thus addressed and of answering
thus was deemed almost a sufficient reward for a long walk
to the Synagogue. It was not, as with our Catholic fellow-
citizens, the sacredness of a priest conferring holiness upon
the words spoken by him, but simply the presence of ten
men, assembled for the worship of God; ten such men rep
resent the Congregation of Israel; where they meet, the
Shechina, or Presence of God, is poured out among them.6
We say "almost" a sufficient reward only because there
came other responsive passages.
These are the Kaddish and the Kedusha. The former
word is the Aramaic form of the Hebrew Kadosh (holy) ; the
latter is good, classic Flebrew for holiness, but means here
hallowing or sanctification; it can only be explained in the
next chapter in connection with the Amida, or Prayer.
The former is, as found in the present service books, a
queer compound of Hebrew and Aramaic; Hebrew pre-
•-dominates in the words, Aramaic in the flexions. The Ara
maic element was infused into it to make it more readily
understood by women and children and, generally speaking,
by the most ignorant portion of the people.
The so-called "complete" Kaddish in the modern rituals,
German and Sefardic, stands as follows. The parts put in
brackets belong to the latter only, and are later interpola
tions. The responses are shown in quotation marks:

THE KADDISH 107
Magnified and hallowed be (see Ezek. 38: 23) his great name in
the world which he hath created according to his will, and may he
cause his Kingdom to reign [let his salvation grow, and bring on
his Anointed] in your lives and days and within the life of all
Israel, speedily and in a near time, and say ye, "Amen. Be his
great name blessed forever and to all eternity." Blessed and
honored and glorified and exalted and raised and beautified and
lifted up and praised be the name of the Holy One, "blessed be
he." Upwards over all blessings, songs, hymns, and consolations
that are spoken in the world, and say ye, "Amen."*
May the prayer and request of all Israel be received before their
Father who is in Heaven, and say ye, "Amen."**
Be there much peace from heaven, life [and plenty and salvation
and comfort and help, healing and redemption, forgiveness and
atonement, room and deliverance] for us and for all [his people]
Israel, and say ye, "Amen."
He who maketh peace in his places (Job 25: 2), may he [in his
mercy] make peace among us and among all Israel, and say ye,
"Amen.'' Stopping at the second Amen (*) we have the Half Kad
dish of the Germans or Kaddish Le'ella of the Sefardim.
Leaving out the next paragraph alone, but proceeding with
what follows, we have what is now known as the "Kaddish
of the Fatherless," or the Mourners' Kaddish, which plays
an inordinately great part in modern Judaism.
Tlie complete Kaddish is recited after and with regard
to each Amida, as is indicated by its words, "the prayer
and request." The main office of the Half Kaddish is to
introduce the address, "Bless ye," in the morning service;
it thus becomes a part of "breaking on the Shema." But it
must have some Psalm or Bible passages to precede it, or
it must precede them when it is interposed between the
Prayer and the complete Kaddish.
The weighty response of the Kaddish is:
"Amen, be his great name blessed forever and to all
eternity." This is considered the most solemn part of
public worship; though it is undoubtedly much younger
than "Blessed be the Lord," in answer to "Bless ye the
Lord."

108 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
InaBaraitha of some length, ascribed to R. Jose, a mystic
of the second century, the prophet Elijah informs the pious
Rabbi that when Israel, in the houses of study and in the
Synagogues, answers, "Be his great name blessed," God
nods assent and says, "Happy is the King to whom they
bring such homage!" And the Talmud says that while a
person engaged in study might not interrupt himself for any
other purpose, he should do it, in order to respond, "Be his
great name blessed." Yet neither the Kaddish as a whole
nor the response is mentioned anywhere in the Mishna, a
circumstance which throws some doubt on the genuineness
of the Baraitha credited to R. Jose.7
The response, we are told above, is heard in the house of
study, for there is a species of the Kaddish known as "that
of the Rabbis." In this the paragraph as to prayer is
omitted, and in its place there is inserted:
Upon Israel and upon our teachers (Rabbis) and upon their
disciples, and all the disciples of their disciples, and on all those
that study the law, whether at this place, or in any other place,
may there be for them and for you, much peace, grace, and kind
ness, mercy and long life, plentiful nourishment and deliverance,
from the presence of the Father of Heaven and Earth, and say ye,
"Amen." When ten or more men have studied the Mishna or its
commentary, the Talmud, together, one of them at the close
recites the Kaddish of the Rabbis, the others responding,
and two or three sections of the Mishna are, in modern
times, often read and interpreted at the end or before the
opening of the regular services purposely, to give the
mourners present an opportunity to recite this Kaddish.
There is yet another species of the Kaddish more solemn
than all others. It is spoken at the open grave, also at the
house of study when some one of those present has, in his
studies, gone through one whole "Order" of the Mishna.
In this Kaddish the first paragraph is enlarged so as to take
the following shape:

THE KADDISH

109

Magnified and hallowed be his great name, which in the future
is to be renewed, when he will revive the dead, and raise to eternal
life, and build the city of Jerusalem, and finish the Temple in its
midst, and uproot the false service from the earth, and restore the
heavenly service to its place; and the Holy One, blessed be he,
will cause his Kingdom and glory to reign, in your lives and days,
etc., and say ye, "Amen."
"Upon Israel" is added in its proper place when this
Kaddish is recited in the house of study.
The response, "Be his great name blessed," in two of the
four passages of the Talmud which quote it, is given in
good Hebrew or nearly so; Abudraham found it so in an
old and authentic manuscript. The last paragraph and the
latter half of the last but one are still Hebrew ; when the rest
took their Aramaic guise is uncertain, probably in the sixth
or seventh century.
The older authorities on the Prayer Book know nothing
about a Mourners' Kaddish by that name; they denote it
simply by the opening words of the fourth paragraph,
because the third is omitted. They do not intimate that
anybody but the regular leader recites it. Maimonides wants
Kaddish said seven times a day, i. e., thrice the complete
one, four times the Half Kaddish, which leaves none to the
mourner. How and when the custom arose that the mourn
ers present at a service recite the body of such a Kaddish,
receiving the responses of the Congregation, and when the
belief sprang up that the son performs a duty to his departed
father and mother by repeating the Kaddish during the year
of mourning and on the anniversaries of his and her death,
it is hard to tell.
It seems, however, clear, from the legends on the subject,
that the custom and underlying belief at first required the
son to prove the merit of his parents by "breaking on the
Shema." He would thus in the morning service give out Kaddish
and "Bless ye," in the evening service only the latter, and

I io JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
would obtain the responses to both.- But this was not
always feasible, for a boy under thirteen is not qualified to
"break on the Shema," nor can several orphans join in
doing so, and when it became the rule for the same man to
do this and to lead in prayer generally, many mourners
would be found unequal to the task. Then some particular
Kaddish (neither the half nor the complete) not wound up
with the essential parts of the service, following some Psalm
or voluntary devotion, or the Kaddish for the Rabbis after
the reading of Mishna or Baraitha, could be set aside for
the mourners. This custom arose among the German and
French Jews (probably by way of reflex from their Christian
neighbors) long before it found a place among the Sefardim,
who grew up under Moslem rule. Abudraham, in his book
published shortly before 1340, has no allusion to the
Mourners' Kaddish,8 while the Mahzor Vitry, dated A. M.
4968 (1208), refers to it pretty plainly by the words, "the
lad stands up and says Kaddish," and by publishing, prob
ably for the first time among books still preserved, a well-
known legend, written for the purpose of bringing orphans
who mourn for a father or mother to lead in public worship.
Rabbi Akiba is said to have seen a coal-black man at a
grave-yard bearing a heavy load of faggots and running like
a horse. He kindly offered to redeem him from bondage
to a master imposing such hard tasks, but the answer came,
Do not delay me, or my taskmasters will be angry. On fur
ther question the stranger told him that he was dead, that
while alive he had been a cruel and unjust gatherer of trib
ute, favoring the rich and murdering the poor, and that
there was no help for him, unless,, as he heard, something
should happen that was clearly impossible, namely, that a
son of his would give out "Bless ye" in the Synagogue, and
the people would respond. R. Akiba asked for his and his
wife's name and for the name of his town; it was Laodicsea.
He there found the widow, as wicked as her late husband,
and a posthumous son uncircumcised and wholly untaught.

THE KADDISH III
He circumcised, and, with unutterable effort, taught the
boy the rudiments, i. e., to read the Shema and to say grace
after meals ; he stood him up in public, so that he gave out
"Bless ye," and the people responded. At that moment the
dead man was relieved from his sufferings in Gehinnom,
and he informed R. Akiba thereof in a dream.0 Hence,
adds the compiler of the Mahzor, it is usual on Saturday
night (when the condemned no longer enjoy the weekly
remission of their torments) for some one who has no father
or mother to say "Bless ye" or the Kaddish.
The underlying sentiment of the legend is this, that a
child, religiously trained by his dead father or mother, may
well hope that his acts of worship in the Synagogue reflect
credit before God upon those who taught him to be a good
Israelite, but the story seeks to impute R. Akiba's merits
to a dead sinner, which is Catholic but not Jewish doctrine.
The phrase, "breaking upon the Shema," which in the
Mishna means the responsive reading of "Bless ye," or of
Kaddish and "Bless ye," before the first benediction, is in
modern practice applied to a repetition of these responsive
parts after the morning prayer for the benefit of those who
may have missed them in the proper place by coming too
late to the services. Among the Sefardim this is done as a
matter of course, if any belated visitor is present.
In the German Minhag two verses (Num. 14: 17 and Ps.
25 : 6) are said silently by the Congregation while the reader
chants the words "Magnified and hallowed," and in both
rituals the Congregation is directed to whisper a short dox-
ology, while he slowly chants "Bless ye." This embraces
in the German Prayer Book Ps. 68: 5, and 113: 2. But the
more learned very properly disregard these directions,
deeming it more meritorious to listen to the leader than to
mumble something else.

CHAPTER VI
THE CONSTANT PARTS OF THE TEFILLA
The Tefilla, or Prayer proper, is made up on work-days
of nineteen benedictions, formerly of eighteen, from which
latter number it takes its popular name; on Sabbath and
Festivals, and as "Additional," on New Moons and half
festivals, it consists of only seven; the "Additional" on the
Memorial Day, of nine.
But the first three and the last three of these benedictions
are constant for all days, and in their structure and lan
guage they show a higher age than almost any of those
intervening. Only one of the six has gone through any
material change from its first draft, and they undoubtedly
date back to the days of the Great Synod.
The first benediction is known as "Fathers" (Aboth),x
and runs thus:
"Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God — 2and God of our fathers,
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob — "the great, the
mighty and the fearful God — "God Most High — Nvho -bestoweth
goodly kindnesses — -"and is Owner of all — 7and remembereth the
piety of the fathers — "and bringeth a redeemer to their children's
children — "for the sake of his name — 10in love. "King, helper and
saviour and — 12shield; blessed be thou, O Lord, Shield of Abraham.
We have marked twelve phrases to trace them separately
to their Scriptural origin. That of (i) has been shown in
a former chapter in speaking of the benediction; (2) is drawn
from the vision of the thorn bush, "The Lord, the God of
your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob has sent me to you;" (3) from the verse in
(112)

THE CONSTANT PARTS OF THE TEFI1.LA 113
Deuteronomy, "For the Lord your God is the God of
gods, and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the
fearful God," etc.; and the same appellation is found in
Neh. 9: 32; (4) and (6) from the words of Melchizedek,
"Blessed be Abram to God most high, owner of heaven
and earth;" (5) from Isaiah 63: 7, "I will make mention of
the loving-kindness of the Lord, according to all that the
Lord has bestowed on us;" (7) from the promise in Leviticus
26, "I will remember my covenant with Jacob, even my cov
enant," or from the statement in Exodus, "And God
heard their groans, and God remembered his covenant with
Abraham." There is some difficulty about (8), as the belief
in a coming Messiah probably did not prevail when this
benediction was composed, and it was deemed too sacred
for interpolation or change; but the redeemer in the author's
mind was in the past, such as Moses, whom God sent to
redeem Israel from Egypt, that the promise made to the
fathers might be fulfilled, as we are repeatedly told in the
opening chapters of Exodus. He brought a redeemer
again, say Cyrus or Zerubbabel, in the words of the second
Isaiah (59: 20): "A redeemer will come unto Zion."2 (9)
"For the sake of his name" God redeemed Israel heretofore
and must always redeem it from captivity; in the words of
Ezekiel (36: 23, 24), "And I will sanctify my great name,
etc., for I will take you from the nations;" (10) "In love"
rests on Deuteronomy 7: 7, 8, where it is said that God
chooses Israel not for its merits but from love.
The three words (11), King, Helper, Saviour, are so often
applied to God in Scripture that the particular allusion can
hardly be fixed; but (12) Shield, and particularly Shield of
Abraham, is evidently drawn from God's words addressed
to Abraham in Genesis 15: 1: "I am thy shield."
The Talmudic Sages are at one in holding this benedic
tion to be the oldest among all the non-Biblical parts of the
service, and they ascribe it with good reason to a very early
age of the Great Synod.
8

1 14 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The second benediction is known as "Powers" (Geburoth),
also as Revival of the Dead, and runs thus :
II. Thou art mighty forever, O Lord; thou revivest the dead;
art great to save. He sustains the living in kindness, he reviveth
the dead in abundant mercy, supporteth the falling and healeth the
sick and looseneth the captives, and keepeth up his faith to the
sleepers of the dust. Who is like thee, master of mighty deeds;
and who compareth with thee, King that killeth and bringeth to
life, and causeth salvation to grow; and thou art trusted to revive
the dead; blessed be thou, O Lord, who reviveth the dead.
The word "Lord" in the first line is not the Tetragram-
maton, but Adonai in letters as in sound. Some phrases are
not Biblical, as the underlying thought, that of the resurrec
tion, is hardly so. "Supporteth the falling" and the two
following predicates occur in the Psalms; "killeth and
bringeth to life," in the prayer of Hannah.
The third benediction is known as the "Sanctification of
the Name" (Kcdushath ha-Shem), and is very short.
III. Thou art holy and thy name is holy, and the holy ones
praise thee every day. Selah [Sefardim add: for thou art a great
and holy God and King] ; blessed be thou, O Lord, the Holy God.
The holy ones who praise God every day are not heavenly
beings, but the saints on earth,3 referred to in Psalm 16:
3. The word "Selah" (a corruption of the Greek impera
tive psalle, play!) was inserted, as in many Psalms, as a com
mand to the musicians in the Temple Court to strike up.
The word God in the close of the benediction is not Elo
him, but El, the one Divine name oftenest coupled with
adjectives, as in phrases (3) and (4) of the first benediction.
In public worship, when the "messenger of the assem
bly" reads the prayer aloud, he puts in place of all but the
closing formula, "Blessed be thou," the Thrice-Holy,
popularly known as the Kedusha. To hear this spoken
resporisively and to take part in the responses is one of the

THE CONSTANT PARTS OF TIIE TEFILLA

T5

objects which the good Jew has in mind in praying in
public rather than in private.
The shortest form is the following, employed by the Ger
mans on work-days and also in the afternoon of Sabbaths
and Festivals:
(The leader opens) : Wc shall hallow thy name in the world,
as they hallow it in the heavens on high; as it is written by the
hands of thy prophets (Isa. 6: 3): And one called to the other and
said: (All join) : Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, full is the
whole earth of his glory.
(The leader): Opposite to them, they say blessed [Sefardim:
Opposite to them they praise and say].
(All join): Blessed be the glory of God from its place (Ezek.
3= 12).
(The leader): And in Thy holy words it is written:
(All join): The Lord will reign forever, thy God, O Zion, from
generation to generation. Halleluiah (Ps. 146: 10).
(The leader) : To all ages we will tell of thy greatness, and to
all eternity we will proclaim thy holiness; thy praise, our God,
shall never cease from our mouth, [Sefardim begin:] for thou art a
great, a holy God and King.
On the morning of Sabbaths and Festivals the words
introducing the second and third responses are greatly
enlarged in a strongly poetic vein; the authorship of the
Psalm verse is assigned to "David, son of Jesse, thy right
eous Anointed."
In the "additional" prayer of Sabbaths and Festivals
the German Kedusha runs thus:
(Leader) : We shall revere and sanctify thee, as in the secret
whisper of the Holy Seraphim, who sanctify thy name in holi
ness, as it is written by, etc. (to "the whole earth of his glory").
(The leader proceeds) : Of his glory the earth is full, his attend
ants ask each other, where is the place of his glory? Opposite to
them they say: Blessed!
(All join) : Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place.
(The leader): May he from his place turn in mercy and show

1 1 6 JE WISH SER VICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
favor to the people who give unity to his name; evening and morn
ing, each day, unceasingly, in love they twice cry: Hear!
(All join): Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is
One. (The leader) : One is our God, One our Father, One our King,
One our Saviour; he will sound forth to us in his mercy again, in
the presence of all that liveth, the words: To be your God.
(All join) : I am the Lord your God.1
(The Leader) : And in thy holy words, etc.
The Sefardim employ the lines, "We shall revere," on
work-days and in the Sabbath morning service, and
they introduce for the more solemn occasion of the "addi
tional" on Sabbath and Festivals the following introductory
lines (which we render with their inversion in order to bring
the leading word to the front):
The crown (Kether) [O Lord our God], the angels, the crowds
on high, give to thee; also thy people, Israel, who are gathered
below, all of them as one sound to thee the Thrice-Holy: as it is
written, etc.
The divine names as bracketed above are not found in the
oldest liturgies. The Hasidim have adopted this form
with other parts of the Sefardic ritual, and attach import
ance to its fervid ejaculation. Kether has indeed become
their badge of recognition.5
On the Day of Atonement the Kedusha with five re
sponses is recited, not only in the "additional" prayer, but in
all the others, at least among the Germans.
Reserving in thought the figure IV for the variable middle
parts of the Prayer, we pass now to the last three benedic
tions. The first of these is known as "The Service" (Aboda).
Its present form is the following:
V. Be pleased, O Lord our God, with thy people Israel and
with their prayer [and return the service to the innermost of thy
House] ; and receive with favor the fire offerings of Israel ahd their
prayer; and may the service of Israel thy people be always accept
able. [Sefardim insert: And in thy great mercies thou wilt

THE CONSTANT PARTS OF THE TEFILLA n7
delight in us and accept us] [and may our eyes behold thy merci
ful return to Zion]; blessed be thou, O Lord [who rcstoreth his
residence to Zion].
The words above put in brackets, "and return," "and
may our eyes," were evidently inserted after the de
struction of the Temple; and the close of the benediction,
"who restoreth," was at the same time substituted for the
original words, which are still employed in the Synagogue
when the priests are expected to impart the blessing, viz.:
"Thou whom alone we shall serve with fear."6 The words,
"And in thy great mercies," were probably a part of
the old benediction; they lead well up to its closing keynote.
The word for residence is Shechina, the divine presence,
which, in the fond belief of our Sages, left Jerusalem when
the Law was no longer discussed by the Sanhedrin in the
hewn-stone chamber of the destroyed Temple.7
The next benediction is cajled "Thanks," perhaps more
correctly "Acknowledgment" (Hodaia). When it is re
peated all join with the leader in the opening words, Modim
anahnu lach,s by the first of which the benediction is popu
larly known. It runs thus:
VI. We acknowledge to thee, that thou, O Lord, art our God,
and the God of our fathers forever and ever; rock of our life,
shield of our help! thou art the same from age to age. We
thank thee and we tell thy praise, for our lives that are deliv
ered in thy hands and for our souls that are entrusted to thee, and
for thy miracles that are with us every day, and for thy wonders
and thy kind acts that are of every time, evening and morning and
noonday. Thou art good; for thy mercies never end; thou art
merciful; for thy kindness is never full; from evermore we trust
in thee.
And for all these things may thy name be blessed and exalted,
always and for evermore.
And all that live will give thanks to thee, and shall truthfully
praise thy [great] name, God, our salvation and help. Selah
[Sefardim add: the good God]. Blessed be thou, O Lord, thy
name is the Good, and to thee it is fit to give thanks.

1 18 JEWISH SER VICES IN SYNA GOGUE AND HOME
The next benediction is that of the "Priestly Blessing"
(Bir cath Cohanim). Before the leader repeats it in the morn
ing or in the additional prayer (on the Day of Atonement
in the afternoon also, on the Ninth of Ab only in the after
noon), he speaks this petition:
Our God and God of our fathers, bless us with the threefold
blessing that is in the Tora, which is written by Moses thy servant,
that is spoken by Aaron and his sons the priests, thy holy people,
that is to say: "May the Lord bless thee and keep thee; 2may the
Lord let his countenance shine unto thee, and be gracious to thee;
3may the Lord lift his countenance to thee, and give thee peace.
[Sefardim add (Num. 6: 27): So shall they put my name upon the
children of Israel, and I will bless them.]
After each of the three blessings the people answer:
Such be the will.9
The last benediction itself in its fuller form runs thus :
»
VII. bestow peace, happiness, and blessing, grace, kindness, and
mercy, upon us and upon all Israel thy people; bless us, our
Father, even all of us, by the light of thy countenance, for by the
light of thy countenance thou hast given us, O Lord our God, the
law of life, loving-kindness and righteousness and blessing and
mercy, life, and peace; and it is good in thy eyes to bless thy
people Israel* at every time and at every hour with thy peace.
[Sefardim substitute: *with much strength and peace.]10
Blessed be thou, O Lord, who blesses his people Israel with
peace. We find here the priestly blessing thrown into the shape
of a prayer, while the close in the Sefardic modification is
drawn from the last verse of Psalm 29. Those of the Ger
man ritual have deemed this full form fit only for the fore
noon services, when that blessing can be delivered, and
have contrived for the evening and afternoon prayers a
much shorter form, thus:
VII. Thou wilt bestow much peace forever on thy people Israel,
for thou art, O King, the Master of all Peace; and it is good in

THE CONSTANT /'ARTS OF THE TEFfLLA ng
thy eyes to bless the people Israel at all times, at every time and
every hour with thy peace. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who blesseth
his people Israel with peace.11
The Sefardim use the full form in the Minha and even
ing as well as in the morning services.
We find no evidence that the first three benedictions were
recited in the Temple in connection with the sacerdotal
functions; but the last three were.12
From a very early day the Prayer has been introduced
by the Psalm verse (51: 17), "O Lord (Adonai), open my
lips, and may my mouth tell thy praise," and has wound up
with another (19: 15), "May the words of my mouth, the
meditations of my heart be acceptable before thee, O Lord,
my Rock and mv Redeemer." They are well chosen, each
for its purpose, and are considered by the Talmud as almost
of equal age and sacredness with the Prayer; yet they only
belong to the silent devotion, and are net repeated by the
leader. When the Aboda (Service) is put back, as indicated above,
into the form it bore before the fall of the Temple, it will
be found that the six constant parts of the Prayer do not
contain a single word of un-Biblical Plebrew, and only one
that is used in an un-Biblical sense, Nes, which in classic
Hebrew means a banner, but stands in the "Thanks" for
miracle. A petition found in the Talmud as habitual with its
author has become a pendant to the Prayer when spoken
silently. The Sefardim put the verse, Ps. 19: 15, both
before and after it, the Germans after it only:
My God, guard my tongue from evil, and my lips from speaking
guile (see Ps. 34: 14). May my soul be dumb to those that curse
me; be it (humble) as dust to all. Open my heart to thy law; may
my soul pursue thy commandments, and as for all who think evil
against me, do speedily defeat their counsel, and undo their
thought. [Do it for the sake of thy name; do it for the sake of thy
right hand; do it for the sake of thy holiness; do it for the sake of

120 IEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
the Law.l That thy beloved may be delivered, save with thy right
hand and answer me (Ps. 108: 7).13
The bracketed part is of later origin, flowing probably
from a Cabbalistic source.
The Talmud assigns to this piece no place in the order of
worship. Abudraham, in the fourteenth century, remarks
that some "individuals" recite it after the Prayer. The
great Code of the sixteenth century speaks of some men who
recite petitions at this place. But at present the piece is
found in the service books of all the old rituals, more
through its merits than upon any authority.
After everything else the worshipper steps back with these
words, which are also the conclusion of the Kaddish :
He who maketh peace in his high places (Job 25: 2), may he
give peace to us and to all Israel, and say ye: Amen.14

CHAPTER VII
MODIFICATIONS OF THE CONSTANT PARTS
A few changes in the six constant benedictions and a few
insertions which are made in them on certain days or in
certain parts of the year must now be noticed.
First come those which are made on the first ten days
of Tishri, that is, on New Year and Atonement Days and the
days that intervene. They refer in the main to the heavenly
judgment which is expected and to the character of King,
which more than at other times is assigned to God at this
season. In the first benediction after "in love" there is inserted:
Remember us for life, O King who delightest in life, and write
us down in the book of life; for thy sake, living God.
In Hebrew the adjective comes at the end, and is the
same word as life. Thus a petition is made part of what
otherwise contains only confession and praise.
In the second, after "causing salvation to grow" is in
serted: Who is like thee, Father of mercy, who remembers his crea
tures to life in mercy.
In the third, the close of the benediction, "Holy God," is
changed into "Holy King."
In the last but one there is inserted before the last para
graph: "O write down for a happy life all the sons of thy cove
nant;" again the only petition amid confession and thanks.
In the last benediction before the close is inserted:
(121)

122 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
May we be remembered and written in the book of life, of bless
ing, and of peace, and of good sustenance, we and all thy people the
house of Israel, even for happy life and for peace.
And the close is made to read thus: "Blessed be thou,
O Lord, who maketh peace," but only in the German Min
hag, though at one time this seems to have been the form in
daily use.1
In the last service of the Day of Atonement (Neila), the
book of Judgment is, by a lively imagination, conceived as
already written in our favor; it only needs sealing, hence
the above insertions then become, "seal vis in the book of
life," "seal for a happy life," "may we be remembered and
sealed," instead of "write" or "written" or "inscribed."2
Second. On the solemn Days of Memorial and Atone
ment the following petition for the Kingdom of Heaven is
inserted before the close of the "Holiness of the Name," or
third benediction:
And now, O Lord our God, put thy fear over all thy works, and
awe for thee on all thou hast created; may all thy works fear thee,
and all creatures bow before thee, and all become one band, to do
thy will with full heart; as we know, O Lord our God, that the
dominion is with thee, strength in thy hand, and might in thy right
arm, and thy name is fearful over all thy creation. And now, O
Lord, grant honor to thy people, praise to thy worshippers, hope to
those who seek thee, and a free speech to those waiting for thee;
gladness to thy land and joy to thy city; a growing horn to David,
thy servant, and a shining lamp to the son of Jesse, thy anointed,
speedily in our days. Then the righteous will see it and be glad,
the upright will triumph, and the pious will sing for joy; wrong
doing will shut its mouth (Job 5: 16) and all wickedness will end
as in smoke, when thou drivest the rule of haughtiness from off the
earth. And thou, O Lord, wilt reign alone over all thy works, in
Zion, the dwelling of thy glory, in Jerusalem, thy holy city, as it is
written in thy holy words (Ps. 146: 10): The Lord will reign for
ever, thy God, O Zion, from generation to generation. Hallelujah.
The next and closing paragraph has at times been used
in the daily service as a substitute for the usual benediction,

MODIFICATIONS OF THE CONSTANT TARTS 123
in which the phrase "Holy God" is taken from the verse
here quoted:
Thou art holy and thy Name is fearful, and there is no God
beside thee, as it is written (Isa. 5: 16): The Lord of Hosts is
exalted in judgment, and the Holy God is sanctified in righteous
ness." The benediction closes: "The Holy King," as on the
other seven days of penitence.
Also, on New Year and Atonement Days, only, however,
in the loud recital, and according to the German custom
only in the Additional service and in Neila (by the Sefardim
also in the morning service), the following petitions (ar
ranged by the alphabet or a part thereof) are inserted in the
last benediction after the request for a favorable entry in
the book of life and before the very close or "sealing" of
the benediction:
(Deut. 4: 4): Ye who cling by the Lord your God are all alive
this day.
This day thou wilt strengthen us. (Amen.)
This day thou wilt bless us. (Amen.)
This day thou wilt raise our stature. (Amen.)
This day thou wilt seek us out for pood. (Amen.)
This day thou wilt hear our supplication. (Amen.)
This day thou wilt hold us up with thy righteous hand.
The first line and the general drift is held in common,
but the number and choice of the lines differ as between
the rituals.4
Third. The Jewish year is divided into the "clays of the
sun," beginning on the first day of the Passover, and the
"days of rain," beginning with the eighth of the Feast. In
the half year of rain, or of fall and winter, "they mention the
powers of rain;" that is, the power of God to send rain is
acknowledged. This is done by inserting in the second
benediction after the words, "thou revivest the dead; art

124 IEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
great to save," these: "He causes the wind to blow and
the rain to descend." Both rituals agree in these words for
the winter. The Mishna bears witness: They mention the
powers of rain in the Resurrection of the Dead. The Sefar
dim say in the summer months: "He causeth the dew to
descend," as they did in Palestine, where dew is an im
portant source of moisture during the summer. In the
northern climates inhabited by those of the German ritual,
dew is less important, and this phrase was dropped from
the Prayer Book, but is retained in the Mahzor, or Festival
Order, for the first day of Passover, when poetic hymns
and prayers about dew are recited, as there are similar
hymns and prayers on the eighth day of the Feast for the
blessings of rain.
The mention of dew in connection with the revival of the
dead was suggested by the verse, Isa. 26: 19. In the poetic
pieces, which, on the solemn days, the Germans insert in
the repetition of the Prayer, dew and the revival of the dead
are always named in one breath.
In the German ritual, after poetical effusions, the leader,
in repeating the Additional Prayer on the first day of Pass
over, intones:
For thou, O Lord our God, causest* the dew to descend.
For a blessing, not for a curse. (All answer) Amen.
For plenty, not for failure. Amen.
For life, not for death. Amen.
On the eighth of the Feast the course is the same, except
that he says in the first line: * the wind to blow and the
rain to descend.5
Fourth. On New Moons and Middle Days, except in the
Additional service, the Prayer is the same as on working-
days, only the following petition is inserted in the Aboda
before "bring back," in translating which we omit some
of the synonyms and transpose the verbs and nouns in the
first part:

MODIFICATIONS OF THE CONSTANT PARTS

J 25

Our God and God of our fathers! May the remembrance of our
selves and of our fathers, and of thy anointed servant, the son of
David, and of thy holy city Jerusalem, and of all Israel thy people,
arise and come, be seen and heard before thee, on this day of the
(New Moon) (Feast of Unleavened Bread) (Feast of Booths)
unto deliverance, happiness, life, and peace; remember us thereon,
O Lord our God, for happiness;1 visit us for blessings2; save us
unto life'; and with words of help and mercy, spare and favor us,
show us mercy! save us! for to thee our eyes are turned: thou art
the gracious and merciful God and King.
When this piece is read by the leader, the others answer
Amen at the points marked (1), (2), (3).°
Fifth. On Hanucca and Purim special thanks are offered,
and inserted in the last benediction but one (Thanks) after
the words, "from everlasting we hope in thee."
On both occasions:
For the miracles and deliverance, for the salvation and mighty
deeds and battles, which thou hast wrought for our fathers in those
days at this season.
Then on Purim:
In the days of Mordecai and Esther, at Susa, when the wicked
Haman rose against them, and sought to kill and destroy all the
Jews, young and old, women and children, on one day, the thir
teenth day of Adar, the twelfth month, and to plunder their spoil;
but thpu, in thy great mercy, didst defeat his plan and upset his
counsel, and requite his deserts upon his head, and they hanged
him and his sons upon the tree.
This account is given on Hanucca:
In the days of Mattathia, son of Johanan, the Hasmonean High
Priest, and of his sons, when a wicked Greek kingdom arose
against Israel, to make them forget thy law and transgress thy
decrees; but thou didst in thy great mercy stand by them in their
distress, plead their quarrel, judge their cause, wreak their ven
geance; delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many
into the hands of the few, the unclean into the hands of the pure
(etc.); and thereafter came thy children to thy sanctuary, cleared

126 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
thy Temple (etc.), and lit lamps in thy sacred courts, and established
these eight days of Hanucca, to give thanks and praise to thy great
Name. The account of the Maccabean wars here given is true
as far as it goes, except that Mattathia never was a High
Priest; but it leaves a false impression. The reader is apt
to believe that the re-conquest of the Temple ended the
struggle. But, in fact, independence was attained only
after twenty-five years of almost uninterrupted fighting,
while the result which the feast of Flanucca commemorates
was reached in three years.
That Hanucca and Purim are mentioned in "Thanks" is
spoken of in the Talmud as a matter of course.7
Sixth: It was formerly the custom that the "priests"
would, on every morning at the Synagogue, deliver the
blessing; on Sabbath and Festivals in the morning service
and in the "Additional," too, on fast days in the Minha ser
vice. For several hundred years they have done it only on
the Festivals and generally in the "Additional" service,
though the morning service would be more appropriate,
as men should perform a religious duty as early in the
morning as they can and before breakfast. The change
from the first to the second service took place in the eigh
teenth century and on musical grounds; that is, because a
better trained singer would lead in the latter service.
Now whenever the priests are desired to do their sacred
work, the leader calls upon them by a pre-arranged and
well-known sign. In the Aboda, after the words, "acceptable
before thee," he proceeds:
May our supplication be pleasant before thee like burnt-offering
and sacrifice. O thou Merciful Being, in thy great mercy restore
thy presence to Zion and the order of service to Jerusalem. May
our eyes behold thy return to Zion in mercy, and there we shall
serve thee in awe, as in the days of old and in former years (see
Mal. 2: 2).

MO DIFICA TIONS OF THE. COATS T. I NT PA R TS \ 2 7
And then he closes the benediction, as shown in
the preceding chapter, "thou whom alone we will serve in
fear." Tlie benediction of thanks follows as usual, and the leader
as at other times reads the petition which introduces the
blessings; whereupon the "priests" say aloud:
Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who has
sanctified us with the sanctity of Aaron, and has commanded us to
lovingly bless his people Israel.
The words are given out by the leader from a book before
him; the priests repeat them one by one.
To each of the three benedictions those present answer
Amen. It is needless to copy here the verses which are
given to the congregation to read to keep them from star
ing impertinently at the priests during their high function.8
Seventh. In the morning of the Ninth of Ab the priests
may not confer the blessing, nor does the reader recite it.
But the Sefardim go further. In the evening and morning
service for this sad day they cut down the last benediction,
based on this blessing, to these few words:

'&>

Thou who makest peace, bless thy people Israel with much
strength and peace, for thou art the Lord of peace. Blessed be
thou, O Lord, maker of peace.

CHAPTER VIII
THE WORK-DAY BENEDICTIONS
The Mishna teaches that when a public fast is proclaimed
in a time of drouth, the man chosen to pray recites twenty-
four benedictions, "the eighteen of every day" and six more.
And in another passage we find: They recite every day
eighteen benedictions, says R. Gamaliel; R. Joshua says,
an abstract of eighteen. Here is the oldest evidence for the
number eighteen, which is still the most popular name for
the Tefilla, or Prayer.1
There being the six constant benedictions at the begin
ning and end, twelve should be left for the middle. But there
are at present thirteen, all of them in the main petitions for
divine help. We shall see which of them is the late intruder.
I. Thou grantest knowledge to man, and teachest mortals under
standing;* grant us from thyself knowledge, understanding, and
prudence; blessed be thou, O Lord, who grantest knowledge.
In the evening- service after a Sabbath or Festival there
is inserted at * :
[Thou hast favored us to know thy law, and hast taught us to do
the ordinances of thy will], and hast divided, O Lord our God,
between holy and unholy, between light and darkness, between
Israel and the nations, between the Sabbath and the six days of
work. Our Father, our King, let the coming days begin in peace,
free from all sin, clean from all wrong, and firm in the fear of thee.
R. Akiba proposed to put this Separation (Habdala) into
another benediction by itself, but was overruled, because
"our Sages have instituted eighteen," not nineteen. The
(128)

THE WORK-DAY BENEDICTIONS 129
bracketed part, a needless repetition, is not found in the
oldest service books.2
II. Bring us back, our Father, to thy Law; keep us near, our
King, to thy service, and cause us to return in perfect repentance
before thee; blessed be thou, O Lord, who acceptest repentance.
The Hebrew word for repentance (Teshuba), literally "re
turn," means in religious parlance the turning back from
a wicked to a God-fearing life. It never, either in the Bible
or in the older liturgy, stands for acts of penance or feel
ings of regret for sins committed; it does sometimes take
suoh a meaning in the later Cabbala, as a sort of reflex from
Christianity. III. Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us,
our King, for we have transgressed; for thou pardonest and for-
givest. Blessed be thou, O Lord, the gracious, who often for-
givest. The second and the third benediction each contains a non-
Biblical root; that of the verb which we render "to return,"
which is, however, pure Hebrew, and that rendered "par
don," which is rather Aramaic. The first was chosen to
avoid a repetition of the root contained in Teshuba (repent
ance); the other to keep up the parallelism of the two half-
lines: Forgive — pardon; Father — King; sinned — trans
gressed, in the style which pervades all the poetical books
of the Bible. Between sin and transgression there is, how
ever, a broad distinction; the former being the result of
carelessness, ignorance, or weakness; the latter, of defiance.
IV. Look but upon our affliction, and plead our cause, and
redeem us speedily for the sake of thy name; for thou art a powerful
redeemer; blessed be thou, O Lord, the Redeemer of Israel.
Unlike some great Hebrew scholars, I do not believe
that this petition for help in need was not composed or used
during the reign of the Hasmoneans, because the country
9

130 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
was prosperous, nor in that of Herod, because he would
liave forbidden it as an aspersion on his government. The
best of times leaves room enough for improvement. Samaria
at a few miles distance from the capital stood out defiantly,
hindering the union of Israel into one people. War threat
ened from abroad; civil strife from within. There were
many short crops, a few famines. The Jews in the disper
sion, in Alexandria, on the Euphrates, in Rome, often suf
fered from persecution. There is no nation nor church that
does not, in a like strain, pray to God for help. And Herod
would not any more than Czar Alexander III have forbid
den such a prayer.
V. Heal us and we shall be healed; save us and we shall be
saved; for thou art our praise. (See Jer. 17: 14.) And bring a
full healing for all our sores; for thou, God, King, art a true and
merciful physician; blessed be thou, O Lord, who healest the sick
of his people Israel. (See Ex. 15: 26.)
So far the Sefardic forms differ from the German forms
here given only by adding here and there a few expletive
words. VI. Bless for us, O Lord our God, this year and all kinds of
its produce fpr the best; and give (dew and rain for) a blessing
upon the face of the earth; fill us from thy bounty, and bless our
year that it be as the good years. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who
blessest the years.
The words "dew and rain for" are inserted in winter,
when, in the old seats of the dispersion, rain was needed
to ripen the crops; beginning with the sixtieth day after
the autumnal equinox and ending with the Passover. As
the equinoxes were for this purpose counted by the Julian
year, the sixtieth day is now December 4th. There
was much discussion between the Babylonians and Pales
tinians, and formerly the Jews of several countries were
divided in their allegiance. Modern Rabbis, like Dr.
Geiger, have sensibly proposed to pray all the year around

THE WORK-DAY BENEDICTIONS 1 31
that God may give dew and rain for a blessing; we dp not
pray for floods or cloud-bursts. It is natural to ask for rain
in this benediction ; the Mishna already bears witness : They
ask for rain in the Blessing of the Years.
In the Sefardic ritual the prayer which introduces the
benediction is different throughout on the days when rain
is asked for and those on which it is not. The latter takes
the following shape, and contains a request for dew:
VI. Bless us, O our Father, in all the work of our hands, and
bless our year with gracious, blessed, and kindly dews; be its end
life, plenty, and peace as in good years; for thou, O God, art good
and doest good, and blessest the years; blessed be thou, O Lord,
who blessest the years.
Here are thirty Hebrew words ; the Sefardic benediction
for the rainy season contains eighty-five.3
VII. Blow the great trumpet {Shofar) for our freedom, and lift
a banner to gather our exiles, and gather us into one body from the
four corners of the earth; blessed be thou, O Lord, who gatherest
the outcasts of his people Israel.
The request or introductory part undoubtedly under
went some changes when the Temple was destroyed, when
the last shreds of autonomy were taken from the Jews of
Palestine, and the great majority of the Jews were in
exile. But there could have been such a benediction,
closing as this does, while the Temple stood. While the
House of David reigned, Isaiah said (Isa. 27: 13):
"It shall come to pass on that day, that the great trumpet
shall be blown, and they shall come that perish in the land of
Assyria, and that are outcasts in the land of Egypt." And
Psalm 106, written, during the second Commonwealth,
says at its close: "Save us, O Lord, and gather us from
the nations." Psalm 147 praises God who "gathers the
outcasts of Israel." The Jewish settlements in Babylonia
and Egypt might have been a cause of pride; outposts of
the true faith among the heathen; seed-plants of a universal

132 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
church ; but from these Psalms it is apparent that the Pales
tinian Sages who wrote Psalms, or admitted them into the
Canon, did not look at matters in that light.
The same remark applies to the next benediction:
VIII. Restore our judges as at the first, and our counsellors as
at the beginning (Isa. i: 26), and remove from us grief and sigh
ing; reign over us, thou, O Lord, alone in kindness and mercy,
and justify us in the judgment. Blessed be thou, O Lord,* the
King who lovest righteousness and justice. (On the penitential
days:* the King of justice.)
This benediction may have been drawn up just as it stands,
when men in full touch with the most religious and patriotic
feeling filled the highest courts; for such men would natur
ally look back to the days of Moses and his seventy associ
ates, or even to King David and the judges whom he in
stalled, though they exceeded David and his contemporaries
both in learning and in the love of justice. Deeply religious
men have ever looked up with respect to the heroic ^gc of
the fathers, and the prediction of Isaiah, that there shouid
again be judges as in the olden days, became to them a
prayer. The next benediction is found in many forms, due not so
much to differing tastes among Jews as to the whims of this
or that Christian censor.
IX. May no hope be left to the slanderers; may all wickedness
perish as in a moment; may all thy enemies be soon cut off, and
do thou speedily uproot the haughty, and shatter and humble
them speedily in our days; blessed be thou, 0 Lord, who strikest
down enemies, and humblest the haughty.
This is from a Wilna edition of 1892. A note explains
slanderers by the well-known Hebrew word for informers.
Such there were in Roman times, who for gain delivered
their brethren over to the heartless oppressor, and brought
many to a painful death. The invocation against these
wretches is the same in all editions.

THE WORK-DAY BENEDICTIONS

133

In a South German Prayer Book of 1821 the second
clause is not so liberal; unlike the noble wife of R. Meir,
who wished only that sins, not sinners, would perish, the
editor frames it: "May all doers of wickedness perish, etc."
On tlie other hand he is satisfied with humbling the haughty,
and leaves off the uprooting and shattering.
The Sefardic service book, printed in Amsterdam in 1658,
differs from both by the request for the uprooting of the
"kingdom of wickedness." Elsewhere on the Continent
that phrase was suppressed by the censorship.
The Sefardic prayer books published in England and
America, free from all constraint, have it: "May all Minim
perish;" they render this word by apostates, and such is un
doubtedly the old form.
A Baraitha in the Babylonian Talmud gives this account
of Benediction IX:
"Simeon, the cotton dealer, arranged the eighteen bene
dictions in order before Rabban Gamaliel (the Second,
about 100) at Jamnia; then R. Gamaliel said to the Sages:
Who can draw up a benediction about the Sadducees?
Then Samuel the Little arose, and drew it up. Next year
he had forgotten it."
The Talmud, speaking at a later date, remarks: If the
leader makes a mistake about this benediction he is stopped,
for they suspect him of being an apostate (Min).4
Though all prayer books now agree on "Slanderers"
(Malshinim) in the first petition, and though there are
strong reasons for using such a word, it was originally
"Perverts" (Mumarim or Meshummadim). Both Christians
and Mohammedans objected to hearing converts to their
faith openly cursed, and the words, "kingdom of haughti
ness," were taken as a direct attack upon every govern
ment under which the Jews lived, and had to be dropped in
many places under outside pressure.
From all these testimonies different inferences have been
drawn by modern scholars. Some maintain that there had

134 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
been a prayer against the Sadducees in earlier times, which
had fallen into disuse, and that R. Gamaliel of Jamnia
wished to have a similar prayer drawn up against the in
ternal enemies of Judaism of his own time. There is hardly
evidence enough to sustain such a position. The Patriarch
would have known the old formula, and need not have de
puted Samuel the Little to draw up another. The more
natural inference is this: During the time of the Patri
archate at Jamnia the Sadducees were still dangerous, and
were designated as Minim (Sectaries), as they are also called
in a section of the Mishna which speaks of "mischievous
Minim who said there is only one world." Not long after
wards they became few and harmless, and gradually disap
peared. Meanwhile Jewish or Ebionite Christians became
numerous in Palestine; the word Minim was transferred to
them. The new faith made much progress among the un
learned, the "People of the Land." Without being changed,
the formula was in thought applied to them, for they threat
ened great danger to Israel's further existence as a religious
community. The prayer that they should speedily perish
was in one sense fulfilled ; for in the third century they were
absorbed in the Catholic Church; they became simply Gen
tiles. Toward such, the Jew has never shown any ani
mosity, except when persecuted by them; they were to
them in peace friends, in war enemies. The Christians of
our day are not Minim, that is, Jewish sectaries, and need
not take offence at the word, which at one time denoted a
part of their religious progenitors.5
X. May thy mercies, O Lord our God, be aroused over the
righteous, and over the pious, and over the elders of thy people,
the House of Israel, and over the remnant of their scribes,, and
over the righteous converts, and over us; and giye a goodly reward
to those who truly trust in thy name; and set our share with
them forever; and may we not come to shame for that we have
trusted in thee; blessed be thou, O Lord, support and trust to the
righteous.

THE WORK-DAY BENEDICTIONS

135

The "righteous," named first in the request and alone at
the close, are to be understood in a general sense, not as a
party or a class. Hence the benediction may have been
written before any of the events happened which gave rise
to the classes prayed for. The "pious" are those intensely
patriotic men who, gathering around Mattathia, bore the
brunt of the fight against Antiochus; the "elders" are those
who reached that office through learning and piety, not by
wealth or priestly descent; the "remnant of their scribes"
probably referred to the Pharisaic scholars who escaped
the slaughter ordered by Alexander Jannseus, and who
were, at the instance of his wife, Salome, recalled to the
Sanhedrin. The "righteous converts" are Gentiles who take
upon themselves the whole Mosaic Law, while "converts of
the gate" only bind themselves to monotheism and to the
leading rules of the moral law. As there had been thou
sands of conversions in Galilee at a very early day, as the
Idumeans were converted en masse in the reign of John
Hyrcanus, and as many of the heathen were converted while
the Temple stood, it is hard to say when the reference to the
"righteous converts" was inserted.
XI. Return in mercy to thy city [Jerusalem] and dwell in her
midst as thou hast spoken; build it speedily in our days as an ever
lasting structure [and set up speedily therein the throne of David],
Blessed be thou, O Lord, the builder of Jerusalem.
The parts in brackets are omitted in the Sefardic ritual,
at least according to the older standards. The petition
about the throne of David anticipates the next number.
This benediction is older than the destruction of the city;
it is based on the words of Psalm 147, "the Lord buildeth
Jerusalem," and it might have been spoken in its earliest
days pretty much as in the short form used by the Sefardim.
The first clause in the German rendition is, of course, a later
addition. On the Ninth of Ab in the afternoon service the following

136 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
sad reflections are inserted in XII before the close of the
benediction, and this is also modified:
Comfort, O Lord our God, the mourners of Zion and of Jeru
salem, and the mourning, wasted, despised, and desolate city; she
mourns for the loss of her children; she is wasted of her dwell
ings; she is despised and without her glory and desolate without
inhabitants. She sitteth and her head is veiled, like a barren woman
who has not borne. The legions swallowed her, idol worshippers
conquered her, and they took off thy people Israel by the sword,
and killed wantonly the saints of the Most High. Therefore Zion
weeps bitterly, and Jerusalem lifts her voice; my heart, my heart
for the slain! my inwards, my inwards for the slain! But thou, O
Lord, hast burned her with fire, and with fire thou wilt hereafter
build her, as it is said (Zech. 2: 9): I shall be unto her, says
the Lord, a wall of fire round about, and I shall be for glory in her
midst. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who comfortest Zion and buildest
Jerusalem. This is the German form; the Sefardic is somewhat
shorter. That given in the Talmud begins with the word,
"Have mercy" (Raheni), not as at present "Comfort"
(Nahem).6 The greatest difficulty hangs over the next benediction:
XII. Let the sprout of thy servant David grow speedily, and may
his horn be high through thy salvation; because for thy salvation
we hope every day. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who causes the horn
of salvation to grow.
The two rituals agree here in every word.
The close of the benediction does not point to an ex
pected Messiah; the first part of the short introduction may
be understood in such a sense. As only the closing words
were originally fixed, all the rest being liquid and change
able, the antiquity of XII could be maintained on the same
ground as that of VII, VIII, and X.
When during the reign of Herod the Messianic idea be
gan to rise in many minds, those full of it may have ex
pressed their hopes and wishes on that subject when about
to bless him who raises the horn of salvation, and when

THE WORK-DA)' BENEDICTIONS \yj
Simeon, the cotton dealer, came to draw up his fixed forms
at Jamnia, the prayer for a speedy advent had become a
part of this benediction.
There is another ground on which to maintain the place
of this benediction in the work-day Amida as first consti
tuted. Though the hope in a world-saving Messiah may
have only taken shape in the last years of Herod's reign,
yet during much, perhaps during all the time of the second
Temple, a feeling prevailed that the restoration of the
House of David on the throne would mean the nation's wel
fare and glory, and be the surest mark of God's favor. The
next King of that House need not be a precursor of the
millennium, nor an inspired poet like David, but only a
righteous man and gallant patriot such as King Josiah was.
He would marry and have children; he would die and leave
his kingdom to his eldest son. This idea runs through sev
eral Psalms that are clearly post-exilic, for instance, 89 and
132. Now the words of request in benediction XII ask for
no more than such a King of David's seed, not for a Mes
siah in the later Jewish or in the Christian sense.
But the Jerusalem Talmud seems in two passages to ig
nore Benediction XII or to combine it with the preceding
one, and an old Midrash gives seventeen as the original tale
of benedictions, and rather implies that XII was added after
IX.7 Still the weight of evidence and reason seems to lie on
the side of the common opinion: that the work-day benedic
tions were originally twelve, and that IX was added at the
instance of R. Gamaliel II to these twelve.8
XIII. Hear our voice, O Lord our God, spare and have mercy
upon us, and receive in love and favor our prayer; for thou art the
God who hearest prayers and supplications; and do not, thou our
King, send us back empty-handed from thy presence. For thou
hearest the prayers of thy people Israel in mercy. (Sefardim say:
For thou hearest the prayer of every mouth). Blessed be thou, O
Lord, he who heareth prayer. (See Ps. 65: 3.)

138 JE WISH SER VICES IN SYNA GOGUE AND HOME
After the word "presence" the devout Israelite will bring
forward, in the silent Prayer, anything that is upon his heart,
and ask God's help, either for himself or his household or
for the community. On the public fasts, those who do fast
insert in this place the following petition :
Answer us, O Lord, answer us on the day of our fast: for we are
in great distress; do not turn towards our wickedness: hide not
thy face from us: withhold not thyself from our supplications; be
near when we beseech thee; may thy kindness come to comfort us;
even before we call unto thee, answer us; after thy promise,
wherein it is said (Isa. 65: 24): It shall come to pass that before
they call, I will answer; when yet they speak, I will hear. For thou
art he that answers in the time of distress, who redeems and
delivers at every time of distress and trouble.
When the leader on public fasts repeats the Prayer, he
makes of the above a separate benediction, and closes,
"Blessed be thou, O Lord, who answerest in the time of dis
tress." It is inserted between those above numbered IV and
V, and this addition to the regular order is no infringement
of the rule of "eighteen" and no more; for such benedic
tion is, at least by its conclusion, one of the six which were
in olden times pronounced on public fasts.9
The work-day Prayer thus consists of the first three given
in the preceding chapter, the twelve or thirteen benedic
tions above, and again the last three of that chapter. But
an opinion is expressed in the Mishna that "an abstract of
the eighteen" is sufficient. This means the first three and
last three unchanged; the abstract of the middle benedic
tions is thus reported in the Talmud:
(1) Give us insight, O Lord our God, to know thy ways, (2) and
circumcise our hearts that we may fear thee; (3) and forgive us (4)
that we may be redeemed; (5) free us from our ailments, (6) and
nourish us from the fields of thy earth, (7) and gather our scat
tered fragments from the four winds; (8) may the erring be judged
by thy opinion, (9) and swing thy hand over the wicked; (10) and
may the righteous be gladdened (11) by the upbuilding of thy

THE WORK-DAY BENEDICTIONS 139
t
city, (12) by the growing horn of thy servant David, and when the
lamp of the son of Jesse thy anointed is set in place; (13) before
we call thou wilt answer (another reading adds: for thou answer-
est in all time of distress). Blessed be thou, O Lord, who hearest
prayer. Samuel of Nehardea (about 240) gave this composition
for what was meant by "an abstract of the eighteen," and he
is the author of this, as he was of other prayers. Its use
was discouraged by other Rabbis; but few Prayer Books
contain it, and few Jews have ever seen it or come across
it otherwise than in their Talmudic studies. It is remark
able that the hope for the coming of the Messiah is here
expressed more unequivocally than in Benediction XII
when recited in full; and the word Messiah is used in the
abstract, but not in the original.
Another reading of Samuel's abstract makes the eighth
petition read: "May the erring judge by thy opinion;" i. e.,
we pray that the judges who now give unjust judgments
may hereafter give righteous ones; and for the ninth,
another reading has it: "Swing thy hand over wickedness."
The abstract given in the Palestinian Talmud differs from
Samuel's in almost every petition, but shows a common
origin by starting with the same word.10

CHAPTER IX
THE MIDDLE BENEDICTION ON DAYS OF REST
The sixteenth chapter of Exodus tells us that double
portions of manna fell on Friday, none on the Sabbath, and
thus teaches that on the latter day we should be free from
care. The idea is carried into the Prayer Book; on days of
rest we do not petition for our daily wants; the twelve (or
thirteen) work-day benedictions are left off, and one known
as "Sanctity of the Day" takes their place. It differs ac
cording to the day, but always closes: Blessed be thou, O
Lord, who sanctifies  , the name of the day follows im
mediately or mediately.
The Mishna speaks of "Sanctity of the Day" as one of the
benedictions on the Day of Memorial; the number seven
of the Sabbath benedictions is treated in the Talmud
throughout as well-known, and many a well-attested Ba
raitha discusses this benediction as recited on other Festi
vals and on the Sabbath. The pure Hebrew of the more
essential parts also indicates an early origin.1
I. On the Sabbath (not on a Festival) the introductory
part of the "Sanctity of the Day" has four different forms
for the four services of the day; the constant part is short
and almost literally the same in the two rituals :
Our God and God of our fathers! be pleased with our rest; sanc
tify us by thy commandments, give us a share in thy law; fill us
from thy bounty, and gladden us [or: our hearts] in thy salvation;
and cleanse our hearts to serve thee in truth; let us inherit, O Lord
our God, in love and favor, thy holy Sabbath, and may Israel who
hallow [or: love] thy name rest thereon: blessed be thou, O Lord,
who sanctifieth the Sabbath. (140)

THE MIDDLE BENEDICTION ON DAYS OE REST

141

The closing words arc meant for a literal compliance
with the injunction, "Remember the Sabbath day to hallow
it," especially when spoken in the evening, or first, service.
The introductions for the four services are undoubtedly
of much later origin, that for Friday evening being the
simplest in style, but hardly the oldest:
Thou hast sanctified the seventh day to thy name, the conclusion
of the work of the heaven and of the earth, and hast blessed it
beyond all days, and hallowed it beyond all seasons; and it is thus
written in thy Law (Gen. 2: 1-3): And the heavens and the earth
were finished and all the hosts of them. And on the seventh day
God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the
seventh day from all the work which he had made; and God blessed
the seventh day and hallowed it; for on it he rested from all his
work which God created and made.
(The Sefardim here add the following lines, which the
Germans have only in Musaf:)
Those who keep the Sabba'th feel glad in thy kingdom, and those
who call it a delight; the people who hallow the seventh day, *all
of them will be filled and delighted with thy goodness; yea, with
the seventh day thou hast been pleased, and hast hallowed it, and
called it the most precious of days.
A wholly different introduction is found in the oldest
sources. In the morning service the introduction reads thus:
Moses- is glad in the gift of his lot; for thou didst call him a
faithful servant; thou didst put a crown of glory on his head, when
he stood before thee on Mount Sinai; he brought down the two
tables of stone on which the observance of the Sabbath was written,
•and thus it was written in thy Law: "Israel shall keep the Sab
bath, to make the Sabbath an everlasting covenant for their genera
tions. Between me and th< children of Israel it is an everlasting
sign, that the Lord made in six days the heavens and the earth,
and that on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed."
And thou didst not give it, O Lord our God, to the nations of
the lands, nor make it an inheritance for the worshippers of idols,

142 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
nor do the uncircumcised dwell in its quiet; but thou hast granted
it lovingly to thy people Israel, the seed of Jacob, the well-beloved;
*all of them will be filled, etc. (as above), in memory of the work
of Creation.
This piece rests on an Aggadta, according to which the
revelation on Sinai took place on a Sabbath morning, but it
is probably the oldest extant written form of that Aggadta.
Leaving for another chapter the introductory part of
the benediction in Musaf, we come to that in the afternoon
service, which has also a Haggadistic tinge, as it ascribes
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the observance of the Sab
bath: Thou art one, and thy name is one; and what one nation is there
like thy people Israel? Thou hast given to thy people beauty and
greatness, and the crown of salvation; a day of rest and holiness.
Abraham would rejoice, Isaac would sing, Jacob and his sons rest
on the same; a rest of love and free will, a rest of trust and faith, a
rest of peace and calmness and confidence, a perfect rest with which
thou art pleased. May thy sons learti and know, that their rest
comes from thee, and may they for their rest hallow thy name.2
Then each of the services is continued: "Our God and
God," as first shown.
The "abstract of seven," which the leader chants on Fri
day evening, and its object, to lengthen the service of that
evening sufficiently for early and late comers to meet at
the Synagogue, have been mentioned in Chapter I. Another
motive probably was to have the remembrance and hallow
ing of the Sabbath sounded forth in loud tones and not
confined to a whispered Prayer.
This "abstract of seven" gives the middle benediction
more than in full and a good part of the first, very little of
the others. After reciting the first three verses of Genesis
2, the lejder chants:
(i) Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, and God of our fathers,
God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, the great and

THE MIDDLE BENEDICTION ON DA YS OF REST 143
mighty and fearful God, God Most High, owner of heaven and
earth. Shield of the fathers by his word, (2) who reviveth the
dead by his command, (3) the holy God, like whom there is no
other, (4) who giveth rest to his people on his holy Sabbath;
(5) before him we shall worship in fear and awe, (6) and we
shall give thanks to his name every day unceasingly, to the foun
tain of blessings, the God of thanksgivings, (7) the Lord of
peace (4) who sanctifieth the Sabbath, and blesseth the seventh day,
and . giveth a rest in holiness to a people sated with delight, a
remembrance of the work of creation."
Then follows the constant part of the middle benediction,
so that the leader pronounces at the end, "Who sanctifiest
the Sabbath."
It has been suspected that the words above rendered,
"fountain of blessings," mean really "abstract of benedic
tions," and are the title of the composition, which has got
ten into its text by the blunder of some copyist. But this
could hardly have happened.
II. On Festivals (including those occurring on the Sab
bath) the "Sanctity of the Day" is made up of several para
graphs, the first of which is constant and reads thus :
Thou hast chosen us from all the nations, hast loved us, and wast
pleased with us; thou hast lifted us above all tongues, and hast
hallowed us by thy commandments, and hast brought us, O our
King, to thy service, and hast pronounced upon us thy great and
holy name.
The next paragraph contains the name and purpose of
the special Feast, and, if spoken on the Sabbath, the name
and purpose of the latter before that of the Feast. For the
Passover days it reads thus:
And thou hast given us, O Lord our God, lovingly (Sabbaths
for rest) set times and seasons for joy, (this Sabbath day, a day of
our rest, and) this day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Sefardim
say here: this Holiday], the season of our enfranchisement, a holy
convocation, a memorial of the going forth from Egypt.
This is modified on other Festivals thus:

144 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
This day of the Feast of Weeks,— the day when our Law was
given. This day of the Feast of Booths,— the day of our gladness.
This Eighth Day, the rest day of the Feast— the day of our
gladness. The Day of Memorial not being one of a class of days,
the paragraph takes on it this simpler form:
And thou hast given us, O Lord our God, lovingly (this Sabbath
for rest and) this Day of Memorial, a day of alarm sound, a holy
convocation, a memorial of the going forth from Egypt.
And so on the Day of Atonement:
And thou hast given us, O Lord our God, lovingly (this Sabbath
for rest and) this Day of Atonement for forgiveness and atonement,
and to pardon thereon all our iniquities, a holy convocation, a
memorial of the going forth from Egypt.
The next paragraph is the same which on New Moons
and Middle Days is inserted in the Aboda, the name of the
Festival alone being inserted in the proper place, not its
purpose; nor is the Sabbath referred to in it. It belongs
to all the services except the "Additional."
Our God and God of our fathers! May the remembrance of our
selves and of our fathers, and of thy anointed servant the son of
David, and of thy holy city Jerusalem, and of all Israel thy people,
arise and come, be seen and heard before thee, on this day (of the
Feast of Unleavened Bread), (of the Feast of Weeks), (of Memo
rial), (of Atonement), (of Booths), (the Eighth, the rest day of
the Feast) unto deliverance, happiness, life, and peace; remember
us thereon, O Lord our God, for happiness, visit us for blessings;
save us unto life, and with words of help and mercy, spare and" favor
us, show us mercy! save us! for to thee our eyes are turned; thou
art the gracious and merciful God and King.
The final part of the benediction for the three Festivals
of joy contains an introductory petition as compared with
that for the Sabbath,* which was formerly inserted also on
the two solemn Festivals, as follows:

THE MIDDLE BENEDICTION ON DA YS OF REST

'45

?Let us receive, O Lord our God, the blessing of thy appointed
times, for life and peace, for gladness and joy, as thou hast in thy
favor promised to bless us;* (on Sabbaths: Our God and God of our
fathers, be pleased with our rest) ; hallow us by thy command
ments, and give us a share in thy law; fill us from thy bounty, and
gladden us in thy salvation; and cleanse our hearts to serve thee
in truth; let us inherit, O Lord our God (in love and favor), in
gladness and in joy, (the Sabbath and) thy holy times; and may
Israel, who hallow [or: love] thy name, rejoice thereon; blessed
be thou, O Lord, who sanctifieth (the Sabbath and) Israel and the

It will be noticed that while the Sabbath is "sanctified"
before and independently of Israel, being older than the
chosen people, the Festivals, called here the "seasons" or
times, are named only after Israel, for whose benefit they
were instituted.
On the Day of Memorial a petition for the coming of
the Kingdom of Heaven is now inserted in the close of this
benediction in all the services. It seems that at first the
Kingdom was prayed for only in the "Additional Service."
Now, however, and probably for a thousand years, the last
part of the benediction for all the four services runs thus:
Our God and God of our fathers! reign over all the world in thy
glory; arise over all the earth in thy majesty; and shine in thy
triumphant power over all the dwellers of thy inhabited earth!
May every one that is made know that thou hast made him, and
every creature understand that thou hast shaped it; may every
one who hath breath in his nostrils say: The Lord, the God of
Israel, is King, and his Kingdom ruleth over all.* Sanctify us
with thy commandments, and give us a share in thy law; fill us from
thy bounty and gladden us in thy salvation,** and cleanse our
hearts to serve thee in truth; for thou art God in truth, and thy
word is true and standeth forever. Blessed be thou, O Lord, King
over all the earth, who sanctifieth (the Sabbath and) Israel and the
Day of Memorial."
At * the Germans insert on the Sabbath, "Our God and
God of our fathers, be pleased with our rest;" at **, "and

146 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
let us inherit, O Lord our God, in love and in favor, thy
holy Sabbaths, and may Israel, who hallow thy name, rest
thereon." So also at the corresponding places on the Day
of Atonement, when the benediction reads thus:
Our God and God of our fathers! pardon our iniquities
on this (Sabbath and) Day of Atonement; blot out and re
move our transgressions and sins from before thine eyes; as it
is written (Isa. 43 : 25) : I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember thy sins;
and it is said (Isa. 44: 22): I have blotted out thy transgressions
like a dark cloud, and as a vapor, thy sins; return to me, for I
have redeemed thee; and it is said (Lev. 16: 30): For on that day
he will atone for you to cleanse you from all your sins; before the
Lord you shall be clean.* Sanctify us with thy commandments,
and give us a share in thy law; fill us from thy bounty and gladden
us in thy salvation;** and cleanse our hearts to serve thee in truth
[for thou art forgiving to Israel, and holdest out pardon to the
tribes of Jeshurun in every age; and we have no King, Forgiver
or Pardoner beside thee]. Blessed art thou, O Lord, King who
pardoneth and forgiveth our iniquities and those of all Israel, and
removeth our guilt from year to year, King over all the earth, who
sanctifieth (the Sabbath and) Israel and the Day of Atonement.
The clause in brackets is not in the older sources; its first
part was chosen to lead up to the close of the benediction;
the latter part sounds like a protest against Christianity.
The conclusion is much longer than any other and for that
reason suspicious; but the Mishna speaks of a benediction
about the "pardoning of iniquity" which the High Priest
pronounced in the Temple, and this is explained in the
Talmud to be the one then in use as the "Sanctity of the
Day;" hence it is probable that both subjects were named
in the conclusion.6 The Sefardim would formerly insert,
"Let us receive," from the benediction of the three
Festivals in that of the Day of Memorial, and the prayer
for the Kingdom from this in the benediction for the Day
of Atonement; but under the authority of R. Joseph Karo's
Code, their Prayer Books now agree with those of the

THE MIDDLE BENEDICTION ON DA YS OF REST 147
Germans in the former matter, while they still retain the
prayer for the Kingdom of Heaven on Atonement Day.
One piece may be inserted in the "Sanctity of the Day,"
viz., when a Festival (which never happens with the Day of
Atonement) is on a Sunday; there is a Separation (Habdala)
in the Saturday night s.ervice, just as in the work-day
Prayer; for the Festival is of lower sanctity than the Sab
bath. It is made to follow the second paragraph, in which
the Festival is named, and it reads thus (some redundancies
being clipped) :
Thou hast made us know, O Lord our God, thy righteous judg
ments, and taught us to act by the decrees of thy will [hast given
us just rules, true laws, good statutes, and commandments] ; hast
made us heirs to seasons of joy, sacred set times and generous
feasts, possessors of the holiness of the Sabbath and of the glory
of the Festival. Thou hast divided between holy and profane, light
and darkness, Israel and the nations, the seventh day and the six
work-days; also between the holiness of the Sabbath and that of
the Feast, and hast sanctified the seventh day from all days, and
distinguished and hallowed thy people Israel through thy holiness.
The bracketed sentence is not in the form which the Tal
mud gives for the occasion.7
So much for the benediction in all its present forms.
As to its antiquity, it appears that the schools of Hillel
and Shammai already discussed (perhaps in King Herod's
days) as to how it should be framed on a day both Sabbath
and Festival. Shammai's school proposed to have two
separate benedictions; that of Hillel, which, as usual, pre
vailed, to have one benediction, begin therein with the
Sabbath (as we do now, for the first paragraph refers to
neither), then speak of the Festival in the middle, and close
with the Sabbath alone. But R. Judah the Patriarch car
ried the Festival also into the conclusion, which on the Day
of Atonement must have always been done.8

CHAPTER' X
THE "ADDITIONAL," OR MUSAF
The "Additional" follows the morning service on the days
for which the Law (Num. 28 and 29) prescribes the offer
ings in addition to the continual, or daily, i. e., on Sabbath,
New Moons, the three Festivals, and the Days of Memorial
and Atonement. The first three and the last three bene
dictions were always parts of it. On the Day of Memorial
there are three middle benedictions, on other days only one,
a modified "Sanctity of the Day." Its last part (except on
New Moons) is the same as in the other services, but there
is an introductory part, setting forth that we ought to bring
certain offerings on the day, and a petition that we may
again be enabled to do so.
The "Additional" was instituted to stand in place of the
additional offerings, just as the morning and afternoon
Prayer stood in place of the morning and the evening lamb,
before sacrifices had come to an end, as the overwhelming
majority of the people could not witness the offerings in
the Temple Court. The daily lamb is not mentioned in the
morning or afternoon Prayer, hence the additional sacri
fices were probably not mentioned in the "Additional" as
first drawn up.
It is within reason that on a day which the law of sacri
fice denotes as especially holy a man should pray more or
oftener than on other days; but not that he should in his
devotion refer to that law. As far as the allusions of the
Mishna go at the date of its conclusion, the "Prayer of the
Additional" may have been only a repetition of the morn
ing Prayer, though for one hundred and fifty years there
(148)

THE "ADDITIONAL," OR MUSAF 149
had been ground to pray for a restoration of the day's offer
ings.1 Let us begin with the middle benediction of the Musaf
for a plain Sabbath, as distinguished frem Sabbath and
New Moon or Sabbath and a Festival. The Sefardic form
is given first as the simpler of the two:
Thou hast delivered to Moses upon Mount Sinai the command
ment of the Sabbath: Remember! observe!* and thou hast com
manded us, O Lord our God, to offer thereon additional offering
according to rule. May it be thy will, O Lord our God and God of
our fathers, to bring us in gladness to our land, and to plant us in
our borders; there we shall perform before thee the offerings as in
duty bound, the daily and additional after their order and rule.
Even the additional of this day of rest, we shall prepare and offer
before thee lovingly, according to the command of thy will, as thou
hast written it for us in thy Law, through Moses thy servant, in
these words (Num. 28: 9, 10): "And on the Sabbath day two
yearling lambs without blemish, and two tenth parts of fine flour
for a meal-offering, stirred in oil, and its drink-offering. The
burnt-offering of the Sabbath for the Sabbath, beside the daily
burnt-offering and its drink-offering."
May those who keep the Sabbath be glad in thy Kingdom, those
who call it a delight, the people who sanctify the seventh day, may
they all be filled and delighted from thy bounty; thou wast pleased
with the seventh day, and didst hallow it, and call it the most
precious of days [Germans add: a memorial of the days of Crea
tion]. In place of the first part to (*) the German ritual (sup
ported herein by the authority of R. Amram and of R.
Saadia, which the Sefardim generally follow but here
reject)2 has a labored composition of which the first twenty-
two words run in the inverted order of the alphabet. What
follows after (*) differs only in grammatic forms, which do
not show in English; the rest is unchanged:
Thou hast built up the Sabbath, wast pleased with its offerings,
didst command its details, with the order of its drink offering;
those delighted by it will forever inherit glory; those who taste it

150 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
deserve the life; even those who love to speak thereof have chosen
greatness. Then they were commanded concerning it from Sinai.3
This request for the renewal of the sacrificial service is
fuller in the Musaf of the Festivals and more objectionable
to modern thought, because on those days it starts with the
assertion that the dispersion of Israel and the destruction of
the Temple were caused by "our sins" or the sins of our
fathers eighteen hundred years ago, and was not brought
about by a wise Providence to substitute the more spiritual
worship of the Synagogue for that of the altar. The
formula is known by its opening words (U-mippene hataenu),
and is one of the first banished, wherever men deal boldly
with the liturgy:
On account of our sins we have been exiled from our country,
and removed from our soil, and we can no longer (add on the
three joyous Feasts: go up and appear and) worship and per
form our duty before thee in the House of thy choice, in the great
and holy house, on which thy Name was pronounced; by reason of
the hand that was stretched forth against thy sanctuary. Be it thy
will, O Lord, our God and God of our fathers, merciful King,
again to show mercy to us and to thy sanctuary, to build it soon
and to heighten its glory. Our Father, our King, reveal speedily
to us the glory of thy Kingdom, and shine forth and rise over us
in the sight of every living creature; bring home our scattered
remnant from out of the nations, and assemble our broken parts
from the ends of the earth; and bring us to thy city Zion in song,
and to thy sanctuary at Jerusalem with everlasting joy; and there
we shall prepare and offer before thee, as in duty bound, our sacri
fices, the daily and the additional, according to their order and
their rules; and the additional sacrifices of this (Sabbath and of
this) Feast of Unleavened Bread (or of Weeks, or Day of Memo
rial, etc.), we shall prepare and offer before thee as thou hast
written it for us in thy law, by the hands of thy servant Moses,
from the mouth of thy glory, as it is spoken:
Here the Sefardim stop, not quoting the verses from
Numbers 28 and 29, in which the sacrifices for each day
are set forth, because they have already been read in the

THE "ADDITIONAL," OR MUSAP 151
Pentateuch lessons.* On the Sabbath they proceed as above
with Numbers 28: 9, 10.
The Germans quote on every Festival the verses for the
day, abridging in general words the rules for meal and drink
offerings. On Saturday all add, as on a plain Sabbath,
"May those who keep." as above.
This ends for the Days of Memorial and of Atonement
all reference to the Temple service, but on the three Festi
vals, on which every male Israelite was bidden to "go up and
appear" at the spot which God would choose, this further
petition is put up :
Our God and God of our fathers, merciful King, show us mercy;
thou, the good and benignant, allow us to seek thee! Return to
us in thy manifold mercies for the sake of our fathers, who per
formed thy will. Build thy house as at the first; set up thy sanc
tuary on its foundation. Let us live to see when it is built; gladden
us in its restoration. Restore the priests to their service, the
Levites to their song and their music, Israel to their dwellings;
and there we shall go up and appear and worship before thee at
the three appointed times, as it is written in thy Law (Deut. 16:
16, 17): Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before
the Lord, thy God, in the place which the Lord shall choose; in
the Feast of Unleavened Bread and in the Feast of Weeks and in
the Feast of Booths; and they shall not appear before the Lord
empty. Every man shall give as he is able according to the
blessing of the Lord, thy God, which he has given thee.5
The last and oldest part of the benediction follows in each
case, that is, "Our God, etc., be pleased with our rest,"
on the Sabbath; "Let us receive," on the three Festi
vals, and so on the Day of Atonement in the silent Prayer;
we shall see what intervenes on the Day of Memorial. On
all days the matter of the sacrifices takes the place of, "May
the remembrance," in the evening, morning, and after
noon service.
The Musaf for the "Middle Days" is the same as for the
feasts proper, and is read even on the Sabbath.
We come now to the "Additional" for the New Moon.

152 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Here we have no "Sanctity of the Day" in the morning
Prayer as a basis, for that is the work-day Amida; the bene
diction is built up for this service alone. It consists of an
introductory part of later growth, with its regrets for, the
departed sacrifices, and an older part, in which we pray for
a blessed month on its first day:
Thou hast given New Moons to thy people, as a time of forgive
ness in all those ages, when they brought before thee acceptable
sacrifice and goats for sin-offering to atone for them; may these
be a memorial for them, and a saving to their souls from the adver
sary. Do thou set up a new altar at Zion; may we offer thereon
the burnt-offering for the new moon, and prepare acceptable he-
goats, and feel joy in the service of the sanctuary, in the songs of
David that resound in thy city, that are sung before thy altar; thou
wilt bring home to the sons everlasting love, and remember to
them the covenant of the fathers. O bring us to Zion, thy city, in
song, and to thy sanctuary at Jerusalem in everlasting happiness;
there we shall offer to thee, as in duty bound, our sacrifices, daily
and additional, according to order and rule. Even the additional
for this day of New Moon we shall lovingly offer before thee,
according to the commandment of thy will, as thou hast written it
for us in thy Law, by the hands of Moses, thy servant, from the
mouth of thy glory, as it is spoken (quoting Num. 28: 11).
Our God and God of our fathers; renew for us this month, for
happiness and blessing,* for joy and gladness,* for salvation and
comfort,* for provision and sustenance,* for life and peace,* for
pardon of sin and forgiveness of iniquity.* For thou hast chosen
thy people Israel from all the nations, and hast fixed for them the
ordinances of the new moon. Blessed be Thou, O Lord, who
hallowest Israel and the New Moons.
When the leader repeats the benediction those present
answer Amen after "happiness and blessing/'* and so at
each *.
The introductory part is very slightly changed in the
Sefardic ritual; but in praying for a happy month the fur
ther request is inserted, "May this month be the last of all
our troubles, a beginning of our redemption."6
Lastly, the Musaf for "Sabbath and New Moon" must be

THE "ADDITIONAL," OR arUSAF 153
considered. Here the two rituals differ broadly in a ma
terial point. That of the Germans wholly suppresses those
short requests which are common to every "Sanctity of
the Day," while that of the Sefardim, after asking that "on
this Sabbath" the month be renewed for happiness,
winds up the benediction as on other Sabbaths, only naming
Israel and the New Moon in the very conclusion.
The whole benediction in the German Minhag runs thus:
Thou hast formed thy world of old, and finished thy work on
the seventh day;* thou hast loved us, and wast pleased with us;
thou hast lifted us above all tongues, and hast hallowed us by thy
commandments, and hast brought us, O our King, to thy service,
and hast pronounced on us thy great and holy name; and hast
given us, O Lord our God, Sabbaths for rest, New Moons for
atonement, and because we and our fathers sinned against thee, our
city is in ruins, and our sanctuary has been laid waste, our glory
has fled, and our abode of life is dishonored; and we cannot per
form our duties in thy chosen house, in the great and holy house
over which thy name was pronounced, on account of the violence
done to thy sanctuary. Be it thy will, O Lord our God and God of
our fathers,* to bring us in gladness to our land, and to plant us
in our borders; and there we shall (here they proceed as on Sab
bath and Festival, including the verses on sacrifice from Numbers
28; then: "May those who keep," as on other Sabbaths; then
comes this conclusion) :
Our God and God of our fathers, be pleased with our rest, and
renew for> us on this Sabbath day the coming month for happiness
and blessing, for joy and gladness, for salvation and comfort, for
provision and sustenance, for life and peace, for pardon of sin and
forgiveness of iniquity; for thou hast chosen thy people Israel
from all the nations, and hast made known to them thy holy Sab
bath, and fixed for them the ordinances of the new moon. Blessed
be thou, O Lord, who hallowest the Sabbath and Israel and the
New Moons.
The above reads in parts very much like the correspond
ing formula for the Festivals.
The Sefardim, after praying for a restoration of the Tem
ple and sacrifice, ask for a happy month in the same words
as on work-days, stopping short at the close or sealing of

154 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
the benediction; then say, "May those who keep," and
the ordinary last paragraph of the Sabbath benediction,
but conclude like the Germans, "who hallowest the Sab
bath and Israel and the New Moons."7

CHAPTER XI
THE DAY OF MEMORIAL
As the Shema with its benedictions is the same for all
the days of the year, and as the constant parts of the
Amida with their modifications and the "Sanctity of the
Day" for each of the Festivals, among them the Day of
Memorial, have been set forth in former chapters, little
would remain to be said of the services for that solemn day
but for the peculiar construction which has been given to
its "Additional Prayer" in connection with the blowing
of the alarm-sounds, by which this day is distinguished.
The Mishna, on behalf of one of the lesser Sages, states
the order of benedictions thus: i. Fathers. 2. Powers.
3. Holiness of the Name, and he (the leader) embraces
Kingdoms. 4. Sanctity of the Day, and he blows (the
Shofar); 5. Remembrances, and he blows. 6. Shofaroth
(Ram's-horns), and he blows. 7. Service. 8. Thanks
giving. 9. Blessing of the Priests. R. Akiba corrects this,
because Kingdoms and blowing must go together, and
the order stands, aside from 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, thus: 3. Holiness
of the Name. 4. Sanctity of the Day and Kingdoms, and
he blows. 5. Remembrances, and he blows. 6. Shofaroth,
and he blows.1
By Kingdoms are meant verses or passages from Scrip
ture in which God is recognized as King. Remembrances
are similar verses in which God is shown to be mindful of
mankind and especially of Israel. Shofaroth are verses in
which the Shofar is named either literally as an instrument
used in worship, or figuratively, when thunder mimics its
(i55)

156 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
notes, or when God himself sounds it as a call to Israel or
to mankind.
The opinion that the Kingdoms should be embraced
in the "Holiness of the Name" may have left a trace in the
insertion therein of "Now set thy terror" (for w'hich see
Chapter VII) in all the services of the Days of Memorial
and Atonement. The Mishna lays down only general
rules for the choice of these verses; there should be not less
than ten under each head, it being understood that they
should be culled from Tora, Prophets, and Hagiographa;
remembrance for evil or the cornet sounding for punish
ment must not be among them, nor the remembrance of an
individual, but only that of Israel or of the righteous or of
mankind. The Talmud points out that the Tora really con
tains only three Kingdom verses, those now in use, to which
"Hear, O Israel" may be added as a fourth, and mentions
also some of the other verses as already in use.2
The Kingdom of Heaven is already prayed for in the
fourth benediction as it stands in the morning Prayer, and
it concludes, "King of all the earth." The conclusion of
the two other benedictions must also have been agreed on
as soon as these were named, for the conclusion was never
left to the whim of the leader. But the choice of the pass
ages, the following piece which introduces the Kingdoms,
and the whole framework of the fifth and sixth benedictions,
belong to Abba Areka, known as Rab, and to the first half
of the third century:3
IV. It is for us to praise the Master of the Universe, to show the
greatness of him who formed it in the beginning; that he has not
made us like the nations of the land, nor put us with the families
of the earth; that he has not set our portion with theirs, or our
lot with all their crowd [of those that bow down to vanity and
emptiness and pray to gods who cannot help — this has been ex
punged by the censor from the German ritual] ; but we [kneel
and] bow down [Sefardim omit: and acknowledge] before the
Supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be he; to him

THE DA Y OF MEMORIAL 157
who spanneth the heavens and foundeth the earth (see Isa. 51: 13);
the throne of whose glory is in the heavens above, and the resi
dence of whose might is in the highest of heights. He is our God,
none else; truly our King; there is nothing beside him, as it is
written in his law (Deut. 4: 39): "Thou shalt know this day, and
bring it home to thy heart, that the Lord is the God, in the heavens
above, and on the earth beneath; none else."
Therefore we lift our hope unto thee, O Lord our God, soon to
look upon the beauty of thy might, when defilements are driven
from the earth, and the idols are wholly cut off; when the world is
built up in the Kingdom of the Almighty, and all the sons of flesh
call on thy name; when all the wicked men of the earth turn to
thee: let all the dwellers of the globe learn and know, that every
knee bendeth, every tongue sweareth to thee. Before thee, O Lord
our God, they shall kneel and fall down, and give honor to thy
glorious name; and they shall all receive the yoke of thy Kingdom,
and mayest thou speedily reign over them for everlasting. For the
Kingdom is thine, and to all eternity thou shalt reign in glory.
Now come the Kingdom verses, three from the Penta
teuch, three verses or passages from Psalms, three from
Prophets, lastly, "Hear, O Israel," which, though not con
taining the word, is known as the assumption of the
Kingdom :
As it is written in thy Law (Ex. 15: 18): The Lord shall reign
forever and ever; and it is said (Num. 23: 21): He has not seen
falsehood in Jacob, nor has he beheld mischief in Israel; the Lord
his God is with him, and the shouting (or alarm-sound) for the
King in his midst. And it is said (Deut. 33: 5): There was a King
in Jeshurun; when the heads of the people were gathered, as one
the tribes of Israel. And in thy holy writings it is written thus
(Ps. 22: 29): For the Kingdom is of the Lord; and he ruleth
among the nations. And further (93: 1): The Lord was King; he
is clothed in majesty, the Lord is clothed, he is girt in strength;
even the world is established, that it cannot be shaken. And further
(24: 7-10): Lift up, ye gates, your heads, and be raised, everlasting
doors, that the King of Glory may enter. Who is this King ol
Glory? the Lord, who is strong and mighty; the Lord, who is
mighty in war. Lift up, ye gates, your heads, and lift, ye everlast
ing doors, that the King of Glory may enter. Who is this King of
Glory? The Lord of Hosts; he is the King of Glory. Selah. And

158 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
by the hands of thy servants, the prophets, it is thus written
(Isa. 44: 6): Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel and his re
deemer, the Lord of Hosts; I am the First, and I am the Last, and
beside me there is no God. And further (Obad. 21) : Saviours shall
go up on Mount Zion, and they shall judge the Mount of Seir, and
the Kingdom shall be the Lord's. And further (Zech. 14: 9):
The Lord shall be King over all the earth; on that day the Lord
shall be One, and his name One. In thy Law it is written: Hear,
O Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is One.
After Alenu and the Kingdom verses the benediction
proceeds: "Our God, etc., be King over us," to "King
over all the earth, who sanctifieth Israel and the Day of
Memorial." The piece which introduces the "Remembrances" has
given to the Festival almost a new character, that of the
yearly day of judgment,4 which the verses alone do not
indicate. The benediction of Remembrances reads thus:
V. Thou rememberest the eternal doings, and visitest the
creatures of the oldest past; before thee all secrets are laid bare,
and the multitude of hidden things since the creation. There is
no forgetfulness before the throne of thy glory, and nothing is
hidden before thy eyes. Thou rememberest every deed, and no
creature can deny itself from thee. Everything is open and seen
before thee, O Lord our God, who espies and beholds to the end
of all the ages, when thou bringest a rule and reminder, that
every spirit and soul be visited, that many works be remembered,
and the multitude of hidden things till there is no end. Thus
thou hast made it known in the beginning; long since hast thou
revealed it. This day is the commencement of thy works, a memo
rial of the first day (Ps. 81 : 5) : For it is an ordinance to Israel, a
judgment with the God of Jacob.
And thereon it is judged upon the countries, which is to have war
and which peace; which famine and which plenty; and the creatures
are visited thereon, to name them unto life or unto death. Who
is not -visited on this day, when the remembrance of all works
cometh before thee: the work of the mortal and his visitation, and
the actions and steps of man; human thoughts and devices, and the
impulses of man's action? Happy is the man who does not forget
thee, and the son of man who findeth courage in thee. For those
who seek thee will not stumble, nor wilt thou allow those to blush

THE DA J ' OF MEMORIAL 1 59
that trust in thee. For the memorial of every creature comes
before thee, and thou searchest into the doings of all. Thou wast
even mindful of Noah, and didst visit him with a merciful salva
tion, when thou broughtest the waters of destruction over all flesh
for their evil actions; but his memorial came before thee, to multi
ply his seed like the dust of the earth, his descendants as the sand
of the sea; as it is written in thy law (Gen. 8: 1): And God remem
bered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him
in the ark; and God made a wind to pass over the face of the
earth, and the waters settled. And it is said (Ex. 2: 24): God
heard their sighs, and God remembered his covenant with Abra
ham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And it is said (Lev. 26: 42):
Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, even my covenant
with Isaac, even my covenant with Abraham, I will remember;
and I will remember the land [Sefardim substitute for this verse,
Ex. 6: 5]. And in thy holy writings it is written thus (Ps. 111: 4):
He made a memorial of his wonders; the Lord is gracious and
merciful. And further (in: 5) : He giveth gain to those who fear
him; he will forever remember his covenant. And further (106,
45) : And he remembered to them his covenant, and bethought
himself according to his abundant mercies. And by the hands of
thy servants, the prophets, it is written (Jer. 2: 2): Go and pro
claim in the hearing of Jerusalem. Thus saith the Lord: I remem
ber unto thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thy bridal
state, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land
not sown. And further (Ezek. 16: 60): I shall remember unto thee
my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and shall keep up
with thee an everlasting covenant. And further (Jer. 31 : 19) : Is
not Ephraim to me a darling son or a petted child? for in measure
as I speak against him, I remember and think of him the more;
therefore my inwards are moved towards him; I shall surely have
mercy on him, says the Lord.
[The Sefardim here insert paragraph 3 of the morning benedic
tion: May the remembrance, etc.].
Our God and God of our fathers, remember us with a kind remem
brance, and visit us with salvation and mercy from the everlasting
heavens; remember unto us, O Lord our God, the oath which
thou hast sworn to our father Abraham on Mount Moriah; con
sider his binding his son Isaac upon the altar, suppressing his
love to do thy will perfectly; thus may thy love suppress thy anger
at us, and may, through thy goodness, the heat of thy wrath be
turned away from thy people, thy city, and thy heritage. Fulfill
for us, O Lord our God, the promise made to us in thy Law,

1 60 JE WISH SER VICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
written by Moses, as spoken by the mouth of thy glory (Lev. 26:
45): I shall remember unto them the covenant with the men of
old, whom I brought forth from the land of Egypt in the sight of
the nations, to become their God; I am the Lord. For thou re
memberest all things forgotten; and there is no oblivion before
the throne of thy glory. Remember to-day the binding (Akeda) of
Isaac mercifully to his seed. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who re-
membereth the covenant.
In Western Germany the leader, when he repeats this
benediction, intersperses the verses with "poetry," and
substitutes several other "Remembrance" verses for those
given above, and moreover gives those from the three divi
sions of Holy Writ in a different order.
This benediction and the burden of the verses is justi
fied by the name Day of Memorial, which .the Festival bears
throughout the Prayer Book.
But under the Law it is a day of alarm-sound, and this,
according to the tradition, must come from the Shofar (a
prepared ram's horn), which for convenience we may render
"cornet." The English Bible renders it in many passages
trumpet, which is wrong, for trumpets of silver or other
metal were well-known by another Hebrew name. The
sound of the Shofar always stands in the Bible for a solemn
message, either of awe and terror or of freedom and joy.
The benediction Shofaroth with its verses runs thus:
VI. Thou wast revealed in a cloud of glory to thy holy people, to
speak with them from the heavens; thou madest them hear thy
voice, appearing to them in sacred thunderclouds; all the world
trembled before thee, and the world-old creatures shook in fear;
when thou, our King, wast revealed to us on Mount Sinai, to
teach thy people law and commandments. They heard thy majestic
voice and thy holy speaking from fiery flames. Thou didst show
thyself in lightning and thunder, and didst appear to them in the
sound of the cornet. As it is written in thy Law (Ex. 19: 16) : And
it was on the third day towards morning; there were thunders and
lightnings and a heavy cloud on the Mount; and the sound of the
cornet was very strong; and all the people in the camp trembled.
And further (ib. 19) : And the sound of the cornet was waxing

THE DA Y OF MEMORIA I. 1 6 1
exceedingly strong; Moses would speak, and God answered him
in thunder. And further (Ex. 20: 18): And all the people saw
the thunder, and the lightning, and the sound of the cornet, and the
Mount smoking; and the people saw it and moved, and stood
afar off. And in thy holy writings it is written thus (Ps. 47: 6):
God has gone up in the alarm-sound, the Lord in the sound of the
cornet. And further (98: 6): With trumpets and the sound of the
cornet strike the alarm-sound before the Lord our God. And
further (81: 4, 5): Blow ye the cornet on the New Moon, on the
darkening, the day of our Feast. For it is an ordinance to Israel,
a judgment of the God of Jacob. And further (Psalm 150, see it) :
And by the hands of thy servants, the prophets, it is written thus
(Isa. 18: 3): All ye that dwell in the world; all ye that inhabit the
earth, ye shall see when the banner is raised on the hills; when the
cornet is blown, ye shall hear. And further (ib. 27: 13): It shall
come to pass on that day, that the great cornet shall be blown; and
those will come who wander in the land of Assyria, and they who
are cast out in the land of Egypt, and they shall worship before the
Lord on the holy Mount in Jerusalem. And further (Zech. 9:
14, 15): And the Lord will appear over them; his arrow will go
forth like lightning, and the Lord God will blow the cornet, and
go forth in the storms of the South; the Lord of Hosts will shield
them. Do thus shield thy people Israel with thy peace.
Our God and God of our fathers, blow the great cornet for our
freedom, lift the banner to gather our exiles; bring our scattered
home from among the Gentiles, and assemble our fragments from
the ends of the earth. Bring us in gleeful song to Zion and to
thy sanctuary at Jerusalem in everlasting delight. There we shall
offer our sacrifices, as in duty we are bound, and as it is written in
thy law by the hands of Moses from the mouth of thy glory (Num.
10: 10): On any day of your gladness, on your set times and on
your New Moons, ye shall blow the trumpets at your burnt-offeringi
and at your peace-offerings, and they shall be unto you for a memo
rial before the Lord your God. I am the Lord your God. Thou
hearest the voice of the cornet, and listenest to the alarm-sound;
and none is like thee. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who heareth the
alarm-sound of his people Israel in mercy.
Upon Israelites who believe in the truth of the prophets,
the predictions of God's Kingdom on earth, the assurance
of his love to Jerusalem and even to Ephraim, and the

1 62 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
expected sounding of the great cornet which will assemble
all their outcasts to the worship of the Lord, exert the most
thrilling effect. Among them hardly an eye remains dry
when the leader, with proper feeling and expression, reads
the Shofar verses from Isaiah.
The old rule for this Prayer was for the private wor
shipper to read it silently without the Kingdom verses in
the fourth benediction and to omit the fifth and sixth alto
gether, relying for these upon the leader.6 But since ser
vice books have become so cheap, this custom has been for
gotten, and every one reads his Musaf in full. When the
leader in repeating this Prayer has gone through the
first paragraph of Alenu and enters on the distinctive part
of this service, he prays first that he and his colleagues may
do their high task worthily:
I tarry for the Lord, I supplicate to him, I ask from him an
answering tongue, him whose might I will sing among the assem
bled people, pouring out glad songs about his deeds.
Following this and the verses Prov. 16: i, Ps. 51: 16,
Ps. 19: 1 5,0 a long and partially rhymed prayer for all the
messengers of the Congregations of Israel has been added.
Both of them are also spoken in the corresponding prayer
of the Day of Atonement at the same point.
After the fourth, after the fifth, and after the sixth bene
diction, the leader chants:
This is the birthday of the world: to-day he causes all its crea
tures to stand in judgment; either as children or as servants; if
we be like children, be merciful as a father has mercy on his
children; if like servants, our eyes are turned to thee, till thou wilt
show us grace and bring forth our cause, clear as light, Terrible
and Holy God.'
Though the Musaf of the Day of Memorial is the only
striking part in its services, we must here mention the peti
tions, "Our Father, our King," which it has in common with

THE DA } ¦ OF MEMORIAL 1 63
the Day of Atonement and with the seven intervening days,
or with six of them, for in the German ritual the eve of
Atonement Day as a day of good cheer is exempt from these
petitions, as well as any Sabbath. They are also spoken on a
public fast other than the Ninth of Ab.
The series is well-known by the two Hebrew words, Abinu
Malkenu. They follow immediately upon the morning and
the afternoon Prayer, but are omitted in the latter on Fri
days. The number of lines varies from twenty-seven in
the Sefardic to forty-four in the Polish branch of the Ger
man ritual. Premising for' each the address, Our Father,
our King, the fullest form runs thus :
(1) We have sinned before thee. (2) We have no King but thee.
(3) Act for us for the sake of thy name. (4) Renew (or bless) for
us a good year. (5) Annul all hard sentences against us. (6)
Annul the plans of our foes. (7) Defeat the counsel of our ene
mies. (8) Remove all our oppressors and adversaries. (9) Stop
the mouths of our adversaries and accusers. (10) Drive pestilence,
the sword, famine and captivity, sin [and apostasy — blotted out by
the censor] from the children of thy covenant, (n) Keep the
plague from thy heritage. (12) Pardon and forgive all our iniqui
ties. (13) Blot our transgressions and sins from thy sight. (14)
Wipe our bonds of debt out in thy great mercy. (15) Bring us
back in sincere repentance to thy presence. (16) Send a full heal
ing to the sick of thy people. (17) Tear up the evil sentence
against us. (18) Remember us for good. (19) Write us in the
book of [at the close of Atonement Day — "seal us in the book of,"
on fasts other than in Tishri — "remember us for"] a happy life. (20)
Write us in the book of redemption and salvation. (21) Write us
in the book of provision and sustenance. (22) Write us in the
book of merit. (23) Write us in the book of forgiveness and
pardon. (24) Let salvation soon grow for us. (25) Lift the horn
of thy people Israel. (26) Lift the horn of thy anointed. (27) Fill
our hands with thy blessing. (28) Fill our storehouses with
plenty. (29) Hear our voice, spare and pity us. (30) Receive our
prayer with mercy and good will. (31) Open to our prayer the
gates of heaven. (32) Do not turn us empty-handed from thee.
(33) Remember that we are dust. (34) Be this hour an hour of
mercy and the time of favor. (35) Have pity on us, our little

164 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
ones and our children. (36) Act for the sake of those who were
killed for thy holy name. (37) Act for the sake 'of those who were
slaughtered for thy Unity. (38) Act for the sake of those who
went into fire and into water to hallow thy name. (39) Avenge
before our eyes the spilt blood of thy servants. (40) Do it for thy
sake, if not for ours. (41) Do it for thy sake and save us. (42) Do
it for the sake of thy great mercy. (43) Do it for the sake of thy
great, mighty, and fearful name, that is pronounced upon us. (44)
Be gracious and answer us, though we lack in works; act for us
in charity and kindness and save us.
It will be seen that many of the petitions of the work-day
Prayer are contained herein; hence the omission of Abinu
Malkenu on the Sabbath.
Among the seventeen lines which the Sefardim lack in
their ritual are 36-39, which refer to the martyrs to our
faith, and these were not known to the French and Germans
at the date of the Mahzor Vitry. They were probably
inserted after the persecutions which accompanied the Black
Death about the year 1348.
The Talmud speaks of the first two lines as part of a
prayer which was spoken by R. Akiba on a public fast, held
in a season of drought. The series was transferred from
these fasts to such as the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the
Fast of Gedaliah. Abudraham knows it only in this light.
R. Joseph Karo's Code speaks of it incidentally as in use on
the Day of Atonement. Among the Germans its use on the
Day of Memorial and the days of penitence generally seems
to have been much older than among the Sefardim.8 It
lends itself admirably to slow chanting, and has become a
favorite devotion even in radically reformed places of wor
ship.

CHAPTER XII
the day of atonement
All the parts of the seven benedictions in the Amida for
the Day of Atonement in each of the five services have
been given, including the change from "writing" into "seal
ing" in tne last service, known as Neila. There is another
important element, the confession of sins, which the indi
vidual worshipper recites after the seven benedictions, but
which the leader, in repeating the Prayer, includes in the
Sanctity of the Day, which is also the Pardon of Iniquity.
In the Atonement service set forth at length in the 16th
chapter of Leviticus, the High Priest "confessed all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgres
sions, as to all their sins;" and such a confession, which now
everybody makes for himself, is thought to be the first con
dition of forgiveness.
The three verbs in which the High Priest confessed were,
"I have sinned, I have done wrong, I have transgressed;"
the guilt rising in intensity from the first to the third. A
confession in such words, or even in the first of them, would
be enough, but the love for synonyms and for the alphabet
has found its way even into the enumeration of sins.
The confession (Viddui) in its present form as appended
to the Amida for each service runs thus:
O God and God of our fathers, let our prayer come before thee;
do not hide thyself from our supplication; for we are not so
brazen-faced or stiffneclced as to say before thee, O Lord our God
and God of our fathers, that we are just, and that we have not
sinned. Nay, we [some add: and our fathers] have sinned.
We have been guilty, have deceived, have robbed, have spoken
(165)

166 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
slander, have caused wrong, and done injustice, have acted wan
tonly, have done violence, have fastened lies, have counselled evil,
have failed in promise, have scoffed, have rebelled, have blas
phemed, have disobeyed, have done wrong, have transgressed, have
oppressed, have hardened our necks, have been wicked, have cor
rupted, have done abominably; we have erred and led into error.
We have departed from thy commandments and thy righteous
judgments; it is not right with us. But thou art righteous in all
that has befallen us; for thou hast done truthfully, and we have
done wrong. What shall we say before thee, who dwellest on
hi'eh; what story shall we tell to thee who residest in heaven; dost
thou not know all things, both the seen and the hidden?
The Talmud says distinctly that the plain words, "but we
have sinned," are a sufficient fulfillment of the Law.1 In all
the services other than the last (Neila), the confession pro
ceeds: Thou knowest the mysteries of the world, and the hidden secrets
of all that has life. Thou searchest all the inward chambers, and
provest the reins and the heart. Nothing is a secret from thee; nor
is anything hidden from thy eyes. Be it thy will, O Lord our God
and God of our fathers, to forgive us for all our sins, to pardon us
for all our iniquities, to atone for all our transgressions.
For the sin that we have committed through —
There are forty-four of .such lines, two for each letter of
the alphabet,2 in each of which the causes or occasions of
sin are stated after these introductory words, a few in very
broad or all-embracing terms, as: i, "through compulsion
or free-will;" 14, "in defiance or in ignorance;" others more
specific, as 21, "through lying and deceit;" 23, "by scof
fing:" 24, "by the evil tongue;" 25, "in trade" (literally, in
buying and selling); 41, "by false swearing;" 42, "by un
founded hatred." At three points the list is interrupted by
the petition:
"For all of these, God of forgiveness, forgive us, pardon us,
atone for us."
Then come nine lines beginning with the words:
"For the sin by which we have incurred the guilt (or

THE D. U ' OF A TONE.UENT 1 67
duty) of  ," beginning with a "burnt-offering," which
was the expiation for a sin of omission, arising from mis
take, and ending with the "four death penalties inflicted by
the Court," which must be breaches of the highest moral
or religious prohibitions, done knowingly and defiantly.
This part of the prayer of forgiveness rests on the doctrine
that the infliction of the penalty named in the Tora wipes
out all guilt; hence, as these penalties are not and cannot
be inflicted in our days, there is so much more need for
God's free grace.3
The confession then closes:
For sins of omission or of commission; for those known to us
and for those unknown ; those known to us, we have already named
them before thee; but those concealed from ourselves are seen and
known of thee, as it is written: The hidden things belong to the
Lord our God; but the things revealed belong to us and to our
children forever, to do all the words of this Law.
The object of those who drew up the confession, "We
have been guilty," and the longer one, "For the sin," in
arranging them by the alphabet, was to aid the memory at a
time when books were scarce. The shorter as well as the
longer list lie under the same objection: the many general
phrases cannot go home to the confessor's heart, but rather
draw his attention away from his own faults, which he is
made to admit only in a few instances. It was left to the
preacher (and there has nearly always been preaching on
this day) to set forth the besetting sin of the time and place.
The general introduction is Talmudic; the double alphabet
is of later date.1
A much finer taste has been displayed in the confession
for the fifth or Neila service, which, after the first three
paragraphs, proceeds thus, in a loftier vein:
Thou lendest a hand to the transgressor, and thy right hand is
stretched out to receive the repentant. Thou hast taught us, O
Lord our God, to confess our iniquities before thee, that we may

168 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
cease from our wrongful deeds, and thou wilt then receive us as
fully restored in thy sight, as upon fire-offerings and sweet savors.
According to thy words which thou hast spoken, there would be
no end of the offerings we owe, no counting the sweet savors for
our guilt; but thou knowest that our future is the moth and the
worm; hence thou hast multiplied forgiveness.* What are we,
what is our life, what our goodliness, what our virtue, what our
help, what our strength, and what our power? What shall we say
before thee, O Lord our God and God of our fathers? Are not all
the heroes as nothing before thee; all the men of fame as if they
had never been; all the wise as if without knowledge; all the well-
reasoning men as if without sense? For their many actions are a
waste; the days of their lives are vanity before thee, even the excel
lence of man over the beasts is nothing; for all is vanity.
Thou hast set man apart from the first, and thought him worthy
to stand before thee. For who can tell thee what to do, and if he
doeth right, what does he give thee (see Job 35: 7)? And thou
hast given us, O Lord our God, lovingly, this day of fast and
atonement, an end and pardon and forgiveness for our iniquities,
that we may cease from our wrongful deeds, and return to thee to
do thy will with a perfect heart. And thou spare us in thy great
mercy; for thou dost not desire the destruction of the world, as it
is said (Isa. 55: 6): Seek ye the Lord, when he can be found;
call him when he is near. And further (ib. 55: 7): Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the evil-doer his thoughts; and let him return
unto the Lord, and he will show him mercy; even to our God, who
will abundantly pardon. And thou, O God of forgiveness, art long-
isuffering and great in kindness and truth, and doest good abun
dantly, and thou desirest the return of the wicked, and not their death.
As it is said (Ezek. 33: 11) : Say unto them, as I live, saith the Lord
God, I do not delight in the death of the wicked, but that the
wicked turn back from his way, and that he- live; return, return from
your evil ways; and why will you die, O House of Israeli And
further (ib. 18: 23): Do I indeed delight in the death of the
wicked, saith the Lord God; is it not, that he turn back from his
ways, and that he may live? And further (ib. 18: 32): For I
delight not in the death of the dying, saith the Lord God. Return
and live.
This reflection is, like the confession proper, read by the
leader as part of the "Sanctity of the Day" when he repeats
Neila.5 But in the night service, when the Prayer as a

THE DA ) ¦ OF A TONEMENT 1 69
whole is not repeated, the leader recites the "Order of Con
fession" alone. In this, as in all the other services, it is then
enlarged by Bible verses, short petitions, and, if there is
time to spare, by poetic compositions known as "Selihoth"
(Forgivenesses), some of which are quite old, reaching
nearly back to Talmud times. After every "Seliha" God is
besought to remember his thirteen qualities of mercy, thus:
God, the King, sitteth on the throne of mercy; he governs in
kindness, he pardons the iniquities of his people, he passeth by the
first fault again and again, he multiplieth forgiveness to sinners and
pardon to those who transgress. Thou who doest righteously
with all flesh and spirit, do not requite them according to their
evil way! God, thou hast taught them to recite the thirteen; re
member for them the covenant of the thirteen; which thou madest
known to the Humble (Moses) of old; as it is written (Ex. 34: 5,
6, 7) : And the Lord came down in a cloud, and he (Moses) stood
with him there and called on the name of the Lord. And the Lord
passed by him, and called: (1) The Lord, the Lord: (2) God, (3)
merciful and (4) gracious, (5) long-suffering and (6) great in
kindness and (7) truth; (8) guarding kindness (9) unto a thousand
(generations); (10) taking away iniquity, and (11) transgression,
and (12) sin, and (13) holding guiltless!"
The thirteenth quality is obtained by stopping before the
negative, which makes the text read, "and does not hold
wholly guiltless." There is a poetical version of this prayer,
which in some of the local rituals is used once in each of the
services. In the evening service the Selihoth are introduced
by a long collection of Bible verses, which deal rather with
God's wondrous work in nature than with the forgiveness
of sins. The verses chosen are not everywhere the same.
They are in most well-conducted Synagogues read respon-
sively, the leader reading the odd and the congregation
the even numbered verses.
(Ps. 65: 3) O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh
come. All flesh shall come to bow before thee, O Lord. (From
Isa. 66: 23.)

170 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Then: Ps. 86: 9; 95: 6; 100: 4; 134: 1, 2; 132: 7; 99: 5, 9;
96: 9, then 5: 8 and 138: 2 (changed from singular to
plural); 89: 9; 89: 7; 86: 10; 108: 5; 145: 3; 96: 4; 95: 3;
Deut. 3: 24; Jer. 10: 7; 10: 6; Ps. 89: 14; 74: 16; 95: 4, 5;
106: 2; 1 Chron. 29: 11; Ps. 89: 12; 74: 17, 15, 14, 13;
89: 10; 48: 2; Isa. 37: 16; Ps. 89: 8, 6; 95: 1, 2; 89: 15;
55= 15:95= 5-
(Job 12: 10): In whose hand is the soul of every living thing and
the breath of all mankind. We have come for thy name; do for the
sake of thy name; for the sake of thy glorious name, which is the
gracious and merciful God (cmp. Jer. 14: 7). For the sake of thy
name, O Lord, thou wilt forgive our iniquity, though it be great.
(Cmp. Ps. 25: 11.)
Most of the verses are so chosen that each seems to be sug
gested by the one next preceding it. But this belongs only
to the night service, Col Nidre, so-called. Then follow, and
in the other services there are first, the Selihoth, after each
of them the invocation, "God, King that sitteth," then, in
the German ritual at least, an aggregate of verses and short
petitions, which must have grown out of the "Remem
brances" of the Day of Memorial. The verses in the
Polish Prayer Book are:
Ps. 25: 6: Remember thy mercies, O Lord, and thy loving-kind
ness; for they are from everlasting. Then: Ps. 79: 8; 106: 4; 74: 2;
then a made-up verse: Remember, O Lord, the affection of Jeru
salem; do not forget the love of Zion eternally. Then: Ps. 137: 7;
102: 14; Ex. 32: 13; Deut. 9: 27; Num. 12: 11.
But the next piece, which is recited in every Atonement
service, except in Neila, is most characteristic. Every peti
tion is fortified by a verse of promise from the Law or
the Prophets; the trustful Israelite taking his heavenly
Father at his word. The verses are recited with deep feel
ing. Only a few of them are copied out below:
Remember unto us the covenant of the fathers, as thou hast said
(Lev. 26: 42): I will remember my covenant with Jacob, even my

THE DAY OF A TO NEMENT 1 7 1
covenant with Isaac, even my covenant with Abraham I shall
remember; and I will remember the land. Remember unto us the
covenant with the ancients, as thou hast said (ib.- 26: 45, etc.). Do
with us as thou hast promised unto us (ib. 26: 44): And yet even
this; when they are in the land of their enemies I will not reject
them, nor will I loathe them, to make an end of them, or to break
my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. Show
mercy to us and do not destroy us, as it is written (Deut. 4: 31,
etc.). Circumcise our hearts that we may love thy name (Deut. 30:
6, etc.). Return our captives and show mercy, as it is written
(Deut. 30: 3, etc.). Gather our outcasts, as it is written (Deut. 30:
4, etc.). Let thyself be found when we seek thee, as it is written
(Deut. 4: 29): And ye will thence seek the Lord your God, and
ye will find him, when ye seek him with all your heart and with all
your soul. Blot out our transgressions for thy sake, as thou hast
said (Isa. 43: 25, etc.). Blot out our transgression as a cloud, as
thou hast said (Isa. 44: 22, etc.). Whiten our sins as snow and as
wool, as it is written (Isa. 1 : 18) : Come now, let us reason to
gether, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall
be white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be as
wool. Sprinkle upon us clean waters and cleanse us, as it is
written (Ezek. 36: 25, etc). Atone for our sins and cleanse us on
this day, as it is written (Lev. 16: 30, etc.). Bring us to thy holy
hill and gladden us in thy house of prayer, as it is written (Isa.
56: 7)-7
After a few verses, turned from the singular of Holy Writ
into the plural of the congregation at prayer, the leader
proceeds: Do not forsake us, do not reject us, bring** us not to shame; do
not break thy covenant with us. Lead us to thy Law, teach us thy
commandments; instruct us in thy ways; bend our hearts to fear
thee; circumcise them, that we may love thee, and that we return
to thee truly and perfectly. For the sake of thy great name pardon
and forgive our iniquity, as ;t is written in thy holy words (Ps.
25: 11): For the sake of thy great name, forgive my iniquity,
though it be great.
Then the following is read responsively in Neila as well
as in the other services:

172 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Forgive, pardon, atone! for
We are thy people and thou art our God.
We are thy sons and thou art our Father.
We are thy servants and thou art our Ma'ster.
We are thy flock and thou art our Shepherd.
We are thy vineyard and thou art our Keeper.
We are thy heritage and thou art our portion.
We are hoping in thee and thou art our Saviour.
We are thy work and thou art our Maker.
We are thy treasure and thou art our kinsman.
We are thy people and thou art our King.
We are thy bride and thou art our lover.
We are vouching for thee, and thou vouchest for us.
(Cmp. Deut. 26: 13.)
We are brazen-faced; but thou art gracious and merciful;
We are stiffnecked, and thou art long-suffering;
We are full of iniquity, and thou art full of mercy;
We — our days are a passing shadow; but thou art the same; thy
days never end.
Then comes the shorter confession as in the silent Prayer.
Then :
Our God and God of our fathers, forgive and pardon our iniquity
on this Day of Atonement; listen to our prayer; blot our iniquities
from thy sight; bend our impulse that we may serve thee; let us
bow our necks to return to thee; renew our reins that we observe
thy statutes; circumcise our hearts to love thy name; as it is
written (Deut. 30: 6, etc.). Thou knowest what is wilful sin and
what is error.
Then follows, "What are we — all is vanity" as in Neila;
and "What shall we say before thee," leading to the longer
confession. After this the leader refers to other Bible verses in which
forgiveness and cleansing from guilt are promised. Fore
most among them are the three closing verses of the
prophecy of Micah. Here the words, "Thou wilt cast all
their sins into the depths of the sea," are brought into
prominence.8 It may be here remarked that the collection of verses,

THE DAY OF A TONEMEN'J

173

"Thou who hearest prayer," the Selihoth with the inter
spersed "thirteen qualities," the verses asking God to re
member us, and the verses reminding him of his Scrip
tural promises, together with the shorter confession, are
also recited very early in the morning before the regular
morning service on the days between the Day of Memorial
and the Day of Atonement and on a number of days preced
ing the former, which are hence known as Selihoth-da.ys.
This is a well-known custom everywhere, but it is not so
well-known that in many places in Germany there are still
ascetics who carry on a similar service on every work-day
of the year not marked as joyous or festive. This service
is known as Shomer labboker (watchman of the morning).9
The "Order of Confession" in the Atonement night ser
vice (unless it be on the Sabbath), also on the mornings of
Selihoth-6.2cys, closes with three sets of invocations. The
first, "O Lord, do it for the sake of thy name," proceeds
through the twenty-two letters of the alphabet (Do it for
the sake of thy Truth, etc.), then eighteen invocations,
e. g., "Do it for the sake of the children at school," they
being according to Talmudic views the part of mankind
dearest in the sight of God. Next, "Answer us, O Lord,
answer us;" running from, "Answer us, our Father (Abinu),
answer us," for Aleph, through the twenty-two letters, and
then through eleven other attributes to "Answer us, Father
of the fatherless, answer us, Judge of the widows, answer
us." Lastly, "He who answered our Father Abraham on
Mount Moriah, he will answer us;" which runs through
twenty lines, in which other Biblical characters and occa
sions are substituted.
This last series dates back to seven invocations, which
were recited in the days of the Temple in times of drought,
calling on him who answered Abraham on Mount Moriah,
who answered our fathers on the sea, who answered Joshua
at Gilgal, Samuel at Mizpah, Elijah on Mount Carmel,

174 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Jonah in the belly of the fish, David and Solomon in Jeru
salem.10 In the morning and afternoon services the "Order of
Confession," enlarged by the leader in his repetition of the
Prayer as above indicated, brings us to the last part of the
"Sanctity of the Day." But the "additional" Prayer has
another feature, the Aboda, or Service, i. e., a recital of the
manner in which the Atonement service was conducted by
the High Priest at Jerusalem, and this precedes the "Order
of Confession" as given above.
The leader begins with the first paragraph of Alenu as
on the Day of Memorial, then chants the petitions for "an
answering tongue" and for a worthy ministration by himself
and his colleagues, as shown in Chapter XI. Then he
launches into a rather dry account of the service, as sketched
in Leviticus and in the Mishna. This contains the three
confessions of sin which the High Priest pronounced, when
he atoned first for himself and his own household, next
for himself and his wider household, the whole priestly
tribe, lastly for himself and all Israel. Where "the Name"
or "the Lord" now occurs, the High Priest uttered the
Tetragrammaton. The Hebrew Anna, an interjection often
used in prayer ("We beseech thee," in the English Bible),
is best rendered by "O now." The first confession is given
thus :
And thus he would say:
"O now, the Name, I have done wrong, I have sinned, I have
transgressed before thee, I and my household; O now, for the
Name, atone for the sins, the iniquities, the transgressions, which
I have sinned and done wrongfully and transgressed before thee,
I and my household; as it is written in thy law (Lev. 16: 30): For
on that day he shall atone for you, to cleanse you from all your sins
before the Lord."
And when the priests and people standing in the court heard
the "plain Name" come forth from the mouth of the High Priest
in holiness and purity, they knelt and bowed down and fell on their
faces, and said: "Blessed be the name of his glorious Kingdom

THE DA Y OF A TONEMENT

175

forever and ever." Even he sought to finish the Name in harmony
with those who blessed, and then said to them — "ye shall be
clean." In the second confession "the priestly tribe" is substi
tuted for the household; in the third, "thy people, the house
of Israel."11
It remains to be told how the Atonement services are
begun on the first evening and how closed on the next.
On the first evening, slightly before night-fall, the two
most learned and reputable men of the congregation stand
up with the leader, and all three say thrice :
"By the opinion of God and the opinion of the assembly, as
given in the session on high and in the session below, we give
leave to pray with the transgressors.'7
Formerly this was not an empty form; it meant' that the
excommunicated might join with the congregation in the
devotions of the day. As the leader was not chosen for his
musical training, but for his worth and learning, the three
formed a sort of Court (Beth Din), with power to absolve
from the ban.12
Next comes the Remission of Vows (Col Nidre), which
has given much trouble among persecuting Gentiles as well
as among our own brethren.
Vowing has been the bane not of the Jews alone, but of
men of all races and creeds. The vow might be of some
self-infliction, an extra fast, abstention from wine or animal
food, or from the enjoyment of anything belonging to a
named person; or that a named person should have no en
joyment from the belongings of him that made the vow.
The Bible warns against taking vows lightly; the Rabbis
discouraged them, and found ways to annul them. They
laid down a rule that if, on the first day of the year, a man
declared: all the vows I make this year are void, those vows
would be void, unless he should, when vowing, think of this
declaration, and nevertheless declare: this vow shall

176 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
stand.13 This view is best illustrated by an act of an
American legislature, which declares : Any charter granted
hereafter by this or any subsequent legislature shall be
revocable, unless it is in so many words made irrevocable.
For a long time men used to make such a declaration on
the first of Tishri (New Year) in private or before witnesses.
When the custom arose for all to make it in public on the
eve of Atonement, the leader singing it to slow music, is
not easy to ascertain.
Col Nidre was drawn up with a view to the classification
of vows given in the 30th chapter of Numbers and to the
rules given in the Mishna. For greater assurance it takes
in "by-names," that is, vows made in mutilated words, like
Konam for Corban (sacrifice), because such are valid. Seven
synonyms were strung out, not because a gushing heart
craved the fullest expression, but simply to meet all possible
cases; in short, Col Nidre is neither prayer nor praise, but a
legal document. It is drawn up in Aramaic, like other
documents, except the clause limiting the time for which it
is to take effect. It reads thus in the German Ritual:
All vows and prohibitions, and bans, and devotions for sacrifice,
and vowings by nickname, and penalties and oaths, which we have
vowed, or which we have sworn, or which we have put under ban,
or which we have forbidden to ourselves (from this Day of Atone
ment to the next Day of Atonement, may it come in peace); we
have repented of all of them? let all of them be dissolved, aban
doned, put at rest, be void, and be annulled; not valid, nor of force;
our vows are no vows, our prohibitions are no prohibitions, our
oaths are no oaths.14
This is sung three times. Then the leader and congrega
tion say thrice :
(Num. 15: 26): And all the congregation of the children of
Israel shall be forgiven and the stranger that sojourneth among
them; for as to all the people it was done unwittingly.
In the Polish ritual Num. 14: 19 is also read, the congre-

THE DA Y OE A TONEMENT 1 77
gation answering thrice in the verse following: "And the
Lord said: I have pardoned according to thy word."
The above is the form and theory of Col Nidre as it was
settled for the Jews of the German Ritual by Rabbenu Tarn
in the twelfth century. But the Sefardim define the time
of the loosed vows otherwise; they say "from the Day of
Atonement last past unto this," as well as from the present
one to the next, and justify this on the ground that they
need forgiveness for the vows which they have already made,
and which, from forgetfulness or weakness, they may have
violated. The verbs, "which we have vowed," etc., are all
in the past tense, and in Aramaic prose the tenses are
hardly ever mixed up. There is a mode pointed out in the
Mishna by which three men, acting as judges, may remit
a vow for good cause shown; but that would certainly not
cover the case of a wholesale remission of all the vows of
everybody made during a whole year. According to the
Sefardic theory of Col Nidre, the verse from Numbers,
promising forgiveness for acts done unwittingly, is quoted
with a view to the probable violation of vows theretofore
made.15 According to either theory Col Nidre must be recited or
at least begun while it is not quite night, as either a declara
tion regarding vows or a formal remission of vows is not
proper on a Sabbath or Festival, being in its nature a judi
cial act.
When all this has been said, the Day of Atonement is
fully on. It is proper then to thank God in the usual way
for having spared us to see the Festival, for such the Day of
Atonement is. On other Festivals thanks are given over
the wine cup; as this cannot be done on a fast day, the
leader in the evening service, before beginning it, says the
benediction: Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who hast
let us live and kept us up and made us reach this time.

178 JE WISH SER VICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Then he addresses the congregation, "Bless ye" (see
Ch. V), reads the Shema with its benedictions (Ch. Ill),
and finishes the evening service as explained in Chapters
VI, VII, IX, and the present chapter, adding Abinu Mal
kenu towards the end, unless it be Friday night.
Late in the afternoon of the next day Neila is read, and
is finished about sundown, followed by Abinu Malkenu and
the complete Kaddish. Then the sacred names are given
out by way of confession of faith, all present repeating them
after the leader, "Hear, O Israel" once; "Blessed be the
Name" thrice; "the Lord is the God" (1 Kings 18: 39)
seven times; this ends the services of the great day.16
The modern custom of Europe, Africa, and the Spanish
and German Jews of Asiatic Turkey is to spend the whole
Day of Atonement with prayers, Bible lessons, and sermons,
the afternoon lessons following the "additional" without
intermission, a custom which makes fasting easier to those
who enter into the spirit of Bible and Prayer Book. But
in the old native congregations at and around Bagdad,
among the descendants of the Jews who elaborated the
Talmud, this is not so. They read their morning Prayer,
Bible lessons, and "additional" in the forenoon, go home
and return in time for the lessons and Prayer of the after
noon, finishing Neila with sunset.17 That the Day of
Atonement was not all spent in worship while the Temple
stood in its glory is proved by the following account given
by Simeon ben Gamaliel, a survivor: "Israel had no such
holidays as the Fifteenth of Ab and the Day of Atonement.
For on these days the daughters of Jerusalem would go
out in white borrowed garments (all borrowed so as not to
put those having none to shame). They went out and
danced in the vineyards. And what did they say there?
Young man (they said), lift now thy eyes and see what
thou choosest for thyself. Do not fix thy eye on beauty
but on family (good stock)."18
Note.— 'Beside the divergencies of the Sefardic from the

THE DA Y OE A TONEMENT 1 79
German Ritual, already staled in this chapter and in Chapter
IX. it may be further said: 1. The following twelve Psalms
are, by the Sefardim, added in the morning hymns (see next
chapter), Psalms 17, 25, 32, 51, 65, 85, 86, 102, 103, 104,
98, 121. 2. In the complete Kaddish, after every Prayer,
a long Hebrew supplication for the hearing and answer
ing of our prayers is inserted before the short Aramaic
clause to that effect. 3. The introduction, "It is our duty "
(Alenu), to the Kingdom verses, at least its first para
graph, is made part of the Sanctity of the Day in Musaf,
not only for the leader in repeating it, but in the silent
Prayer. 4. In the "Order of Confessions," as read by the
leader, the shorter confession ("We are guilty") is given
out twice, with a plaintive piece between, as is customary
on the "Selihoth days" and fasts. 5. The Thrice-Holy or
Kedusha, for the morning and early afternoon services, is
in the shorter form with three responses only, while with
the Germans it has five. 6. After the morning, the Addi
tional, and the Minha Prayer, lists of invocations are read,
like those which the Germans have at the end of the even
ing service, and which like these are survivals of the old
"Public Fasts." Here also some of the Selihoth are in
serted, followed by "God the King" and the thirteen quali
ties. 7. After the Additional, with its complete Kaddish,
the Germans at once proceed with the lessons of the after
noon service, thus running the forenoon and afternoon
services into one whole. The Sefardim close Musaf with
some of the Talmudic passages, prose pieces, and poetry,
with which the Sabbath forenoon services are wound up,
and begin Minha with the Psalm verses, etc., of the Sab
bath afternoon service, thus leaving open a seam between
forenoon and afternoon. 8. The Sefardim recite, "Our
Father, our King" after Minha, the Germans after Neila.

CHAPTER XIII
PSALMS AND BIBLE VERSES IN THE SERVICE
The Psalms were written as hymns or supplications in
public or private worship. Some of them show this in the
context; as Ps. 118 in the words: "This is the day the
Lord hath made, let us be glad and rejoice therein ;" others
by the heading, as Ps. 92, a "song for the Sabbath," or 100,
"for Thanksgiving," that is, to be sung at the Thanksgiv
ing sacrifice, named in Leviticus 22: 29.
The six Psalms, 113-118, known jointly as "The Praise"
(Hallel), are much discussed in the oldest standards. They
were probably written for the Feast of Hanucca. "All the
nations surround me; in the Lord's name, I shall cut them
down," points to a bloody war; "the Lord has sorely chas
tised me," to a war at first unsuccessful; "open to me the
gates of righteousness, I will enter them, and thank the
Lord," points to the Temple re-opened for the service of
the true God. The scorn of idols and idol-makers poured
out in Ps. 115 bears witness to a fierce struggle with idola
ters, and, as said above, these Psalms were written for a
feast; the many Aramaic forms indicate a late date of
authorship; so Hanucca may have been that feast.1 The
Mishna treats them as one composition, and the Halleluiah
at the end of four chapters is a choral response rather than
a part of the context.2
The Hallel was originally recited: 1. On the Passover
night, at the meal made of the Paschal lamb, as now it is at
the family supper, taking the place thereof; 2, on the first
day of the Passover in the morning; this day is doubled
"in Exile;" 3, on Pentecost; 4, on the Feast of Booths, in-
(180)

PSALMS AND BIBLE VERSES IN THE SERVICE i8l
eluding the closing day; the Talmud treats of it mainly in
connection with this feast.; 5, on the eight days of Ha
nucca.3 On all these days the whole Hallel is read, and in the
Sefardic ritual the benediction runs: "Blessed be, etc., who
has commanded us to complete the Praise." But later on,
it seems after the completion of the Talmud, these Psalms
were introduced into the service on the middle and end
days of the Passover and on New Moons, except the New
Moon of Tishri, the solemn Day of Judgment. The inno
vators, however, dared not place their ordinance on a level
with that of their heroic forefathers; so for the new occa
sions they clipped the songs of praise. The first eleven
verses of the 115th and as many of the 11 6th Psalm were
to be omitted. The 115th then opens with the words:
"The Lord has been mindful of me;" the 116th: "How shall
I return." These are natural divisions; when the whole
Hallel is read the leader rests here as at the end of a chap
ter. By-the-by, the version, "all men are liars," in Ps. 116:
11, is incorrect. The true meaning is "every man is unre
liable." The Hebrew verb used here in the participle
means to break promises, not to tell an untruth.
Before the so-called "Half Hallel," the Sefardim bless,
as the Germans always do, him "who has commanded us
to read the Hallel."4
The 118th Psalm is opened with the much older verse,
"Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy
endureth forever" (literally, "for forever is his kindness").
This was so well-known by all, even those who understood
not another word of Hebrew, that the assembled multi
tude was called on to shout only this one line in response,
after the leader had given out either it or one of the three
following verses, Let Israel now say, Let the House of
Aaron now say, Let those that fear the Lord now say, and
this is still the custom.5
The last nine verses, beginning "I will thank thee,"

182 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
are spoken twice; that is, the leader gives them out and the
congregation says each verse after him. The hemistichs,
"O now, O Lord, save now" (Hosianna) and "O now, O
Lord, give but prosperity," are repeated separately. The
reason commonly assigned is this: in all the preceding
verses of the Psalm some words occur twice, which gcve an
opportunity to alternating choirs, but not in these last verses;
hence they had to be sung twice. In the Polish ritual
the responsive method has been lost, and every one says
twice the verses that should be repeated by way of response.
Hallel is closed with this benediction:
O Lord our God, may all thy works praise thee, and thy saints,
who do thy will, and all thy people Israel in glad song bless and
honor thy glorious name; for it is proper to give thanks to thee,
and pleasant to play melodies to thy name; and from everlasting
to everlasting thou art God; blessed be thou, O Lord, the King
praised in hymns.
(Six of the synonyms for "bless and honor" have been
omitted.) From the 114th Psalm (When Israel went forth from
Egypt) the whole series is sometimes called the Hallel of
Egypt, to distinguish it from "the Great Hallel," that is,
Psalm 136, and the name of Hallel is also applied to the five
last chapters of the Psalter, or at least to Psalms 148 and
150. The Great Hallel is a favorite with the young through
the merry ring of its steady burden, Ki leolam hasdo (for his
mercy endureth forever).
Among the morning hymns for all days the most im
portant is Psalm 145, preceded by two verses (84: 5, and
144: 15): "Happy are they who sit in thy House; they will
still be praising thee, Selah. Happy is the people that is
in such a case; happy is the people whose God is the Lord;"
and followed by this (115: 18): "But we will bless the Lord,
from this time forth and for evermore! praise ye the Lord."
The whole is known as Ashre (Happy), from its first word.

PSALMS AND BIBLE I ERSES IN THE SERVICE 183
The two grounds for choosing this Psalm are, that it is
alphabetic and that it teaches in its sixteenth verse how
God nourishes all his creatures.
When and how the other morning hymns gathered round
this center it is hard to ascertain. There is a benediction to
be read before and after them like grace before and after
meals; the Sefardim have denied a place between the two
to the latest accretions, keeping them on the outside before
the opening benediction, and are followed herein by the
Hasidim. The order in the Geiman ritual is this: The opening
benediction, next the song ascribed to David, 1 Chron. 16:
8-36, then twenty-two scattering Psalm verses, as follows:
Ps. 99: 5, 9; 78: 38; 40: 12; 25: 6; 68: 35, 36; 94: 1, 2; then
three end verses used also at other times: (46: 12) "The
Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our tower,
Selah." (84: 13) "O Lord of Hosts, happy is the man who
trusteth in thee." (20: 10) "O Lord, save; the King will
answer us, when we call." Then Ps. 28: 9; 33: 20, 21, 22;
85: 8; 44: 27; 81: 11; 144: 15; 13: 6.
The number twenty-two of the verses is that of the letters
in the alphabet, and indicates a Cabbalistic origin. Abu
draham still objects to the Song from Chronicles as well
as to the twenty-two verses as an unauthorized addition to
the services, though the former is recommended by the
"Treatise of Scribes" (Soferim).
The German ritual has, after the benediction, the piece
from Chronicles and the twenty-two verses, on work-days
the Psalm at Thanksgiving (Ps. 100) ; but on Sabbaths and
Festivals these nine Psalms, 19, 34, 90, 91, 135, 136, (Great
Hallel), 33, 92 (the Sabbath Psalm), 93. But the Sefardic
ritual has, after the twenty-two verses, Psalms 30, 103 and
19. (Abudraham still objected to the use of 19 on work
days); then on Sabbaths and Festivals Psalms 33, 34, 90, 91 ;
(then on Passover 107, on Pentecost 68, on Feast of Booths
42 and 43, on the Day of Memorial 81, on the Day of Atone-

184 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
ment twelve named Psalms); then 98, 121, 122, 123,124,135,
136; then the benediction; then, on work-days, 100, on
Sabbaths and Festivals, 92, 93. Thereafter the rituals agree,
first, eighteen verses analogous to the eighteen benedictions
beginning: (104: 31) "Let the glory of the Lord endure for
ever; the Lord rejoiceth in his works." Then follow verses
2, 3, 4 of 113; then Ps. 135: 13; 103: 19; 1 Chr. 16: 31; then
this line made up by the "Treatise of Scribes," of which
the latter half is from Ex. 15, "The Lord is King, the Lord
has reigned, the Lord will reign forever and ever." Then
Ps. 10: 16; 33: 10; Prov. 19: 21; Ps. 33: 11, 9; 132: 13; 135:
4. (94: 14) "For the Lord will not reject his people, and
will not forsake his heritage." Then Ps. 78: 38 and 20: 10,
which we meet again at the head of the evening services.
Then comes Ashre as defined above, then the five Halle
luiah Psalms, 146-150;' then the doxologies from the ends
of three Psalm books:
(89: S3): Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen and Amen.
(106: 48): Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlast
ing even to everlasting; and let all the people say, Amen, praise
ye the Lord. (72: 18, 19): Blessed be the Lord God, the God of
Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glori
ous name forever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
Then the following words of homage, 1 Chron. 29: 10-13:
Then David blessed the Lord before all the assembly, and David
said, blessed be thou, O Lord, the God of Israel, our Father, for
ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the victory and the majesty; for of all that is in
the heavens and in the earth, thine is the Kingdom, O Lord, and
thou art exalted as King over all. Both riches and honor come of
thee, and thou rulest over all, and in thine hand is power and
might; and in thine hand it is to make great and to give strength
unto all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank thee and praise thy
glorious name.
This passes imperceptibly into Nehemiah's address (Neh.
9: 6-1 1), and this leads to the last two verses of Exodus 14

PSA I. JfS AND BIBLE VERSES IN THE SERVICE 185
(And the Lord on that day saved), and these introduce
the great song of triumph after the crossing of the Red
Sea: (Ex. 15: 1-18). The last verse (The Lord shall reign forever and
ever) is followed by three other of the Kingdom verses. (Ps. 22:
29) : For the Kingdom is of the Lord and he ruleth among the
nations. (Obadiah, 21) : And saviours shall go up on Mount Zion
to judge the Mount of Esau, and the Kingdom shall be the Lord's.
(Zech. 14: 9): And the Lord shall be king over all the earth, on
that day shall the Lord be one, and his name one.
Then follows the closing "Benediction of Song;" of this
hereafter. As to the comparative date of the parts which make up
the morning hymns, or "musical verses," we have seen that
Psalm 145 takes the first rank; Psalms 146-150, or at least
148 and 150, come next; their recital can be traced back to
the Talmud, perhaps to the days of the Mishna.6 Nearly
the same rank is held by Psalm 100, and on Sabbath and
Festivals by 92 and 93. The scattering twenty-two verses
are the latest accretion. The long piece from Chronicles
and the Sabbath hymns, which the Sefardim do not admit
within the benedictions, are also late additions. This his
toric order is roughly recognized by the rules found in
many prayer books as to the pieces which should be skipped
by one who comes too late to the morning service, and
wishes to catch up with the congregation.
After the Amida in the morning or afternoon comes the
"supplication," or penitential Psalm. It is 6 with the Ger
mans, 25 with the Sefardim; it is not recited on Sabbaths,
Festivals, Middle Days, New Moons, Flanucca, or Purim,
nor in the Passover month, nor, on the other hand, on the
Ninth of Ab and a few other days as to which the rit
uals differ, nor in the afternoon before Sabbaths or Festi
vals, nor when a "bridegroom" (a man who has married
within a week) is in the Synagogue, nor when a circum-

186 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
cision takes place in it. Its omission carries with it all its
later accretions and all the plaintive matter written for
Mondays and Thursdays.7
The penitential Psalm is followed (mediately or imme
diately) by these verses:
(2 Chron. 20: 12): But we know not what we should do; for
our eyes are turned to thee. (Ps. 25: 6): Remember thy mercies,
O Lord, and thy loving-kindness; for they are from everlasting.
(Ps. 33 : 22) : May thy kindness be upon us, O Lord, as we have
hoped unto thee. (79: 8) : Do not remember unto us the iniquities
of the forefathers; let thy mercies speedily prevent us; for we are
brought very low. (123: 3): Be gracious to us, O Lord, be
gracious, for too long we have been filled with contempt. (Hab.
3: 2): In anger thou art mindful of mercy. (Ps. 103: 14): For he
knoweth our nature; he is mindful that we are dust. (79: 9):
Help us, O Lord, for the sake of thy glorious name; deliver us
and cleanse away our sins for thy name's sake.8
On Monday and Thursday a composition, about 700
Hebrew words in length, is inserted before the penitential
Psalm, full of bitter complaints for the sufferings which
Israel undergoes for its faith, known popularly as "long
Vehu Rahum," from the first words of the opening verse,
"And he is merciful, atoneth sin." A story ascribing its
authorship to three shipwrecked refugees from the sack of
Jerusalem or of Bethar has obscured the true origin of this
collection. It sets out with Bible verses, some as they
read in Scripture, others with the "I" or "thou" of the
Psalmist or Prophet turned into the "we" of the worship
pers. Thus we have Ps. 78: 38; 40: 12; 106: 47; 130: 3, 4;
103: 10; Jer. 14: 7; Ps. 25: 6; 20: 2, 10; Dan. 9: 15-19;
Isa. 64: 7; Joel 2: 17; Deut. 9: 27; Ex. 32: 12; Dan. 9: 7;
Lam. 3: 40; Ps. 118: 25; Isa. 64: 11.
The verses drop off gradually into post-Biblical matter.
The whole is hardly fitted to express the feelings of Amer
ican Jews, who cannot be said to suffer for their faith; but
a short poem which, on Mondays and Thursdays, is recited

PSALMS AND BIBLE VERSES IN THE SERVICE 187
after the penitential Psalms utters the plaint for such suffer
ings with even greater bitterness.
After the morning Amida and after these "supplications,"
when these arc in place, comes Half Kaddish on work-days,
a full Kaddish on days requiring a Musaf Prayer; then
(besides the lesson from the scroll and whatever goes with
it) the second Ashrc. Then on days on which "supplications"
are made, Psalm 20 ("The Lord will answer thee in time
of distress"); then on all work-days a collection of verses
from Psalms, Chronicles, and Prophets, which, though not
Talmudic, is very old. It is named from its opening words
U-Ba Ic-Tzion (Isa. 59: 20, 21).
A redeemer shall come to Zion and to them that turn from trans
gression in Jacob, saith the Lord. And as for me, this is my
covenant with them, saith the Lord; my spirit that is upon thee, and
my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of
thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth
of thy seed's seed, says the Lord, from henceforth and forever.
(Ps. 22: 4): Thou art holy, dwelling in the praises of Israel.
(Isa. 6: 3): And one called unto the other and said: Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of Hosts, full is the whole earth of his glory.
(Repeated in Aramaic paraphrase). (Ezek. 3: 12): Then the spirit
lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of a great rushing:
Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place (Aramaic para
phrase follows). (Ex. 15: 18): The Lord will reign forever and
ever. (Aramaic version). (Four verses: 1 Chron. 29: 18; Ps. 78:
38; 86: 5; 119: 142). (Micah 7: 20): Thou wilt perform the truth
to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham which thou hast sworn unto
our fathers from the days of old. (Ps. 68: 20): Blessed be the
Lord day by day; God heapeth upon us our salvation; Selah.
(Three verses Ps. 46: 12; 84: 13; 20: 10; see above).
(After two non-Biblical passages, to be given hereafter,
proceed) :
(Ps. 30: 13): To the end that my glory may sing to thee and
not be silent,' O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee forever.
[(Jer. 17: 7): Blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord, and
whose hope the Lord is. (Isa. 26: 4) : Trust ye in the Lord for
ever; for in Jah, the Lord, is the rock of ages.] (Ps. 9: 11): Yea,

188 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
those that know thy name will trust in thee; for thou hast not for
saken those that seek thee, O Lord. (Isa. 42:21): It pleased the
Lord for his righteousness' sake to magnify the Law and make it
honorable. The Sefardim omit two verses from the Prophets and sub
stitute two Psalm verses. The ground for inserting this
mosaic given by the old writers is that late visitors at the
Synagogue may still have an opportunity to say the Thrice-
Holy in company.
This brings us near the end of the morning service. At
or very near its conclusion the Psalm is read which was
sung on that day of the week in the Temple, the 24th on
Sunday, on Monday the 48th, on the following days, 82, 94,
81, 93, and on the Sabbath 92.9
From work time on Friday to the sacred rest on the night
of Sabbath we are led by six Psalms, 95-99, "Come, let us.
sing to the Lord," and 29, which closes "with peace," a
poem addressed to the Bride Sabbath, and Psalm 92, with
the opening words of which each worshipper enters the
sacred day; to this Ps. 93 is a pendant. What precedes 92
and thus precedes the Sabbath is now called its "reception."
The Psalms and the poem have been set to numberless airs
of both old and new style, and seem inseparable from the
genuine Friday evening. Yet their use is modern. Not
only Abudraham early in the fourteenth century, but R.
Joseph Kara, writing his Code in the sixteenth, knows
nothing about them, but they speak of a man "receiving"
the Sabbath in his evening Prayer; that is, when it is already
upon us. The poem of Solomon the Levite (Alkabets) in
which he sings to the Bride has gathered round it all these
Psalms for her reception.10
On all afternoons the service begins with Ashre, then
on Sabbaths or Festivals the verses and prayers beginning
"A redeemer will come to Zion," which have been omitted
in the morning; then a Half Kaddish, and on the Sabbath
this Psalm verse (69: 14):

PSALMS AND BIBLE VERSES IN THE SERVICE 189
"But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an accept
able time; O God, in thy manifold mercy, answer me in the truth
of thy salvation."
After the Sabbath afternoon Prayer come the following
three Psalm verses (unless there is besides the Sabbath
some occasion for gladness):
(Ps. 119: 142): Thy righteousness is everlasting righteousness,
and thy Law is truth. (71 : 19) : Thy righteousness, O God, is very
high, thou who hast done great things, O God, who is like unto
thee. (36: 7): Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God;
thy judgments as the mighty deep; thou preservest man and
beast, O Lord."11
In winter on Sabbath afternoons, Psalm 104, that pen
picture of moving and living nature, and the fifteen Songs
of Degrees (Ps. 120-134) are read, more as a private devo
tion than as part of the service. The Sefardim substitute Ps.
119 for 104. When it becomes dark, friends at the Syna
gogue or at home chant together Psalms 144 and 67; the
former speaks of health, plenty, and peace; the latter calls
on all nations to thank God with us for his blessings, so that
the Sabbath may leave a good taste. The 104th Psalm is,
however, solemnly chanted by the Sefardim in opening the
evening service on New Moons.12
On ordinary evenings, including Saturday night (and as
late as the fourteenth century on the nights of Sabbaths
and Festivals as well), the following two verses are spoken
before the first benediction or in public before the leader's
address: (Ps. 78: 38): "He is merciful, atoneth iniquity; and will not
destroy, and will often turn back his wrath; and will not arouse
all his anger. (Ps. 20: 10): O Lord, save; the King will answer
when we call."13
But when the evening service is held "in its season," that
is, after night-fall, and disconnected from the afternoon

IO.O JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Prayer, it is introduced by Psalm 134 ("Bless the Lord, all
ye servants of the Lord, who stand in the Lord's house by
night," and the three verses before mentioned (Ps. 46: 12;
84: 13; 20: 10), which make a sufficient basis for a "Half
Kaddish;" and such a service is closed with Psalms 24, 8,
and 29 as a basis for a Mourners' Kaddish.14
We have spoken of a third benediction which has come
into use among all "Germans" in the work-day evening
service. It is introduced by the following Bible verses,
the doxologies already mentioned, Ps. 89: 53; 106: 48; 72:
18, 19. Then:
(Ps. 104: 31): Let the glory of the Lord endure forever; the
Lord rejoiceth in his works. (Ps. 113: 2): Let the name of the
Lord be blessed from henceforth and for evermore. (1 Sam. 12:
22) : For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's
sake; for it has pleased the Lord to make you his people. (1 Kings
18: 39): And the whole people saw it and fell on their faces and
said: "The Lord is the God; the Lord is the God." (Zech. 14: 9):
The Lord will be King over all the earth; in that day shall the Lord
be one, and his name one. (Ps. 33: 22): May thy mercy be upon
us, as we have hoped in thee. (Ps. 106: 47). Save us, O Lord, our
God, and gather us from the nations, to give thanks to thy holy
name and to triumph in thy praise. (86: 9): All nations whom
thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and
give honor to thy name. (Ps. 86: 10): For thou art great,
and. doest wonders, thou, O God, alone. (79: 13): And we are
thy people and the sheep of thy pasture; we will thank thee for
evermore; from generation to generation we shall tell thy praise.
In analogy to the above verses in the evening service for
work-days, other verses have come into use for the nights
of Sabbath and Festivals without any Talmudic authority.
For Friday night:
(Ex. 31: 16, 17): The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath,
to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a per
petual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel
forever, that the Lord in six days made the heavens and the earth,
and on the seventh day rested and was refreshed.

PSALMS AND BIBLE VERSES IN TIIE SERVICE 191
On the evenings of three festivals of joy in the German
ritual :
(Lev. 23: 44) : "And Moses declared to the children of Israel the
set times of the Lord."
While the Sefardim say:
(Lev. 23: 4): "These are the set times of the Lord, holy con
vocations, which ye shall proclaim in their season."
On New Year's night in the German ritual:
(Ps. 81: 4): "Blow ye the horn on the new moon, the darken
ing, the day of our feast; for it is an ordinance to Israel; a judg
ment of the God of Jacob."
The Sefardim say on the same occasion:
(Numbers 10: 10): On the day of your gladness, and at your set
times, and on your new moons, ye shall blow the trumpets upon
your burnt offerings and upon your peace offerings, and it shall
be to you for a memorial before the Lord your God; I am the Lord
your God.
On the Atonement night both rituals have here:
(Lev. 16: 30): For on this day he will atone for you, to cleanse
you from all your sins; before the Lord ye shall be clean.
On Saturday night after the Amida and Half Kaddish
(unless a Festival falls within the coming week) Ps. 91 is
spoken, preceded by the last verse of Ps. 90:
"Let the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us, and
establish thou for us the work of our hands; yea, the work of our
hands establish thou it."
Then the collection given above ("A redeemer will come
to Zion") is recited, leaving off, however, the first two
verses, so as to begin "Thou art holy;" then the full Kad
dish. Then follows a collection of blessings and happy
prophecies, the two blessings' Isaac bestows on Jacob, Gen.
27: 28, 29, and 28: 3, 4; Jacob blessing Joseph, Gen. 49:

1 92 JE WISH SER VICES IN SYNA GOGUE AND HOME
25, 26; Moses the people, Deut. 7: 13, 14, 15. (Blessing
on Ephraim and Manasseh, Gen. 48: 16; on the people,
Deut. 1: 10, 11.) Blessings and predictions of good, Deut.
27: 3-6; 27: 8, 12; 15: 6; 33: 29. (Forgiveness and redemp
tion, Isa. 44: 22, 23; 47: 4.) Joy over God's help, Isa. 45:
17; Joel 2: 26, 27; Isa. 55: 12; 12: 2-6; 25: 9. (Isa. 2: 5;
33: 6; 1 Sam. 18: 14; on redeeming, Ps. 55: 19; 1 Sam. 14:
45; Isa. 35: 10.) (On turning evil into good, Ps, 30: 12;
Deut. 23: 6; Jer. 31: 12.) On peace, Isa. 57: 19; 1 Chr. 12:
19; 1 Sam. 25: 6; Ps. 29: 11. (A Talmudic passage, then
words of comfort, 1 Kings 8: 57; Deut. 4: 4; Isa. 51: 3;
42: 21. Lastly Ps. 128, a eulogy on the hard-working
breadwinner, for the week of toil now begins.)
The parts in parentheses belong only to the Polish branch
of the German ritual.
Other Psalms and poetic verses will be referred to in con
nection with the reading of the Pentateuch lesson; others
again, in connection with the meal or retirement to bed.
For want of space we cannot treat of the verses which are
intermingled with the Selihoth, or poetry on forgiveness,
mentioned in Chapter XII.
Many devout men and women read the whole Psalter
through once a month, or even once a week, according
to divisions made for that purpose. In many Synagogues
the whole Psalter is read on the afternoon of the first
New Year's day or on the night of Atonement. It is also
the second part of the exercises in "staying up" in the
night of Hoshana Rabba, the reading of Deuteronomy
being the first part. Verses from the Psalms or other parts
of Scripture that are quoted in non-Biblical prayers, or
intertwined with them, are treated with the latter.

CHAPTER XIV
STUDY AS TART OF THE LITURGY
The words in the second benediction of the evening, "In
thy law we breathe by day and by night," are not meant
as a figure of speech. He who learned and taught the
written and oral law, and placed this occupation above all
earthly joys and hopes, was the ideal to the men who have,
in the course of two thousand years, elaborated the service
book, as he was to the author of the 176 verses of the 119th
Psalm. Many loyal and well-meaning Jews were disabled by
poverty, lack of teachers, or lack of talent and taste from
deeper study. To these it was thought good to furnish a
minimum; they might acquire a substitute for real learning.
The Shema contains the weightiest matter, but its recital
is separately commanded, aside from the general duty to
learn and remember the Law.1 Hence the sages of Israel
placed in the service book, to be read every day or at stated
times, other passages from the Tora and some Mishna and
Baraitha, so that everybody should do some studying.
The first choice was made of such passages, one from
each of the sources, which were put in the early morning
service after the benediction on rising and dressing, but
before the Psalms and hymns: from the Tora the section
from Numbers 28, on the daily sacrifice, the verses for Sab
bath and New Moon to be also read on those days; from
the Mishna, a chapter on the place of the several kinds of
sacrifice in the Temple, and the distinctions in offering and
eating.2 Thus the worshipper, while dutifully studying,
would also make mention of the daily oblations, the next
13 (J93)

194 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
best thing to bringing them. For the uncodified oral Law,
or Baraitha, R. Ishmael's account of the thirteen rules for
expounding the Tora was given as a fit sample. The first
two rules are easily understood and remembered, "to
reason i, from the lesser to the greater; 2, by judgment on
like words;" the other eleven are rather abstruse.3
But these passages are. long, dry, and undevotional;
something short was needed, something to go to the heart.
In a note written late in the twelfth century we come across
the new selections, now in daily use.1 Three verses from
the Law are wanted; none are finer than the priestly bless
ing; better yet the whole section of six verses which em
braces it, the command to Aaron and his sons to impart
it, and the promise, "they will set my name on the children
of Israel and I will bless them."5 . From the Mishna this
section :
These things have no (prescribed) measure: The field corner,
the first fruits, the appearance-offering (on the Festivals), and
charity and the study of the Law.
These are the things of which man eats the fruits in this world,
but the capital remains for the world to come; these they are:
honoring father and mother, and charity, and going early to the
house of study in the morning and evening, and housing travellers,
and visiting the sick, and endowing the bride, and devotion in
prayer, and escorting the dead, and bringing about peace between
man and man; and against all of these (stands out) the study of the
Law.6 Here we have a daily confession that a good and noble
life finds its reward here and hereafter. Thousands who
drop or slur over the three longer passages recite these
short ones immediately after the benedictions over the duty
of studying the Law, which run thus:
Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who has
sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to be
busy with the words of the Law. O Lord our God, make the
words of thy Law pleasant in our mouth; and may we and our
children, and late descendants, and all the descendants of thy

STUDY AS PART OF THE LITURGY

¦95

people, the House of Israel, all of us know thy name, and learn
thy Law for its own sake; blessed be thou, O Lord, who teacheth
the Law to his people Israel. Blessed be thou, O Lord our God,
King of the world, who hath chosen us from all the nations and
given us his Law; blessed be thou, O Lord, the Giver lof the Law.
The latter of these two benedictions is the same which
is recited at the reading desk before the open scroll; it
renders thanks for the written law; the first acknowledges
the honorable but laborious task of studying the traditions
and of searching the Scriptures.7
So much for every day. On the Sabbath and Festivals
after the "Additional" three other Talmudic passages fol
low the introductory line, "Thou art he before whom our
fathers burn the incense of sweet odors." First, a Baraitha
which sets forth by weight and measure the composition of
this incense; next, a section of the Mishna, which gives the
Psalm for each day as the Levites sang it on the steps of
the Temple, not by the numbers of the Psalms, but by their
first verses;8 third, the following eulogy on the men of
learning: Rabbi Eleazar says, said Rabbi Hanina, the disciples of the
Wise further peace in the world, as it is written: For all thy sons
are disciples of the Lord; and much is the peace of thy sons.
(Isa. 54: 13): Do not read Thy Sons (Banaich), but Those That
Build Thee (Bonaich). There is much peace for those who love
thy Law; and they find no stumbling block. For the sake of my
brothers and friends, may I speak peacefully to thee; for the sake
of the Lord, our God, may I seek happiness for thee. The Lord
giveth strength to His people; may the Lord bless His people with
peace." On Friday night a chapter of the Mishna is read (by the
Sefardim before the regular evening service begins, by the
Germans near its end), which deals with the Friday night
lamp and other laws of the Sabbath.10 The above saying
of R. Eleazar and R. Hanina is added, so that this lesson
also ends with peace.

tg6 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The chapter on the place of sacrifice, the thirteen rules,
the discourse on the Sabbath lights, and the mixture of
spices, are always among the things dropped first when
ever a progressive congregation takes any liberties with
the old service book. Most important among the longer
Talmudic passages is the Treatise Aboth, in five chapters,
to which a sixth chapter of similar strain was added at a
later but unknown time; the six being found in every old-
fashioned prayer book.11 At present the Sefardic Jews
read one chapter on each of the six Sabbaths between Pass
over and Pentecost, but the Jews of the German Minhag
not only do this, but go over the whole again and again,
to the last Sabbath before New Year. The Treatise is
known in English as the Ethics.12 The chapters are not
chanted by the leader; any man or woman reads a chapter
either at home or in the Synagogue before or after the
afternoon service.
At the house of mourning and on anniversaries, or when
ever ten Jews, gathered for the common worship of God,
wish to "learn," a few sections from one of these chapters
are ready to hand. Children whose training does not pass
beyond the Prayer Book and Pentateuch are set to study
the Ethics, and thus whatever knowledge the unlearned
Jew has of the Mishna is drawn from this source.
These comforting words are read before each chapter:
All Israel has a share in the world to come, as it is said (Isa.
60: 21): And thy people, all of them righteous, shall forever inherit
the land (? earth), the young tree of my planting, the work of my
hands, that I may be glorified.13
After each chapter or any selection from the Ethics the
following is read:
R. Hananiah ben Akashiah said: The Holy One, blessed be
he, was pleased to give Israel merit; therefore he multiplied for
them Law and commandments, as it is said (Isa. 42: 21): It

STUDY AS PART OF THE LITURGY 197
pleased the Lord for his righteousness' sake to make the Law
great and honorable."
The Treatise Aboth, unlike most other treatises in the
Mishna, does not deal with some branch of jurisprudence,
polity, or ritual law, nor does it lay down any rules of con
duct by the authority of the greater number or of the pre
vailing party among the learned. It reports the opinions
of the "Fathers," that is, of individual Rabbis from the
days of the Great Synod down to the sons of Rabbi Judah,
the Patriarch, on points of morals, faith, and occasionally
of worldly wisdom.
The first chapter brings down the chain of tradition from
Moses, Joshua, the Elders (or Judges), and Prophets to the
men of the Great Synod; from the last of them, Simeon the
Just, to his disciple Antigonus, from the latter's disciples to
the five "couples," that is, the successive Presidents and
Vice-Presidents of the Sanhedrin, including Hillel and
Shammai, contemporaries of Herod the Great; then it
names Rabban Gamaliel, who was a late descendant of
Hillel, and his son Rabban Simeon, the Patriarchs of their
day; and it credits each with one or more favorite sayings.
Some of these refer to the duties of the judge alone; but
"always judge every man for the best" (literally, towards
the scale of innocence) is intended for daily life. Great are
Hillel' s words, "Who pushes his name forward, his name is
lost; he who does not add (to his knowledge) loses, and
he who does not teach, deserves to be killed; and let him
who makes gain of the crown (religious learning) perish!"
Also, "If I am not for myself, who is for me! if I am for
myself, what am I?" Shammai says, "Say little and do
much, and receive everybody with a pleasant face."
The second chapter begins with Rabbi (i. e., Judah), and
f-e Patriarch Gamaliel, his son, but then goes back to earlier
teachers as far as Hillel. Its gems are, "Study of the law is
best when combined with secular work; for in the fatigue

198 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
over both we forget sin." Or, among Hillel' s sayings, "Do
not believe in thyself .till the day of thy death; and do not
judge thy neighbor till thou hast come into his position."
Again, "The bashful cannot learn, nor the impatient man
teach." Seeing a skull floating in the water he said, "Be
cause thou didst drown thou wast drowned; and those that
drowned thee will be drowned." Rabbi Eliezer says, "Re
turn one day before thy death." Rabbi Simeon says, "When
thou prayest, do not make thy prayer a fixed task, but
mercy and supplication before God; for it is said: For he
is gracious and merciful, even long-suffering, and bethinks
himself upon the evil." Rabbi Eleazar says, "Be watchful
to learn the Law and know how to answer the infidel" (liter
ally, Epicurus). Rabbi Tarphon (Tryphon) says, "Know,
the reward of the righteous is given in the world to come."
The third chapter delights in an antithetic style.
Says R. Hanina ben Teradion, "When two* men sit to
gether with no talk of the Law between them, that is the
seat of the scoffers, of which Scripture says: He does not
sit in the seat of scoffers. But two who sit down and talk
words of the Law, the presence of God (Shechina) is poured
out between them, as it is written : Then those that feared
the Lord spoke to each other, and the Lord listened and
heard, and it was written down in the book of remembrance
before him, for those who fear the Lord and think of his
name." R. Simeon follows with a parallel as to three who
eat at one table and do or do not speak "words of the Law."
And another Rabbi sets forth the merits of ten, of five, of
three, of two, who study together, and at last of one by him
self, having for each number a verse by way of proof, wind
ing up, "In every place where I make mention of my name,
I will come unto thee and bless thee." The saintly R.
Hanina ben Dosa says, "Whose fear of sin precedes his
learning, that man's learning will stand; but if his learning
precedes his fear of sin (religious ftehng), it will not stand.
Whose good works are greater than his learning, that

STUD}' AS PART OF THE LITURGY 199
man's learning will stand," etc. R. Eleazar ben Azariah,
one of the Patriarchs, enlarges on this- by comparing the
man whose learning exceeds his good works with a tree of
few roots and many branches, which the first storm will
tear from the ground and overthrow; the man of more good
works than learning, with a tree of widespread roots and
few branches that will withstand all the winds in the world
unmoved, and quotes for each of them one of the beautiful
and well-known verses in the 17th chapter of Jeremiah.
The fourth chapter sets out with Ben Zoma's rules, "Who
is wise? he who learns from everybody; who is mighty? he
who represses his passions, as it is written: The long-suf
fering man is better than the mighty, and he who rules over
his own spirit, than one who takes a city; who is rich? he
who is glad with his portion, as it is written: When thou
eatest of the labor of thy hand thou art happy, and it goes
well with thee. Happy (he adds) in this world, and it goes
well with thee in the world to come." Rabbi Jannai says,
"We have no means to understand either the happiness of
the wicked or the sufferings which befall the just." An
otherwise unknown R. Mathia says, "Be a tail to the lions
rather than a head to the foxes." R. Jacob says, "This
world is like a vestibule before the next world; prepare
thyself in the vestibule, that thou mayest enter the banquet
hall" (triclinium). R. Meir says, "Do not look at the jar,
but at what there is in it; there is many a new jar full of old
wine, and old jars that hold not even new wine" (old men
wholly ignorant).
The fifth chapter is almost throughout arranged by num
bers. First the number ten: the generations from Adam
to Noah; from Noah to Abraham; ten temptations of
Abraham, the ten plagues of Egypt, ten at the Red Sea, ten
times the Israelites tempted God in the wilderness, ten
wonderful things bordering on the miraculous were noticed
in the Temple. But the most noteworthy decade comes
last, "Ten things were created on the eve of Sabbath dur-

200 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
ing the twilight, namely, the mouth of the earth (which
swallowed Korah),-the mouth of the well (from which the
Israelites drank in the wilderness), the mouth of (Balaam's)
ass, the rainbow, the Manna, the rod (of Moses), the Shamir
(an insect said to have been used in cutting the stones for
Solomon's Temple), the alphabet, and the writing (on the
tables), and the tables (of the covenant)." Here is an evi
dent effort to reconcile the belief in the miracles of Scrip
ture with the orderly progress of the world according to
laws implanted in it from the beginning; on the same lines
as that of Babbage, the inventor of the calculating machine,
in this nineteenth century. Next come sevens; the first
and best known is:
Seven things are known in the stupid fellow and seven in the
wise man: the wise man has nothing to say in presence of one who
is more learned and has a greater following; and he does not
interrupt the words of another; and is not overhasty in answering;
he asks according to the subject-matter; and answers (questions
of religion) according to the established Law (not what he thinks
ought to be the Law) ; and speaks of things in their order from
first to last; and of what he has not heard, he says, I have not heard
it, and he admits the truth; and the opposite to all these denote the
stupid fellow.
After the sevens come the fours, of which the following
is the best example:
There are four qualities in giving alms: One who is willing
to give, but does not wish others to give, he begrudges the wealth
of others; willing that others shall give, but unwilling himself to
give, he begrudges his own; willing to 'give, and that others give,
is pious; unwilling to give, or for others to give, is wicked.
After a short prayer, which originally marked the end
of the chapter and treatise, we find:
Ben He-He (quare: the son of Hillel the Great) used to say:
According to the trouble is the reward. He also said: One five
years old should begin to read (the Bible), at ten years, study

STUDY AS PART OE THE LITURGY 201
the Mishna, at fifteen years, Gemara (that is, discussion on the
Oral Law); at eighteen, he is ready for the bridal chamber; at
twenty to pursue (his trade); at thirty, he is in his strength; at
forty, he reaches understanding; at fifty, he reaches wisdom; at
sixty, old age; at seventy, the hoary head; at eighty, might (cmp.
Ps. 90: 10); at ninety, to bend down low; at one hundred, as if he
were dead, and had passed from the world.
The sixth chapter was compiled probably after the com
pletion of the Talmud as a supplement to these five chap
ters. It is weaker than the Treatise Aboth, and made up
mainly of praises of the Tora and of those who study it.
Among the forty-eight qualities, efforts, and habits by
which the crown of the Tora must be acquired, the last is:
One must tell everything in the name of him who said it before
him; for we learn from Scripture, that one who says n thing, giving
the proper credit, brings salvation into the world; for it is written
(Esther 2: 22): "Esther told the King in the name of Mordecai."
We may lastly mention a highly interesting passage from
the Babylonian Talmud, which in the Polish ritual is recited
on Saturday nights:
R. Johanan says: At every place where thou findest the great
ness of God, thou wilt also find his condescension. This is written
in the Law, repeated in the Prophets, and put for the third time in
the Holy Writings. First in the Law: For the Lord, your God,
he is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, the great, the
mighty, and the fearful God, who does not respect persons, and
who takes no bribes. And right thereafter it is written: He
worketh the cause of the fatherless and of the widow, and loveth
the stranger, to give him bread and raiment. Repeated in the
Prophets, where it is written: For thus saith he who is high and
exalted, who dwelleth eternally, and whose name is holy: I dwell
on high and holy; also with the contrite and the humble in spirit;
to quicken the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the
contrite. Thirdly, it is written in the Holy Writings: Sing unto
God, play on strings to his name; make a road to him who rides
through the spaces; in his name, the Lord; and shout ye before
him. And right thereafter: A father of the fatherless and the
judge of the widows is God in his holy dwelling.15

202 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Other selections from the Mishna in the service books
are of less import. TheTikkun, or Arrangement, for the first
night of Pentecost contains the first and last section in each
treatise of the Mishna. This is read in a perfunctory way,
and has done little if anything towards the spread of Rab
binic learning. The Sefardic Prayer Book used in the East
contains the Treatise Rosh Hashana as a proper reading
for the supper table on the first night of the New Year;
lastly, it is usual for men of learned tastes to take the Mish-
nic Treatise Joma to the Synagogue on the Day of Atone
ment and to read it rather than take part in the recital of
the less attractive "poetries."

CHAPTER XV.
THE LESSER AND THE DOUBTFUL BENEDICTIONS
A passage in the Babylonian Talmud, given in the
names of the Rabbis who flourished early in the fourth cen
tury, sets out the different benedictions which the Israelite
ought to recite, when he rises in the morning, thanking God
for each of the several operations which lead from sleep to
the work of the day. Considering that it was thought
improper to pronounce God's name before washing hands
and face, these words cannot be suited to the act; all must
vyait for the morning ablution; the present custom for those
who attend the Synagogue each morning is to recite them
all as the first part of the service.1 All of the benedictions
are introduced with the words, "Blessed be thou, O Lord
our God, King of the world;" only what follows need be
stated. We omit here what one should say when he goes
to bed, but when one awakes he says (without the intro
ductory words):
My God, the soul which thou hast placed within is pure; thou
hast formed it, thou hast breathed it into me, thou guardest it within
me, and thou wilt hereafter take it from me, to return it to me in
the later future; as long as the soul is within me, I confess before
thee, O Lord my God and God of my fathers, Master of all
worlds, Lord of all souls. Blessed,etc, who returneth the soul to
dead bodies.
Here is an assertion of the resurrection of the flesh not
found elsewhere in the liturgy. An old authority however
suggests, "Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the
world, who revivest the dead," as a substitute.2
(203)

204 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The Talmud proceeds: When he hears the crowing of
the cock, let him say —
"Blessed, etc., who hast given understanding to the cock,
to distinguish between day and night" (alluding to Job 38:
36, where the common version however renders "mind"
the word which the Rabbis interpret "cock").
When he opens his eyes, "Blessed, who makest the
blind to see." When he sits up, "Blessed, who loosest the
captives." Its temporary substitute. "Blessed, etc., who
settest the lowly on high," soon fell into disuse.
The benedictions over the study of the Law have been
given in the preceding chapter. . When he has put on his ,
garment, let him say, "Blessed, who clothest the naked;"
when he sits up straight, "Blessed, who raisest up them
that are bowed down." When he comes down on the
ground, let him say, "Blessed, who stretchest the earth over
the waters" (Ps. 136: 6). When he steps out, "Blessed,
who directest the steps of man." When he fastens his shoe,
"Blessed, who hast provided for all my wants." When
he binds his girdle around him, "Blessed, who girdeth
Israel with strength." When he spreads his kerchief on
his head (making his turban), "Blessed, who crownest Israel
with beauty." When he wraps himself in the fringed
shawl, "Blessed, who hast sanctified us with his command
ments, and hast commanded us to wrap ourselves with the
fringes." When he puts the phylacteries on his arm, he
should say, "Blessed, who hast, etc., and commanded us
to put on phylacteries." When he puts them on his head,
"Blessed, etc., and commanded us about the duty of phy
lacteries." When he washes his hands, "Blessed, etc., and
commanded us about the washing of hands." When he
washes his face, he should say:
Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who
removest the bonds of sleep from my eyes and slumber from my
eyelids (cmp. Ps. 132: 4). Be it thy will, O Lord my God and God
of our fathers, that thou mayest lead me in the path of thy Law,

THE LESSER AND THE DOUBTFUL BENEDICTIONS 205
keep me fast to thy commands, and bring mc not into sin or
iniquity, nor into temptation, nor into scorn; bend my impulse into
subjection to thee; let me be far from evil men and evil com
panions; let me hold fast to the good impulse and to a good com
panion in thy world, and let me find to-day and every day grace,
love, and mercy in thine eyes, and in the eyes of all that see me,
and deal with me in kindness. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who
dealest kindly with his people Israel.
Since these benedictions were transferred from the bed
side to the house of worship, and are given out by the
leader to be answered by the Amen of those assembled
with him, the singular in the last of them has been turned
into the plural, "Our God, lead us; bring us," etc. For a
few hundred years the benediction, "He who crowns Israel
with beauty," was neglected in Christian countries,3 because
the Jew did not wind his handkerchief into a turban, or
actually walked about bare-headed, but in the fifteenth cen
tury it became again universal.
Another passage of the Talmud recommends three bene
dictions, "who hast not made me a Gentile," "who hast
not made me a bondman," "who hast not made me a
woman," which are in our service books placed among
those given above. The Israelite here thanks God for his
duties, he being bound by all the commands of the Law,
the Gentile by very few, the bondman and the woman by
only a part. In another passage the first of these benedic
tions says plainly, "who hast made me an Israelite," "not
made me a woman," "not made me quite ignorant." But
the former version has prevailed.1 The motive assigned in
the Talmud for these expressions of thanks is that each
Israelite may have occasion for blessing God one hundred
times each day.
Another benediction, very proper after a good night's
rest, is found in the German prayer books, "who givest
power to the faint" (cmp. Isa. 40: 29); but it is wholly re
jected by the Sefardim, because it has no support in the
Talmud.

206 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
A half homiletic, half mystical book of the ninth century
recommends the recital of "Master of all worlds," which was
probably then in daily use by the more devout, in the fol
lowing words :
"Let every man fear Heaven in secret as in public, con
fess the truth, speak the truth in his heart, and rise early and
say." This is also found in R. Amram's liturgy, which,, if
the passage is authentic, would be the older source. In the
Sefardic and in the Polish Minhag the above injunction is
read along with the piece that follows:
Master of all worlds! we cast our supplications before thee, not
by reason of our. righteousness, but of thy abundant mercies.
(Dan. 9: 18): What are we (etc., as in Ch. XII, in Neila, to "all is
vanity"). (After this deep wail over the nothingness of man before
infinite time comes the answer, that though plain man be
nothing, the Israelite is something):
But we are thy people, the sons of thy covenant, children of
Abraham, thy friend, to whom thou sworest on Mount Moriah,
the seed of Isaac, his only child, who lay bound on the altar, the
congregation of Jacob, thy first-born, to whom in love and in
rejoicing thou gavest the names of Israel and Jeshurun. Therefore
we are bound to thank, to praise, and to glorify thee, and to hallow,
to honor, and to sanctify thy name. Happy we are, how goodly is
our share, how pleasant our lot, how fair our heritage; happy we
who early in the morning, and when the evening sets in, twice every
day, say: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
(Blessed be the name of his glorious Kingdom for evermore.)
Thou wast before the world was made; thou art since the world
is made; thou art the same in this world; the same in the world
to come; hallow thy name in those who sanctify it; hallow it in thy
world; lift and raise our horn through thy salvation. [Blessed be
thou, O Lord, thou who hallowest thy name among many].
This conclusion is given in the German prayer books,
in the second person throughout. The Sefardim have

THE LESSER AND THE DOUBTFUL BENEDICTIONS 207
never admitted that a competent authority has drawn up or
recommended this benediction so as to justify the use of
God's name in the close; they wind it up, "Blessed be he
who sanctifieth his name among many."
Maimonides ignores it in enumerating the obligatory
morning benedictions, but gives it in a slightly modified
form without the divine name at the close in his "Order of
Prayer for the Whole Year." Abudraham more than a hun
dred years later rejects it all as unauthorized.
A prayer beginning "Master of the Worlds" is spoken of
in the Talmud as one of those drawn up to introduce the
confessions on the Day of Atonement, but it can never be
known how far it coincides with the above; probably only
as far as "All is vanity."5
We have next in the morning service the "hymns," which
carry with them two "Benedictions of Song," one at or near
the beginning, the other at the end.
The first of these is peculiar by the many starts taken
with the word "Blessed" before "Blessed be thou, O Lord"
is reached:
Blessed be he who spoke and the ^world was; blessed be he;
blessed the maker at the beginning; blessed be he who saith and
doeth; blessed be he who decideth and carries out; blessed be he
who hath mercy on the earth; blessed be he who hath mercy on his
creatures; blessed he who payeth a goodly reward to those who
fear him; blessed he who liveth forever, and lasteth into the
infinite; blessed he who redeemeth and delivereth; blessed be his
name. Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, the God, the
merciful Father, who is praised by the mouth of his people, lauded
and glorified by the tongue of his pious worshippers; in. the songs
of thy servant David we shall praise thee, O Lord our God, with
hymns and melodies; we shall exalt and praise thee; we shall give
thee glory and homage; we shall make mention of thy name, and
give thee homage, our King, our only God, who liveth for ever
more. Blessed be thou, O Lord, the King, who is praised in
hymns.8

208 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The closing benediction of song which follows the Psalms
and other morning hymns is quite short on work-days, but
it is introduced on Sabbaths and Festivals by a long half-
poetical introduction, of which a good part at least is very
old, known from its first word as Nish'math:
May the soul of all that liveth bless thy name, O'Lord our God,
and the spirit of all flesh steadily glorify and exalt thy memorial,
our King.
From everlasting to everlasting thou art God, and beside thee
we have no King, Redeemer, or Saviour, no Deliverer, no merciful
Provider; in all times of trouble and distress we have no King but
thee. God of the first and of the last, Lord of all generations,
praised in numberless hymns, who guideth his world with kind
ness and his creatures with mercy. And the Lord slumbers not,
nor sleepeth; he who rouseth the sleeping, and them who are sunk
in stupor he waketh; he causeth the dumb to speak, he looseth the
bound, he supporteth the falling, and raiseth them that are bowed
down; to thee alone we give thanks.
This part is of later date than what follows next, and
sounds like a protest against the Christian belief in a Re
deemer other than God. The Talmud, in speaking of the
benediction after a copious fall of rain, denotes it, "Were
our mouth full." We proceed here:
Were our mouth full of song like the sea, our tongue of gleeful
airs like its numberless waves, our lips of praise like the wide
expansion; were our eyes shining like sun and moon; could our
hands reach out like the eagles of the sky; were our feet swift as
the hinds; yet we could not thank thee, O Lord our God and God
of our fathers, nor could we bless thy name one thousandth of what
is due. Thousands of millions, myriads of myriads are the kind
things which thou hast done for our fathers and for us. Thou hast
saved us from Egypt, O Lord our God, and redeemed us from the
house of bondage; hast fed us in famine, and supported us through
plenty, hast delivered us from the sword, made us to escape the
plague, and kept us from evil and malignant sickness. So far thy
mercy hath helped us, and thy kindness hath not forsaken us; then
do not, O Lord our God, reject us forever. Therefore, the limbs
which thou hast distributed through our bodies, the spirit and
breath which thou hast breathed into our nostrils, the tongue

THE LESSER AND THE DOUBTFUL BENEDICTIONS 209
which thou hast placed into our mouth; all these shall thank and
bless and praise and glorify and exalt and hold in awe and hallow
thy name and do to it homage. For every mouth giveth thanks to
thee; every tongue sweareth allegiance; every knee bendeth, and
whatever is erect, boweth down before thee. And all hearts fear
thee; all inwards and reins sing to thy name. As it is written (Ps.
35: 10): All my bones shall say: O Lord, who is like thee, who
deliverest the poor from one stronger than he; the poor and needy
from him that robbeth him.
So far, perhaps not quite so far, we have the thanksgiving
spoken after a longed-for rain. The suggestions in the
Talmud, that thanks should be given "for every single
drop," accounts for the vast numbers; it does not take long
for a thousand million drops to fall. It explains also the
reference to famine and to plenty. What is given below has
nothing to do with the thanks for rain:
The Almighty (El), the great, powerful, and fearful, God Most
High, the owner of heaven and earth. We will praise and glorify
thee and bless thy holy name. As it is written by David (Ps.
103: 1): Bless, O my soul, the Lord, and all my inwards his holy
name. The Almighty, in the strength of thy power, the great, in the
glory of thy name, the powerful for victory, and the fearful in thy
terrors; the King sitting on a high and exalted throne; who
inhabiteth eternity, high and holy is thy name (cmp. Isa. 57: 15)
[for all this the Sefardim substitute: Thou hearest the supplication
of the lowly; thou listenest to the cry of the poor man and savest
him]. As it is written (Ps. 33: 1): Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous;
praise is comely for the upright.
Be thou praised by the mouth of the upright; be thou blessed in
the words of the righteous; be thou exalted by the tongue of the.
pious, and be thou sanctified in the heart of the saints.
And in the numerous assemblies of thy people, the house of
Israel, thy name is glorified in song in every age; for such is the
duty of all creatures before thee, O Lord our God and God of our
fathers, to give thanks and praise, to glorify and exalt, to honor
and to bless, to raise on high and to adorn with all the songs and
praises of David, the son of Jesse, thy servant, thy anointed.
On work-days the benediction begins here:
14

2IO JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
May thy name be praised forever, our King, the great and holy
King and God, in the heavens and on earth; for there are due to
thee, our Lord, our God and God of our fathers, songs and hymns,
praise and music, might and dominion, triumph, greatness, power,
honor, magnificence, holiness, kingship, blessings, and thanks
giving from now for evermore. Blessed be thou, O Lord, God,
King who art great in praises, God of thanksgivings, Lord of
wonderful deeds, who hast chosen musical songs, King, God who
liveth eternally.
The latter parts of the composition for Sabbath and the
benediction proper betray accretions when acrostics had
crept into the liturgy. The initials of Upright, Righteous,
Pious, Saints, spell J-Tz-H-Q, i. e., Isaac, and the words
were probably put into this order to bespeak the merits of
Father Isaac on his seed. The words, Exalted, Blessed,
Sanctified, Praised, are arranged thus on the solemn days,
to make up R-B-Q-H, i. e., Rebekah, and the very seal of
the benediction in clauses yields A-B-R-H-M. The fifteen
nouns from Songs to Thanksgiving in the last paragraph
were (it is believed) suggested by the fifteen Songs of
Degrees. The sealing of the benediction for rain was at first "God
of many thanksgivings;" that of the benediction after song,
as of the benediction before it, "King honored in praises,"
or, if you so choose to render it, "King praised in hymns."
The longer sealings now in use in both rituals probably took
their shape in the seventh or eighth century.7
Another doubtful benediction is the third one after the
Shema in the evening service. We have in Chapter XIII
given the Bible verses which introduce it. It proceeds thus:
Blessed be the Lord by day; blessed be the Lord by night;
blessed be the Lord when we lie down; blessed be the Lord when
we rise. For in thy hands are the souls of the living and of the
dead (Job 12: 10): In whose hands is the soul of every living thing
and the spirit of all mankind. (Ps. 31: 6): In thy hand I commit
my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth. Our

THE LESSER AND THE DOUBTFUL BENEDICTIONS 211
God in Heaven, give unity to thy name; establish thy Kingdom,
and reign over us forever.
May our eyes behold, may our heart be glad, and our soul rejoice,
in thy true salvation; when they say to Zion, thy King reigneth.
The Lord is King, the Lord has reigned, the Lord will reign
for evermore (see about this line, Ch. XIII). For the King
dom is thine, and to all eternity thou wilt reign in glory; and
we have no King but thee. Blessed be thou, O Lord, the King,
who in his glory will always reign over us and over all his works.
The original of the benediction cannot be traced to any
certain source. The Sefardim for a long while disputed
its lawfulness, and have finally rejected it. In the German
ritual it is used on all work-day evenings. It is said to be
in some way a counterpart of the eighteen benedictions of
the Amida, intended at first as a substitute for this.8
Lastly we have a benediction which precedes the per
formance (by the speaking of certain words) of a Scrip
tural command. The twenty-third chapter of Leviticus
bids us count the days "from the morrow of the rest
day," seven times seven days, nine and forty days between
Passover and Pentecost. The command is performed dur
ing the services of the evening with which the day to be
counted begins. Thus, on the thirty-third day, for instance,
they say, "This is the thirty-third day, being four weeks
and five days of the 'Omer (sheaf)." But first they give
thanks on these forty-nine evenings.
Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who hast
sanctified us by thy commandments, and hast commanded us about
the counting of the 'Omer."

CHAPTER XVI
OTHER PROSE COMPOSITIONS
Rabbi Judah, the second Patriarch of the name and
grandson of the compiler of the Mishna, is reported as
sending up the following petition after the Prayer:
May it be thy will, O Lord my God and God of my fathers, that
thou mayest deliver me to-day and every day from the hard-
faced and from hardfacedness (i. e., the impudent and impudence),
from an evil man, an evil companion, an evil neighbor, and evil
happenings, from the destroying adversary (Satan), from a hard
cause and a stubborn .litigant, be he a son of the covenant, or be
he not a son of the covenant.
This "litany" has been received into the early morning
service right after the bed-room benedictions set forth in
the preceding chapter. In modern prayer books of the
Sefardic ritual (not yet in Abudraham's commentary) the
utterly unauthorized words are added, "and from a sen
tence to Ge-Hinnom," i. e., "from damnation." The "lit
any," or prayer for deliverance from named or unnamed
evils, is undoubtedly much older; the filling up, in which the
impudent, that is, undutiful subordinates and stubborn
litigants are prominent, may have been suggested to the
Patriarch by his troubles with the Rabbis and scholars,
who often revolted against his measures.1
Next comes the doubtful benediction, "Master of the
Worlds" (see the preceding chapter), then the following
pendant thereto, written in very pure Hebrew:
Thou art, O Lord our God, in the heavens and on the earth
and in the highest heaven of heavens (cmp. i Kings 8: 27). Thou
art the first and thou art the last, and beside thee there is no God.
(212)

OTHER PROSE COMPOSITIONS

213

Gather those that hope for thee from the four ends of the earth;
may all those that come into the world learn and know, that thou
art alone God for all the kingdoms of the earth. Thou hast made
heaven and earth, the sea and all that is therein (Ex. 20: 11); and
who is there among the works of thy hands, above or below, who
can tell thee what to do, Our Father who art in Heaven! Deal kindly
with us for the sake of thy great name, which is pronounced over
us, and fulfill for us, O Lord our God, what has been written
(Zeph. 3: 20): In that time I will bring them in; even in the time
when I gather them; for I will set them up for a name and praise
among all the peoples of the earth; when I return your captivity
in your sight, says the Lord.*1
Omitting for want of space the non-Biblical parts of
"long Vchu Rahum," as read on Monday and Thursday
mornings (see Ch. XIII), we are brought to a short prayer
for these days after a Half Kaddish and before the taking
out of the scroll, drawn up in two varying forms:
(1) God, long-suffering and great in kindness and truth, do
not chastise me in thy wrath; spare, O Lord, thy people, and save
us from all that is evil; we have sinned against' thee, O Master;
forgive, in thy abundant mercies, O God.
(2) God, long-suffering and great in kindness and truth, do not
hide thy face from us; spare, O Lord, thy people Israel, and
deliver us from all evil: we have sinned, etc.
This prayer is omitted on all holidays, such as Middle
Days, New Moons, Hanucca, Purim, and on the Ninth of
Ab. It is not noticed by Maimonides in his Code. Abu
draham gives both forms to be recited consecutively as a
fully accepted part of the service.3
Reserving for another chapter whatever is closely related
to the "lessons," we come next to these petitions which the
Germans read on Mondays and Thursdays — the Sefardim,
however, on the Sabbath preceding a New Moon — while
the scroll is on the desk:
Be it the will of our Father who is in Heaven, to set up our
House of Life and to restore thy Presence to our midst; soon in
our days, and say ye, Amen.

214 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Be it the will of our Father who is in Heaven, to show mercy
to us, even to our remnant, and to keep the destroyer and plague
away from us and from all his people Israel, and say ye, Amen.
Be it the will of our Father who is in Heaven, to keep alive
among us the wise men of Israel, them, their wives and sons and
daughters and disciples, and the disciples of their disciples, in all
their dwelling places, and say ye, Amen.
Be it the will of our Father who is in Heaven, that we may
hear and receive good tidings of salvation and comfort, and may
he gather our outcasts from the four corners of the earth, and say
ye, Amen.
To which the Germans add:
Our brethren, all the children of Israel, who are placed in distress
and captivity, who abide either on the sea or on land; may God
have mercy on them, and bring them forth from distress to
enlargement, from gloom to light, from bondage to redemption,
this year, soon, and at a near time, and say ye, Amen.4
We come next to the un-Scriptural part of the collection,
"A redeemer will come to Zion," of which the Scripture
verses have been given in Chapter XIII:
Blessed be our God, who has created us for his glory, and has
separated us from the erring; who has given us the Law of Truth,
and has planted within us eternal life. May he open our heart to his
Law, and may he put therein the love and fear of him, that we
may do his will and that we may serve him with a full heart; to
the end we may not labor in vain, and be not born for the hurrying
moment. Be it thy will, O Lord our God and God of our fathers,
that we may observe thy statutes and precepts in this world, and
that we may merit, and live to see and inherit, happiness and bless
ing [in the days of the Messiah and] in the life of the world to
come. The words in brackets are not in the Sefardic Prayer
Book.5 A composition written for the Day of Memorial, 'Alenu
("It is our duty") (see Ch. XI), wherein Israel takes upon
itself the yoke of God's Kingdom, and hopes that all men
alike will soon acknowledge it, comes next.
The Germans recite the two paragraphs as Rab composed

OTHER PROSE COMPOSITIONS

215

them, for an introduction to the Kingdom verses, and here
they formerly stopped;0 but modern prayer books subjoin
these two verses:
As it is written in thy Law: the Lord shall reign forevermore;
and it is said, the Lord shall be King over all the earth: on that
day the Lord shall be one and his name One.
The latter verse, the embodiment of Israel's faith, is best
known to old and young from its recital here. Every choir
solemnly sings the closing words, "The Lord shall be one
and his name One."
'Alenu was formerly recited only in the morning, the
complete Kaddish preceding, the Mourners' Kaddish fol
lowing it.c It is now recited after every service in order
to give the mourners an opportunity to say "Kaddish."
The Sefardim have but very lately (say in the sixteenth
century) adopted 'Alenu in the daily liturgy, and only its
first paragraph. They put it at the very end, after the
Psalm for the day, without even a Kaddish to follow it.
On the Sabbath, after reading the lessons from the Law
and from the Prophets, but without any reference to them,
four blessings are spoken in the German ritual, two in Ara
maic, two in Hebrew. The former have become quite a
stumbling block, partly because the language once chosen
to make them more easily understood is now least known,
partly because the first of the two has long since been out of
date, and a "vain prayer," and as such unlawful: they are
known as Yekum Purkan.
May deliverance arise from heaven, grace and kindness, long-
continued mercy and plentiful provision, heavenly assistance, bodily
health, and the higher light, live and lasting seed, a posterity
which will not cease nor drop out from the words of the Law*; to
our Masters and Rabbis, the holy companies that are in Palestine
or in Babylonia; to the heads of the assemblies, the heads of the
exile (Resh Geluthd); the heads of the colleges, and the judges of the
courts, to their disciples, and to the disciples of their disciples, and
to all who study the Law.** May the King of the world bless

216 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
them, extend their lives, make their days many, and give length to
their years; may they be saved and delivered from all trouble and
from all grievous sickness; may our Master in Heaven be their
support, at every time and season, and say ye, Amen.
According to the rubric in the prayer books an indi
vidual should recite this even at his home. But in the Syna
gogue this formula is repeated, substituting now for the
words between * and ** the following:
"to all this holy congregation, the great and the small, women
and children."
In what follows, the words "you" and "your" are substi
tuted for "they" and "their."
Thus modified this blessing is very proper.
The language is the eastern Aramaic; the word for assem
blies (Calla) denotes the half-yearly meeting addressed by
the Babylonian Rabbis; the word for colleges (Methibatha),
those of Sura and Pumbeditha. The heads of these col
leges must have sent these compositions to the Western
world, that they might have the benefit of the prayers of
all Israel, perhaps after, perhaps before the days of R.
Amram.7 The mention of the Palestinian schools was an
honor paid to the sacred soil on which they stood; for at
the time but little learning was left at Tiberias and Caesarea.
The Sefardim in lively correspondence with the Baby
lonian authorities were probably the first to receive Yekum
Purkan into their liturgy. Being the first also to learn of
the downfall and extinction of the schools, they discontin
ued the recital of words which had become a "vain prayer,"
while the Jews of the German Minhag, from sheer inertia,
went on praying for dignitaries for from four hundred to
eight hundred and fifty years after their extinction.8
Next comes an appropriate prayer in Hebrew for those
of our own day:
He who blessed our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, may he
bless all this holy congregation, with all other like congregations;

OTHER PROSE COMPOSITIONS 217
them, their wives, their sons and daughters, and all that is theirs;
those who set aside synagogues for worship, and those who enter
them to pray; those who give lamps for lighting them, and wine
for Kiddush (consecration) and for Habdala (separation), bread to
travellers, and alms to the poor; and all those who faithfully attend
to the needs of the community. May God pay their reward, remove
from them all sickness, heal their bodily ailments, and forgive
their sins, and send blessing and prosperity unto all their under
takings, and so with Israel, their brethren, and say ye, Amen.
It is an outgrowth of the blessings that are pronounced
at the reading of the lessons (see next Book). It is neither
found nor mentioned in the older standards of the German
ritual, such as the Mahzor Vitry, and dates probably from the
sixteenth century.
The Sefardim have combined parts of this blessing with
a part of the second Yekum Purkan into a curious com
pound of Hebrew and Aramaic.
A well-known passage of the Mishna tells us to pray for
the welfare of the government imposed on Israel by the
Gentiles, "for were not men afraid of it, they would eat each
other alive;" i. e., the worst government is better than none
at all.9
However, no prayer for government is found in the old
liturgies, nor any direction to recite one at any named time
in the old standards. Abudraham, however, after speaking
of the lessons, says, "It is the custom to bless the King
and to pray to God, that he may give him victory," and
after justifying this custom he proceeds, "And then he
blesses the congregation." He does not give the form of
either blessing. In Spain, where the intercourse between
Christians and Jews was close, and where many of the
former understood Hebrew, the government probably saw
to it that the Jews performed a duty enjoined on them by
their own Sages. Hence the formula below was elaborated,
and when Spanish and Portuguese Jews about the year
1600 took refuge in Holland, they brought this formula

218 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
with them; it is printed in the Amsterdam prayer book of
1658. When the German princes found the Jews of Am
sterdam praying for their government, they made their own
Jewish subjects do likewise, and these adopted the Sefardic
form less its astrological part. Thus Hannothen Teshua
came into the German ritual, but after the blessing of the
congregation. Here it is:
He who giveth salvation to kings and dominion to anointed
rulers; his Kingdom is everlasting; he who delivered his servant
David from the cruel sword (cmp. Ps. 144: 10); who maketh a way
in the sea and a path in mighty waters (Isa. 43: 16); may he bless,
keep, guard, and help, exalt, and raise higher and higher our lord,
the king, N. N., high be his glory; may the great King of kings
preserve him alive, and deliver him from all trouble and harm
[Sefardim add: from all unlucky influences of the stars], subject
nations to him, overthrow his enemies, and let him prosper where
soever he turneth; may the great King of kings put mercy into his
heart and that of all his counsellors and grandees, to deal kindly
with us and with all Israel, our brethren; in his days and in ours
may Judah be saved, and Israel dwell securely; and may a redeemer
come to Zion; so mote it be; and say ye, Amen.
On the Sabbath before a New Moon the congregation
join in the following prayer for the coming of a happy
month :
Be it thy will, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, to renew
for us this month unto happiness and blessing; give us long life,
peaceful life, happy life; a life of blessings; a life of good provision,
a life of bodily health; a life full of fear of God and fear of sinning;
a life without shame or blushing; a life of wealth and honor; a life
with love of the law and fear of God; life in which our wishes may
be fulfilled for good. Amen. Selah.
The above is given in the Talmud, without the words, "to
renew for us this month unto happiness and blessing," as
the private devotion of Rab of Sura, but has been adopted
in the German Minhag for this purpose; the prayers in use

OTHER PROSE COMPOSITIONS 219
among the Sefardim for "sanctifying the month" have been
noticed above.
Then the leader lifts up a scroll and chants:
He who did miracles for our fathers, and who redeemed them
from bondage unto freedom, may he redeem us soon and gather
our outcasts from the four ends of the earth, all Israel as com
panions, and let us say, Amen.
The new moon of  will happen on the  day (or days) of
the week, coming to us and all Israel for good.
May the Holy One, blessed be he, renew it for us and all his
people, the house of Israel, for life and peace, for joy and gladness,
for salvation and comfort, and say ye, Amen.10
In the German ritual a requiem for the souls of Israel's
martyrs is read on Sabbath mornings right before the
second Ashrc; in Western Germany only on the Sabbaths
before Pentecost and before the Ninth of Ab; under the
Polish Minhag on all Sabbaths except when the day, if a
week-day, would displace the penitential Psalms, and ex
cept also when the coming New Moon (other than Iyar or
Sivan) is announced:
Father of mercy, who dwelleth on high! May he in his powerful
mercy turn to the saintly, the upright, the perfect, to those holy
communities who gave up their lives for the glory of his name.
"They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death
they were not parted; they were swifter than eagles; they were
stronger than lions" (cmp. 2 Sam. 1: 23), to do the will of their
Master, the wish of their Rock. May our God remember them
for good with the other just men of the world, and avenge [before
our eyes] the vengeance of the spilt blood of his servants (cmp. Ps.
79: 10); as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God
(quoting Deut. 32: 43). And by the hands of thy servants, the
prophets, it is written thus (quoting Joel 4: 21). And in thy holy
writings it is said (quoting Ps. 79: 10; Ps. 9: 13; Ps. no: 6, 7).
On four days of the year, viz., the eighth of Passover,
the second of Pentecost, the Day of Atonement, and the
"Eighth a rest," the Jews of the German ritual "remember
the souls" of deceased parents and relatives. Those whose

220 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
parents are still alive take no part in the exercises, but
generally leave the Synagogue for the time. Each prays
by himself thus for a dead father:
May God remember the soul of my respected father (naming
him) who has gone to his eternal home; on whose behalf I vow
alms; by way of reward, be his soul bound up in the bundle of life
(cmp. i Sam. 25: 29) with the souls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah, and of all other righteous men
and women that are in the garden of Eden, and let us say, Amen.
A similar prayer is spoken for a deceased mother,
one more comprehensive for deceased grandparents and
other relatives, and especially for such as may have become
martyrs for the faith, the only change being in the designa
tion of those whose souls are prayed for. In many con
gregations a list of names is read out of persons who have
left money to the Synagogue for that purpose, or for whom
their surviving relatives make donations, and prayers for
their souls in a different form are pronounced by the leader.
The above in memoriam for the martyrs forms a fitting con
clusion. The prayer that the soul of the parents or other dead kin
dred and those of the martyrs for Israel's faith may be
remembered and for their eternal happiness, is traced back
to the Pesikta, that is, to the seventh century. The Mahzor
Vitry testifies that in all Germany, at the beginning of the
thirteenth century, they did not "set aside alms for the
dead," that is, remember them with vows of almsgiving,
except on the Day of Atonement. But in going over the
services for the last day of the Passover the same Mahzor
says that they only "set aside alms for the living, "alluding to
the words, "according to the gift of his hand," in the lesson
for the day, showing that he meant to include his part of
France with Germany in the custom of remembering the
dead only on the Day of Atonement.11
We have lastly, after the Additional Prayer on Sabbaths

OTHER PROSE COMPOSITIONS 22 1
and Holidays and after the full Kaddish that follows it, a
very pretty short piece, standing half way between prose
and poetry (En Kelohenu) :
None is like our God! none is like our Lord; none is like our
King; none is like our Saviour. Who is like our God? Who is,
etc. We give thanks to our God; we give thanks, etc. Blessed be
our God! blessed be our, etc. Thou art our God; thou art our Lord;
thou art our King; thou art our Saviour; thou art he, before whom
our fathers offered the compound of incense.
From the last line it appears that the whole is an intro
duction to Talmudic pieces which follow. The first of them
treats of the composition of the incense,«as shown in a
former chapter. But the first five lines alone have been set
to simple music, and are in all progressive Synagogues and
in Sabbath schools the hymn best liked because most easily
and readily learned.
Some of the "minor benedictions" and late prose prayers
must be much older than the Talmudic sage who first ap
pears as their sponsor; and if not in the same form, at least
with the same contents in slightly different phrase. The
prayer which our Christian neighbors call the Lord's Prayer
professes to be an abridgment of devotions then current
among the Jews, these being deemed too long and too full
of tautologies, with the exception of the fifth petition, which
the author claims as new. We have found the invocation,
Our Father who art in Heaven, in two compositions, both
of which are given in this chapter; the Kaddish contains,
with slight expansions, Hallowed be thy name, and thy
Kingdom come; Lead us not into temptation, is in a morn
ing benediction; Deliver us from evil, in the first prayer in
this chapter, and the doxology, For thine is the Kingdom,
etc., very much expanded in the closing "Benediction of
Song." It is therefore highly probable that the germs of
all these compositions were well-known among the Jews
at as early an age as the reign of Tiberius, perhaps in a
form not greatly differing from that now in use.

CHAPTER XVII
THE LATE "POETRY"  GENERAL PLAN
In the fifth or sixth century, while Greek was still the
ruling language in Palestine, the Greek title of Poietes (poet)
was taken by Jews who wrote hymns for public worship,
generally men who led in prayer, and wished to enrich the
service by their own compositions. We have found in the
morning benedictions of the Shema and in the Benediction
of Song matter which, by wealth of metaphors and alpha
betic order and rhyme, indicates a conscious intent to write
poetry. But the matter has been so thoroughly embodied
in the old liturgy that in the eye of the Jewish masses it is
deemed as sacred and obligatory as the first groundwork
of the benedictions.
But it is very different with later productions written or
coming into vogue after the two Rituals had taken form,
and perhaps with some compositions of even older date.
Poietes took in Hebrew and Aramaic the form Paietan,
and by treating this word as if the t was a part of the root,
the noun Piyut (plural Piyutim) was formed, after the laws
of Hebrew grammar, to denote those, parts of the service
which share in the following properties:
i. The recital is not obligatory; it is well-known that
those in the German are wholly different from those in the
Sefardic ritual; that even those used in Poland differ often
from those of Western Germany. In the early morning ser
vice (Hashkama) for Sabbath and joyous Festivals they
are omitted; in any emergency all Piyutim are dropped
rather than a line of the old service. Yet a few of these
pieces have by their contents, or by the story of their
(222)

THE LATE "POETRY"— GENERAL PLAN 223
origin, or by a striking tune, become dearer to the un
learned than the oldest and most solemn devotions.
2. There is generally an alphabetic arrangement, very
often ending with an acrostic of the author's name and hav
ing either a rhyme or a phrase recurring in each line. Often
the task of poetical form is made still harder by working
into each stanza running parts from Scripture with which
the author's lines have to rhyme. The style is marked by
a preference of rare over common words. Instead of the
old parallelism in which the Bible poets clothe each thought
in two garbs, the later poet may find as many as twenty-
two forms for it.1
3. The Piyutim, in the narrower sense, are not written
for every day or every Sabbath, but for the Festivals or for
certain named Sabbaths of the year. There are also the
Selihoth, or Forgivenesses (see Ch. XII), the Kinoth, or
Dirges, for the Ninth of Ab, the Hosannas for the Feast of
Huts. Yet some of the best of the medieval hymns have
found their way into the daily or weekly service.
The Jews of the German ritual have in their Siddur or
Tefilla the services for week-day, Sabbath, and New Moon
and the Prayer for Festivals, with the devotions for the
home. Beside this they have their Mahzor, which contains
the old parts of the service, the "lessons," and the Piyutim
for all the Festivals, which, translated and conveniently
arranged, will run up to from five to nine octavo volumes.
The "poetries" for particular Sabbaths are found in the Col
Bo ("all-in-it") editions of the Siddur.
The Sefardim follow a different plan. Though men of
their branch of the Jewish race have written most of our
religious poetry, they have adopted but few pieces into their
liturgy; for the Feasts of Passover, Weeks, and Huts, so few,
that these can be put conveniently into the daily Prayer
Book. On the other hand, everything pertaining to the
Days of Memorial and Atonement is left out of it, and the
second and third parts of their service book contain all the

224 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
exercises for these days, both the old, or obligatory, and
the new and poetic parts.
There was at first much misgiving about introducing this
poetry into the body of a benediction, of those which pre
cede and follow the Shema or of those forming the Amida,
for, unless the piece is fully akin to the matter of the bene
diction, it is an interruption, and all interruptions are here
strictly forbidden. The Sefardim have lived pretty well up
to this principle; most of their Piyutim are inserted among
the morning hymns (Zemiroth) or after the lessons. Only
the Selihoth, or poetic prayers for forgiveness of sin, and
a rhymed account of the Temple Atonement service have
been received with common consent into the "Sanctity of
the Day," on the Day of Atonement, to which they are
undoubtedly germane. The few other "poetries" that have
penetrated into the Amida still meet with protest from the
editors of the service book in the remark: It would be
better to read all this after the Prayer is over.
The Germans on the contrary have thrown aside all
scruples on the subject, inserting the greater part of such
matter in the Prayer (morning or Additional) when repeated
by the leader, mostly as an introduction to the Thrice-Holy;
and much of the other poetry for Festivals or special Sab
baths is worked into benedictions before and after the
Shema.
There is quite a system by which these "poetries" are
wrought in. First, in the ten evenings, counting double
days, of Passover, Pentecost, and Succoth, unless it be a
Friday night, there are a few poetic lines before the close
of the first and second benediction; again, a little before the
verse, "Who is like thee," and before "The Lord will reign,"
and again before the close of the benediction, which is
modified "King, Rock of Israel and his Redeemer," and
lastly before "Blessed be thou, etc., who spreadest," etc.
Too much respect was paid to the services of the Solemn
Days to break them up in this way. In the morning all

THE LA TE " POETRY"— GENERAL PLAN 225
festive days fared a little more alike. After the first sen
tence of the first benediction (see Ch. IV), "Who formest
(Jotzer) light," etc., there is a poetic piece known as Jotzer;
after the Thrice-Holy and before the Ofannim (Wheels)
say their "Blessed" there is another piece, the Of an. In the
next benediction (Ahaba, or Love) a piece is inserted near
the end, known as Ahaba. In the benediction which follows
the Shema the word "beside" (Zulath) at the end of a para
graph gives its name to the piece there inserted; last, on the
Passover and the Sabbaths between it and Pentecost there
is Geulla (redemption), so named because it comes right
before the closing words, "Blessed, etc., he has redeemed
Israel." But on the Solemn Days the Shema and the
Prayer are so far respected that the service goes on with
out interruption between the former and the latter.
The German Mahzor has also poetic pieces on all Festi
vals in the repeated morning Prayer, except on the first of
the Passover and eighth of the Feast (because of the long
prayers for Dew and Rain in the Musaf of those days) and
except on the "Joy of the Law," when all spare time is given
to the lessons. It has them in the Additional service on the
Solemn Days, and on the two days named in the second
benediction, where dew or rain are dwelt on, and on Pente
cost, where the 613 precepts are set forth in a sort of dog
gerel in the fourth benediction. On the Atonement Day
there are a few short Piyutim in the two afternoon services.
The pieces inserted in the Prayer are known as Keroboth,
being "Approaches" to the Thrice-Holy, and are arranged
according to a pretty steady plan. After chanting the first
benediction to a point near its end the leader opens thus :
Out of the secret lore of the learned and wise and from the
knowledge taught by the well-informed, I will open my mouth,
etc.,varying the last words according to the character of the
feast. Then there are a few rhythmic lines, which, on the
15

226 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Solemn Days at least, refer to Abraham. Near the end
of the second benediction there are other lines which on
these days refer to Isaac, and connect the resurrection of
the dead with the summer dews. As the Kedusha takes the
place of the third benediction, the poetical pieces follow at
once after the close of "Powers," and the first of these
generally refers in some way to Jacob, the simple man.
Then the verses, "The Lord will reign forever" (Ps. 146:
10) and "Thou art holy" (Ps. 22: 4), follow; and then a
greater or lesser number of detached pieces, the last of
which is known as the Silluk, or ascent, from the line which
introduces it, "Now may the sanctification ascend to* thee,
for thou, our God, art King."
This leads directly to the words of the Kedusha: As it is
written by the hands of thy prophets (see Ch. VI, p. 119).
On the Day of Atonement, in three of the services, the Sil
luk is preceded by pieces referring to angels, who sing
"Holy" while Israel cry out "Blessed."
On the three Festivals the Kedusha and the benedictions
which follow it are no further interspersed by poetry. But
on the Solemn Days there are pieces to be recited between
the responses, and other pieces after the Kedusha and before
the close of the benediction "The Holy King." The former
are a serious interruption, leading to great disorder, and
have in late years been dropped in many highly orthodox
communities. In the fourth benediction of the Day of Atonement there
are for each of the services a number of Selihoth, among
them the Pizmon, with its burden. Those for Neila are
fixed, as well as for the preceding night service; those for
the three other services are given to choose from according
to the time on hand. In most Russian congregations none
are said in these services. In Musaf of Atonement Day the
account of the Temple service which comes before the Seli
hoth is very dry and. prosaic, having nothing but its alpha
betic arrangement in common with these "poetries;" but a

THE LATE "POETRY"— GENERAL PLAN

227

number of short and deeply melancholy pieces lead over
from the "Service" to the Selihoth. The dirge about the
Ten Martyrs is inserted in the "Order of Confession" by the
Poles in Musaf, by the West Germans in Minha. Poetry has
also been written to introduce the Kingdom, Remembrance,
and Shofar verses on the Day of Memorial; these have
on account of the great obscurity of the language and
style lately fallen into disuse.
For the early morning service on the days between
Memorial and Atonement and on a few mornings before
the former, Selihoth are said, partly the same as on the
Day of Atonement, partly other compositions of similar
import; and there are again others on the public fasts other
than the Ninth of Ab.
On the Feast of Huts, right after the "Additional
Prayer," alphabetic hymns ending with Hosha'na (save
now!) are chanted, a special one for each of six days, with
a second common to all days. There are seven like hymns
(embracing most of the six) recited on the seventh day;
also the common second; also other poems, which gradu
ally turn off into Messianic hopes and desires, and which
culminate in the burden, "A voice brings news, brings news,
and says!"
For the first seven Hosha'na hymns we find in the Mahzor
Vitry a wholly different set from that now in use; the other
ones are about the same as now. The common second
was always distasteful to the writer for what seemed to him
its Christian tinge; it brings out boldly how God went with
Israel into exile, and how in delivering Israel from exile he
also delivered himself; but this hymn is of undoubted an
tiquity, and based on a passage of the Palestinian Talmud.
There is a motif pervading the "poetry" for each of the
Festivals, or some parts of it. Thus, on the first two days of
the Passover and on the Sabbath in its middle days, that in
the benedictions of the Shema is based on the Song of
Songs, in its allegoric meaning of the love between God and

228 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
the community of Israel. On the seventh and eighth of the
Passover, the Red Sea Song is the underlying text; on the
Feast of Weeks, the Ten Commandments; on the first two
days of the Feast of Huts, the Hut, the Hallel Psalms, and
the four species of trees (citron, palm, myrtle, and willow)
are combined into one theme. On the Eighth of the Feast
there is very little poetry besides the prayer .for rain; the
few longer pieces on the Ninth (Joy of the Law) are based
on the lesson of the day, Moses blessing the tribes.
On the Days of Memorial and Atonement the most strik
ing note is that of the Judgment, which is believed to be
prepared on the former and sealed on the latter. God as
King, who is greeted with the sound of the cornet, and who
himself blows the great cornet, runs through many com
positions of the former day; God setting mercy above judg
ment, through many of the latter. Several pieces on the
quality of justice and the Day of Judgment belong to both
days. One of the oldest and most fertile writers of poetry for the
Festivals is R. El'azar, surnamed Kalir.2 His compositions
are full of manifold self-imposed difficulties, and through
his disregard of grammar, use of rare words, elliptic style,
and running allusions to the Aggadta, they can hardly be
understood by even good Hebrew scholars except after
careful study. They are thus far from edifying. Kalir lived
in tbe ninth century, but in an unhistoric age his admirers
turned him into a Sage of ante-Mishna times; and thus the
French and German Jews felt justified in disobeying the
rule of the Talmud, that no one should ask for his needs
in the first three benedictions; for how could the Baby
lonians forbid the recital of hymns which the foremost dis
ciple of Rabban Johanan ben Zaccai had composed?3 Thus
not only his "poetries" but those of his successors were
crowded into Festival Prayers to such an extent that the
"Sanctity of the Name" in the Atonement morning service

THE LATE " POETRY"— GENERAL PLAN 229
takes up nearly an hour and a half, and even on Pentecost
or the Memorial Day half an hour or three-quarters.
Much of the so-called "poetry" for the Day of Atonement
is free from obscurity, but it is bare of meaning, and shows
on its face that the only object of the writer was to fill out
time. Thus the Silluk in the morning service of that day
begins with a line for which a good English equivalent
would be, Who can tell the terror of thy truth? followed
by twenty-one other lines, of which the next has three
words beginning with s, instead of tell, terror, truth, and so
back to three words with a. There are however composi
tions of much higher value, some of them true poetry
touching the finest chords of the human heart. Jehuda
Hallevi, writing in Arabic Spain in the middle of the twelfth
century, takes the highest rank, especially by his elegy,
"Zion," for the Ninth of Ab, which is however not now in
use in either ritual. Solomon Ibn Gebirol is famed mainly
by the "Song of Unity," for the seven days of the week,
with many fine passages, but rather too much of Aristo
telian reflection on the infinite. The "Song of Glory,"
ascribed to Samuel ben Kalonymos, is rather too bold in
its anthropomorphism. There are fine stanzas in the Seli
hoth, many of which are very old; the gems are collected
in Neila.
Some of the best known Piyutim will be given as samples
in the next chapter in whole or in part. Other passages
here and there are quite inspiring to the Israelite who is
thoroughly versed in the Aggadta, and who is acquainted
with the chips of Cabbala afloat among the uninitiated; but
they fall flat on the ears of those for whom it all has to be
translated and explained. Thus, when the poet speaks of
men from whom God accepts praise, weak mortal men who
breathe out their soul, and he gives to that soul its five
names in the rising scale (nefesh, ruah, haia, neshama,
jehida) before he lets it die through justice, only to live

230 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
again through mercy, he thrills the heart of the well-
posted Jew, for whom these words have a meaning and a
familiar sound; but to all others it is vox et praterea nihil. Of
the Selihoth some are sublime, most of them expressive of
deep feeling, and they are all written in plain, intelligible
speech. In the different rituals the same Seliha may be
employed on different occasions. Thus, "Judge of all the
earth," of which the burden is "like the burnt offering of tbe
morn, which is for a daily offering," is in the German
ritual the last Seliha in the morning service of the Day of
Atonement, while the Sefardim have it on New Year after
the morning hymns.
There are some Hebrew and some Aramaic hymns closely
bound up with the reading of the "lessons" which will be
mentioned hereafter in connection with those lessons.

CHAPTER XVIII
SAMPLES OF POST-BIBLICAL POETRY
Some unknown hand at a date unknown turned the
thirteen articles of the creed as drawn up by Maimonides
into measure and rhyme. Denoting full vowels by -, the
Sfieva mobile by ^^, each half line runs: - -*w  ^  .
One rhyme, at the end of the whole line of twenty syl
lables, runs through all thirteen of these lines. This
poem (Yigdal) is often sung at the end of services to a well-
known air. Mrs. Henry Lucas renders it thus in her Songs
of Zion: The living God we praise, exalt, adore!
He was, He is, He will be evermore.
No unity like unto His can be,
Eternal, inconceivable, is He.
No form or shape has th' Incorporeal One,
Most holy beyond all comparison.
He was, ere aught was made in heaven or earth,
But His existence has no date or birth.
Lord of the Universe is He proclaimed,
Teaching His power to all His hand has framed.
He gave His gift of prophecy to those
In whom He gloried, whom He loved and chose.
No prophet ever yet has filled the place
Of Moses, who beheld God face to face.
Through him (the faithful in his house) the Lord
The law of truth to Israel did accord.
(231)

232 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
This law God will not alter, will not change
For any other through time's utmost range.
He knows and heeds the secret thoughts of man,
He saw the end of all ere aught began.
With love and grace doth He the righteous bless.
He metes out evil unto wickedness.
He at the last will His anointed send,
Those to redeem, who hope and wait the end.
God will the dead to life again restore,
Praised be His glorious name for evermore.1
Adon Olam has ten lines, each hemistich built thus: -—
--, — '  ; a single rhyme runs through it. It is read or
sung in the Synagogue at the beginning or end of services;
also spoken in the night prayer on going to bed.
The version below is pretty faithful:
Lord of the world, enthroned as King,
Before each creature had its frame.
When by his word he fashioned all,
His works did him as King proclaim.
And when all things fade into naught,
The fearful still will reign the same.
It's he that is; it's he that was;
He will be in eternal light.
And he is one, there's second none
With him to liken or unite,
Without beginning, without end.
His is dominion, strength, and- might.
He is my rock, my Saviour lives;
Rock of my strength, in trouble's night
He is my banner, my retreat;
My blissful cup midst bitter cries.
Into his hand I trust my soul,
When I lie down, and when I rise,
And with my soul my body too;
I fear not when I close my eyes.

SAJfPLES OE POST-BIB f./CAL POETRY 233
The last line is rendered somewhat freely and with a view
to the use of this poem as part of the night prayer.2
The "Reception of the Sabbath" in its modern sense by
eight Psalms (see Ch. XIII) arose from a modern poem
round which the Psalms gatliered. The author's- name is
signed in acrostic, SH-e-L-oM-o-H H-a-L-e-V-I, to eight
out of the nine quatrains. He wrote at Safet in Pales
tine about 1500, but was born in Granada. His fame rests
on the one couplet and nine quatrains. Mrs. Lucas thus
renders the burden and four of the nine stanzas, extending
each to five lines :
Come forth, my friend, the bride to meet;
Come, O my friend, the Sabbath greet!
"Observe ye" and "remember" still
The Sabbath — thus His holy will
God in one utterance did proclaim.
The Lord is one, and one His name
To his renown and praise and fame.
Come forth, etc.
Greet we the Sabbath at our door,
Well-spring of blessing evermore,
With everlasting gladness fraught,
Of old ordained, divinely taught,
Last in creation, first in thought.
Come forth, etc.
Arouse thyself, awake and shine,
For, lo! it comes, the light divine.
Give forth a song, for over thee
The glory of the Lord shall be
Revealed in beauty speedily.
Come forth, etc.
Crown of thy husband, come in peace,
Come, bidding toil and trouble cease.
With ioy and cheerfulness abide
Among thy people true and tried,
Thy faithful people — come, O bride!
Come forth, my friend, the bride to meet,
Come, O my friend, the Sabbath greet!

234 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The last words of the last stanza, "Come, O Bride," are as
old as the third century.3
Solomon Ibn Gebirol, who lived in Arab Spain in the
eleventh century, wrote Hebrew rhymed poetry in easy and
flowing language. His "Crown of Kingship" (Kether Mal'-
chuth), a long, poetic reflection on man's weakness before
God, was not written for the Synagogue, though it is read
by many persons of both rituals on the night of Atonement.
The following specimens are taken from the "Song of
Unity," written by him for the Sabbath; he wrote similar
songs for the other days of the week. These are read in
German and Polish congregations at the end of the morn
ing service. The translation is pretty literal:
On the seventh day thou tookest rest:
The Sabbath hence by thee was blessed.
Glory o'er all thy handiwork is spread:
Hence by thy saints thy praise is always said.
Blessed be the Lord, who shaped and formed each thing,
The living God and everlasting King.
Upon thy servants from the days of old,
Thy kindness and thy grace were manifold.
Thou didst begin in Egypt to make known,
How great thy power, and how high thy throne
Above their gods, when thou didst strike
Their rulers and their feeble gods alike.
When thou didst part the sea, thy people saw
Thy mighty hand, and they were filled with awe.

With light of countenance bless thy people still!
Whomever anxious are to do thy will.
And in thy will, do with our wish comply,
We're all thy people; always to thee nigh.
Hast thou not chosen us for thine own treasure?
Pour on thy people blessings without measure.
But few poems of the greatest of Hebrew medieval poets,
Jehuda Hallevi, are in the liturgy. There is, however, a
little gem, written to be sung on the first (or the seventh)

SAMPLES OE POST-BIBLICAL POETRY 235
morning of the Passover, before the words, "the redeemed
sang a new song" in the Geulla. It is also sung on a Sab
bath morning when a circumcision takes place at the Syna
gogue. Mrs. Lucas renders it thus:
When as a wall the sea
In heaps uplifted lay,
A new song unto Thee
Sang the redeemed that day.
Thou didst in his deceit
O'erwhelm the Egyptian's feet,
While Israel's footsteps fleet
How beautiful were they!
Jeshurun! all who see
Thy glory cry to thee:
"Who like thy God can be?"
Thus even our foes did say.
O ! let thy banner soar
The scattered remnant o'er,
And gather them once more
Like corn on harvest-day,
Who bear through all their line
Thy covenant's holy sign,
And to Thy name divine
Are sanctified alway.
Let all the world behold
Their token, prized of old,
Who on their garment's fold
The thread of blue display.
Be then the truth made known
For whom, and whom alone,
The twisted fringe is shown,
Tlie covenant kept this day.
O! let them, sanctified,
Once more with Thee abide,
Their sun shine far and wide,
And chase the clouds away.

236 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The well-beloved declare
Thy praise in song and prayer:
"Who can with Thee compare,
O Lord of Hosts?'- they say.
When as a wall, etc.
The Hosha'na hymn for the third day of the Feast is
highly prized by the Hasidim as representing in its first
part Israel as a woman faithful to God and suffering cheer
fully for his sake. There is neither rhyme nor meter, only
the limitation of the alphabet.
Om ani Homa may be rendered thus, representing the
Hebrew letters by those corresponding in English. (The
change of person is as in the original.):
Am firm as brazen walls,
Bright as the midday sun!
Gone into exile, she's
Daring as tallest palm.
How death she meets for thee,
When she's to slaughter borne,
Zealous foes around her!
Held fast in thy embrace,
Toiling beneath the yoke,
In love she acclaims thee Onp.
Kept down in foreign lands, she
Learns to fear thee more.
Maltreated sore by men,
Nor free from pain and blows,
Still under heavy loads,
On steps the tempest tossed;
People freed by Tobiah (Moses),
Celestial flock of lambs.
Quick hosts of Jacob's seed
Resounding with thy name,
Shouting Hosha'na loud.
Thy help they lean upon,
Hosha'na!
The hymn shows very little literary skill, but every word
and letter of it were felt and meant. There is no clue to the

SAMPLES OE POST BIBLICAL POETRY 237
author. Another hymn takes its place in the Mahzor Vitry;
hence, it probably was the product of persecution in the
fourteenth century.
Of the Piyutim in the narrower sense the most proper is
the "Ascent" (Silluk) to the Thrice-Holy in the Addi
tional for the New Year, composed by R. Amnon of Mainz
(Moguntia) in the twelfth century; not only on account of
its stirring contents, but on account of the sad fate of its
author, who read it, when it was heard for the first time,
while bleeding to death from cruel wounds.
After the introductory words:
"To thee ascends holiness, for thou, O God, art King,"
U-ncthanne tokef (so it is named from its initial words),
begins: We will tell the powerful praise of the day, which is dreaded
and fearful; on it thy Kingdom will be exalted, and thy throne
laid firmly in kindness; and thou wilt sit thereon in truth. Truly
thou art the judge, he that rebukes, he that knoweth; thou art the
witness, the writer, and he that sealeth, and telleth, and counteth.
Thou wilt bring all that is forgotten to mind, and open the book of
remembrance; it reads itself; the hand and seal of every man attests
it. The great cornet is blown; and the still small voice is heard;
then the angels are frightened; trembling and terror takes hold ol
them; they say, this is the day of judgment, to visit justice upon
the hosts on high; for they are not pure in thy sight in the judg
ment. All that come into the world thou passest before thee like
lambs; as the shepherd examines his flock, and lets his sheep pass
under his staff, thus thou bringest them along, telling and counting,
and thou visitest the soul of all that liveth, and cuttest out the
destiny of every creature, and writest the sentence of each
On the New Year they are inscribed, and on the Fast of Atone
ment the seal is affixed: how many shall pass away, and how many
shall be born; who may live, and who must die; whose end has
come, whose end is not yet; who is to perish in fire, and who in
water; who by the sword, and who by famine; who through earth
quake, and who through pestilence; who shall rest, and who shall
move; who shall be quiet, and who shall be torn along; who shall
have peace, and who shall be chastised; who shall be high, and

238 JE WISH SER VICES IN SYNA GOGUE AND HOME
who shall be humbled; who shall grow rich, and who become
poor. But repentance and prayer and charity — turn the evil sentence.
For as thy name, so is thy excellence; hard to provoke and easy
to please; for thou dost not desire the death of him that is guilty;
but that he may turn from his ways and live. Even to his dying
day thou waitest for him; when he turns back, thou receivest him
at once. Truly thou art their creator and thou knowest their
nature, even that they are flesh and blood; as for man, his founda
tion is in the dust, and his end is dust; with his life he earns his
bread; he is likened to the broken potsherd, to dried-up grass, to
the withering blossom, to the passing shadow, to the cloud that
has vanished, to the wind that is stilled, to the whirling dust, to
the winged dream:
But thou art the King, the living, everlasting God.
Thy years have no goal, thy lengthened days no end; none can
measure the chariot of thy glory, nor explain the mystery of thy
name; thy name is proper 10 thee, and thou befittest thy name;
and our name thou hast called after thy name.
There is no trifling with the alphabet, no acrostic of the
author's name, no attempt at measure, and but a few rhymes
in the first few lines.
In the Polish ritual R. Amnon's Composition is recited
also in the Additional of the Day of Atonement instead of
the very weak "Ascent" which the congregations of West
ern Germany have retained for that occasion.
Among the dirges for the Ninth of Ab in the German
ritual, the one best known, mainly on account of its plain
tive but highly rhythmical air, is Eli Tzion, written in short
couplets, the first of which, rendered pretty faithfully in
the original meter, reads thus:
Cry loud for Zion and her towns, like women in their sore travail,
Or maid, who for her murdered swain sets up her bitter, piercing wail.
Both rituals have a long composition showing how sad
the difference between exodus and exile.
Of the thirty odd couplets (each of which is here drawn
out into six lines) the first, second, and last follow:

SAMPLES OF POST-BIBLICAL POETRY 239
Fire is kindled in my breast
At the thought of times so blessed,
When from Egypt land I start.
But I raise my saddest lay
At the thought of that dire day,
When from Salem I must part.
Moses sings on sacred spot,
Song that ne'er shall be forgot,
When from Egypt land I start;
Jeremy his woeful dirge,
Wherein sighs and moanings surge,
When from Salem I must part.
God, of heavenly hosts the Lord,
Will unsheath anew his sword,
As on Egypt's fertile plain;
Will return his Presence bright
Unto Zion, and his might
Unto Salem's hills again.
Without trying to follow the measure or rhyme of the
original, we put here in English some of the "gems" of the
Selihoth as they are gathered in the last Atonement service.
Each is the burden of a longer piece, which is recited in
the matins of the Selihoth days:
(1) Remember the covenant with Abraham and the binding of
Isaac, and return the captivity of the tents of Jacob, and save us
for the sake of thy name.
(2) Israel is saved by the Lord in everlasting redemption; may
they be helped this day also, by thy word, dweller in boundless
heights; for thou art rich in forgiveness and full of mercy.
(3) May he hide us in the-, shadow of his hand beneath the wings
of the Presence; show his grace when he proveth the crooked
heart, to right it; arise, our God, my strength, show might, do
now! O Lord, do listen to our fond beseeching!
(4) May he that dwelleth hidden and most high tell us: I have
forgiven; may a people, down-trodden and poor, find aid in his
saving arm; when we humbly pray to thee, thou answer us in
solemn tones of acquittal; O Lord, be thou the helper at our side.
(5) I think of it, O God, and am troubled, when I see every
town rebuilt on its ruins; but the city of God is laid low, deep

240 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
down as the pit; and yet we are the Lord's and to the Lord are our
eyes. (6) I have firmly set my stakes upon the thirteen words of
mercy and on the gates of tears that never are locked; on these
I set my trust, and in the merit of three fathers.
(7) Be it thy will, thou who hearest the sound of weeping, that
thou wilt gather our tears into thine own flagon; and do thou
deliver us from all cruel decrees; for on thee alone our eyes are
fixed. The following piece in the Monday and Thursday ser
vice after the penitential Psalm has hardly any poetic form,
but is classed as a Pizmon (French Pseaumon), and deserves
attention as being, along with the prose pieces for those
days (see Chs. XIII and XV), one of the few parts of the
service in which the sufferings of the Jews in. exile are
dwelt on:
O Lord, God of Israel, turn from thy burning anger, and be
think thyself of the mischief to thy people. Look from heaven
and see that we are for sport and contempt among the nations;
we are counted as sheep carried to slaughter, to kill, to destroy,
to smite, and to disgrace. Yet with all this we have not forgot
thy name; O do not forget us. Strangers say: there is no pros
pect nor hope; show grace to a people trusting in thy name.
Pure One, bring on thy salvation; we are weary, we have had no
rest; may thy mercies suppress thy anger against us. O return
from thy anger and show mercy to thy chosen treasure. Spare
us, O Lord, in thy mercy; put us not in the hands of the cruel;
why should the nations say: where then is their God? deal for thy
sake kindly with us; do not delay. Hear our voice, show grace,
do not cast us off into the hands of our enemies, to blot out our
name; remember what thou swarest to our fathers: I shall multi
ply your seed as the stars of heaven; yet now we are left few of so
many. The last remark renders this piece (written probably in
the tenth century) rather inapplicable in our times.

CHAPTER XIX
CABBALISTIC INTERPOLATIONS
In the later middle ages and in still more recent times,
many passages from Cabbalistic sources have crept into the
Prayer Book. Some of these contain on their face nothing
that is mystical or seems to belong to a special school of
thought. Such is a supplication taken from the Bahir and
falsely ascribed to Nehonia ben Hakkana, one of the earlier
Sages of the Mishna. It is placed among the passages from
Bible and Talmud in the early morning service (see Ch.
XIV supra), and begins thus:
(i) Oh, now, by the force of the greatness of thy right hand,
loose her that is bound.
(2) Receive the singing of thy people, set us on high, cleanse
us, fearful One.
(3) Oh, thou strong One, guard those who seek thy Unity, like
the pupil of the eye, etc.
There are seven lines; each is made up of six Hebrew
words, and at its end the initials are reproduced; those of
the second line spell out Kera' Satan, tear the adversary!
Thus this otherwise harmless looking composition seems
to be intended rather as an incantation than a devotion, and
it has fallen into deserved disuse.
Lastly, every prayer book of the German ritual copies
from the Zohar a prayer to be read by every one when
the scrolls are taken out, against which no objection of any
kind can be raised.
Blessed be the name of the Master of the world; blessed be thy
crown and thy residence. Be thy favor ever with thy people
16 (241)

242 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Israel. Show the help of thy right hand to thy people in thy
Temple; let the gift of thy light reach us, and receive our prayer
in mercy. Be it thy will to lengthen our lives in happiness; may
I be reckoned among the righteous; have mercy on me and guard
me and mine and all that belong to thy people Israel. Thou art
he that feedeth all, and provideth for all; thou art he that ruleth
over all; and the Kingdom is thine. I am the servant of the Holy
Blessed One; before whom and before the glory of whose law I
kneel at every time. I do not trust in man; nor do I lean on any
son of God; but I trust in the God of Heaven, who is God in
truth, whose Law is truth, whose prophets are true; and who
worketh abundantly kindness and truth. In him I trust, and I
speak praises to his holy and glorious name. Be it thy will to
open my heart to thy Law and to fulfill the cravings of my heart
and of the hearts of all thy people, for happiness, life, and peace.1
We have seen also a collection of twenty-two verses or
one with twenty-two repetitions of the name of God; in ali,
the Cabbalistic purpose is hidden, and does not interfere
with the edifying effect of the words or of the thoughts
and feelings which they express.
Very different are a number of petitions and declarations
which have crept into many prayer books since the days
of Isaac Luria, and are built upon the peculiar theology
taught by him and other Cabbalists, which, in the opinion
of the writer and of many strict and law-observing Jews,
runs counter to every principle of Israel's religion, for it
recognizes phases, almost persons, in the deity.
Here is an example as short as any that could have been
chosen. Before reciting the morning hymns the worshipper
is advised to say:
Behold, I prepare my mouth to thank, to praise, and to honor
my Maker, for the purpose of unifying the Holy One, blessed be
he, and his Presence (Shechina), by means of that Name which is
hidden and secret in the name of all Israel.
Before the performance of any ceremony ordained by the
- Law, such as the putting on of the fringed shawl, the Cab
balists and those who accept their interpolations in the

CABBALISTIC INTERPOLATIONS 243
Prayer Book offer a petition to be rewarded therefor in a
special way, which is introduced thus in Aramaic:
"To the end of uniting the Holy Blessed One and his
Presence (Shcchind) in love and fear in the name of all
Israel." The "love and fear" is evidently borrowed from Christian
sources; the phrase is unknown in all the older, in all but
the Cabbalistic literature of Jewish prayer.
Even worse are the petitions ("Be it thy will") found in
small print in the New Year's service book, to be read
between the alarm sounds in which certain angels otherwise
unheard of are supposed to "proceed" from the sounds of
the Shofar; and perhaps worst of all, a petition to be de
voutly said by the people while the priests in the blessing
ring out Peace (Shalom), wherein arbitrary combinations
of letters are palmed off on the innocent worshipper as
names of God that "proceed" from the priestly blessing.2
Among the Hasidim sect of Poland and the Sefardic
Jews of Turkey these almost idolatrous interpolations, none
of which is even four hundred years old, stand very high,
and their service books are full of matter of the same kind.
A true conservatism among the Jews of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries would have kept our liturgy clear
of them. They are gradually being weeded out in our
own times, and the learned quietly ignore them, while the
ignorant believe in the merit of reading and pronouncing
whatever they find in print.
Much as the writer dislikes to acquaint the general reader
withthevery existence of these excrescences, he cannot pass
them over without being guilty of implied falsehood. Alto
gether, the Jewish liturgy has perhaps lost more than it has
gained by the additions made to it since the days of Rab
and Samuel in the first half of the third century. There are
some beautiful gems imbedded in vast masses of ore of
medieval poetry; the very prayer quoted from the Zohar in
this chapter is almost sublime ; but it seems that these gems

244 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
are bought at too high a price, if all the inert and all the
poisonous matter must be taken into the bargain; and if the
daily and Sabbath services are to be swollen to such length
that leader and people feel tempted to shorten them by
slurring. Setting aside the "Reception of the Sabbath" by Psalms
and hymns, due to Solomon the Levite, which is less than
four hundred years old, but is worth preserving on intrinsic
grounds, all steps in the line of shortening the Jewish ser
vices might safely be taken in the reverse order of time,
that is, by lopping off and dropping first what has been
added last.

BOOK III
The Desk and the Polpit

BOOK III
THE DESK AND THE PULPIT
CHAPTER I
THE WEEKLY PENTATEUCH LESSON
Whatever the higher criticism may say about the com
parative age of Biblical writings, for the observing Israelite
the five Books of Moses, known as the Tora, or Instruction,
hence as the Divine Law, occupy a much higher rank than
anything else, and a Scroll of the Law, written according
to precept "in the Hebrew tongue and Assyrian character,"
is in his eyes the most sacred of all -implements; as much so
almost as the Ark of the Covenant was before it disap
peared in the sack of Solomon's Temple. Children, at
least boys, are expected to study the Pentateuch (Chumash)
before and above everything else; grown men, to keep up
their acquaintance with it by reading it through every year,
and it has been divided into fifty-four sections, one (or
if there are not enough Sabbaths, then occasionally two)
to be read on each Sabbath of the year. The section for
each week is called by the Germans the Sidra, by the" Sefar
dim the Parasha; the former apply the latter name to the
shorter divisions into which the Sidra is divided when pub
licly read.
To the Jews raised and taught in the old-fashioned way
the division of the Pentateuch into sections is much more
familiar than that into chapters, which came to them only
from the Septuagint through Christian channels. Every
(247)

248 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
section is named after its first striking word. Thus the first
in Genesis is known as Bereshith (In the beginning), the
second as Noah, etc. There are twelve sections in Genesis,
which begin as follows:
I, 1: 1; II, 6: 9; III, 12: 1; IV, 18: 1; V, 23: 1; VI,
25: 19; VII, 28: 10; VIII, 32: 4; IX, 37= 1; X, 41: 1; XI,
44: 18; XII, 47: 28.
There are eleven sections in Exodus, beginning as fol
lows: XIII, 1:1; XIV, 6: 2; XV, 10: 1; XVI (Beshallah, con
taining the Red Sea Song), 13: 17; XVII (Jithro, contain
ing the Ten Commandments), 18: 1; XVIII, 21: 1; XIX,
25: 1; XX, 27: 20; XXI, 30: 11; XXII, 35: 1; XXIII,
38:21. There are ten sections in Leviticus:
XXIV, 1:1; XXV, 6: 1; XXVI, 9: 1; XXVII, 12: 1;
XXVIII, 14: 1; XXIX, 16: 1; XXX (Kedoshim, con
taining the Moral Law), 19: 1; XXXI, 21: 1; XXXII, 25:
1 ; XXXIII, 26: 3.
There are ten sections in Numbers:
XXXIV, 1: 1; XXXV, 4: 21; XXXVI, 8: 1; XXXVII,
13: 1; XXXVIII, 16: 1; XXXIX, 19: 1; XL, 22: 2; XLI,
25: 10; XLII, 30: 2; XLIII, 33: 1.
There are eleven sections in Deuteronomy:
XLIV, 1:1; XLV (Vaethhannan, containing the second
version of the Ten Commandments and Hear, O Israel),
3: 23; XLVI, 7: 12; XLVIL 11: 26; XLVIII, 16: 18;
XLIX, 21: 10; L, 26: 1; LI, 29: 9; LII is chapter 31;
LIII is chapter 32; LIV, chapters 33, 34. This section is
read on the "Joy of the Law," the ninth day of the Feast of
Huts. In a year of twelve months (353, 354, or 355 days) there
are at most 51 Sabbaths. But some of these fall upon Fes
tivals or upon the middle days of the Feasts, when the regu
lar lesson of the week is displaced. But even in a year of
thirteen months, which has generally 55 Sabbaths, these

THE WEEKLY PENTA TEUCH LESSON

249

interruptions leave less than 54 of them for weekly les
sons. Thus it is always necessary to combine some of the
weekly portions into doublets. This is done according to
rules, which we need not discuss in all their details, with
XXII and XXIII (both about setting up the Tabernacle) ;
XXVII and XXVIII (about leprosy and like matters);
XXIX and XXX (Day of Atonement and Moral Law);
XXXII and XXXIII; XXXIX and XL; XLII and
XLIII; and lastly LI and LII (the last doings of Moses).
The earlier doublets are always arranged in such a man
ner that Debarim, the first section in Deuteronomy, is read
before the Fast of the Ninth of Ab; Vaethhannan on the
Sabbath after the Fast; hence the joining or separating of
LI and LII depends only on the question whether or not
New Year and the Day of Atonement are both on week
days, or whether one of them is on a Sabbath. In the
former case one more weekly lesson is needed, and these
sections are read separately.1
Both Josephus and the New Testament speak of the pub
lic reading of the Law on every Sabbath as a well estab
lished custom by means of which "Moses" is well-known
to every Israelite. There are many Talmudic passages trac
ing the weekly readings, including those on Mondays and
Thursdays, back to the days of Ezra; but there is no con
temporary testimony earlier than the Gospels and the Acts.
The Books of the Maccabees (as stated in a former chapter)
never speak of a Synagogue, but of a place of prayer. It
is, however, most probable that the habit of these public
readings grew with the multiplication of books* and of per
sons capable of reading, and if during the procuratorship
of Pontius Pilate there were a scroll of the Law and seven
men capable of reading it in every village, even in the less
cultured district of Galilee, two hundred years earlier copies
of the Law and men able to read it in public could be found
at least at the places dedicated to public instruction in
Jerusalem and in the larger towns. That there were already

250 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
many books of the Law in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes
seems clear from his attempt to destroy them in order that
the Law might be forgotten in Israel.2
But the Tora was not, while the Temple stood, nor in
Palestine for a long time thereafter, read in the course of a
single year. To trace this matter we must look first to the
Scriptural command.
The only command which the Law itself gives as to its pub
lic reading is found in Deuteronomy 31, "At the end of seven
years, in the set time of the year of release, is the Feast of
Huts, etc.; thou shalt read the law before all Israel in their
hearing. Assemble the men and the women and the little
ones," etc. It might be hence inferred that the first cycle
would have been one of seven years; that is, a small portion,
about sixteen verses, might be read on every Sabbath for
seven years till the 5,845 verses were gone through with,
and then the whole Tora would be read at the Feast of the
year of release. But there is no historic evidence that this
was ever done. There was perhaps at one time a division of
the Pentateuch into 175 parts, which would point to a
cycle of three years and a half; but otherwise there is hardly
any historic evidence that such a cycle was ever used.3
All Hebrew Bibles of the present day state at the end of
each of the five books how many divisions named "Seder"
it contains, and of these there are 154, just enough to sup
ply a cycle of three years; and the Babylonian Talmud says
distinctly: in the West (i. e., in Palestine) they finish the
Tora in three years, while on the Euphrates it was read
through in one year, so that the same section always came
around at the same season.4 The Sefardim took their
ritual from Babylonia, and naturally fell into the yearly
cycle; and it seems that the Jews of France and Germany
acted in the same way. It appears that the Palestinians
simply held to their custom in the belief that it was un
worthy of the dwellers in the Holy Land to follow the lead
of the men of the dispersion; while Jews in all other parts

THE WEEKLY PENTATEUCH LESSON 25 1
of the world, after the downfall of the Patriarchate at
Tiberias, obeyed in this as well as in all other matters the
only central authority remaining, that is, the schools of
Sura and Pumbeditha. The three-years cycle cannot have
disappeared altogether till after the expulsion of the Jews in
Spain, when the complete Sefardic ritual was introduced in
tlie Holy Land.5
But it seems that the three-years cycle cannot have taken
hold even in Palestine without a struggle. For a Baraitha
sets up the tradition that Ezra had ordained to read the
"blessings and curses" in Leviticus before Pentecost, those
in Deuteronomy before New Year. The former (Lev. 26)
are now read on the second Sabbath before Pentecost, the
latter on the second Sabbath before New Year. This must
have been the custom, or at least the custom of some party
or school at Jerusalem, otherwise no one would have
claimed Ezra as authority.6
The ordinary Jew is more familiar with the first subsec
tion than with other parts of the portion, for on Sabbath
afternoon and again on Monday and Thursday the first
part of the coming Sabbath's portion is read.7
Monday and Thursday were the days on which the courts
met in all the towns of Palestine for the dispatch of civil
causes. On these days the farmers came into town for legal
and other business, and dropped in at the Synagogue; it
was deemed the best time for obtaining an audience for a
short lesson from the Law. The Talmud distinctly claims
that Ezra instituted as well the court sessions as the Bible
readings on these two days of the week, and there is no
reason for denying that he established the former, though
it is highly improbable that the week-day readings are so
old, when so high an age cannot be proved even for the
Sabbath lessons.8
The movement in modern times .towards a three-years
cycle, which prevails in many otherwise quite conservative
congregations, arose from the lessened interest in the

252 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Pentateuch, especially its drier portions, those in attend
ance finding it irksome to listen for from fifteen to twenty-
five minutes consecutively to names and numbers, orders
of sacrifice, laws of clean and unclean, or, what is worse,
simply to Hebrew words which they do not understand
at all. Hence a return to a custom which was probably
universal till the establishment of the Babylonian schools
in the third century of the Christian era, and which was
kept up in Palestine during all or most of the middle ages,
was naturally suggested; strange though it seems to a Jew
raised in the "Babylonian" style, by whom the Sidra
is felt as much a part of each particular Sabbath as the
ram's horn is of New Year or fasting is of the Day of Atone
ment. Hence, by way of compromise, many modernized
congregations retain the one-year cycle, but read in each
year only about one-third of the Sidra, thus finishing the
whole Tora in three years.
That the one-year cycle is made to end on the closing
day of the Feast of Huts seems naturally suggested by the
Biblical command to read the whole Tora on that feast in
the seventh year, and from the intimation of the Babylonian
Talmud, that sections XXI and XXII were read shortly
before the first of Adar, it is clear that the cycle was begun
and closed then as it is now.9 But there is some evidence
to indicate that the three-years cycle began early in the
Passover month.10
It is well-known that throughout the Bible there are a
number of double readings, one being "written" (Kethib)
in the text, the other being handed down by tradition as
more correct, which latter in vowelled books is indicated by
its vowel points, while its letters are marked in the margin
as "to be read" (K'ri). Among these double readings are
several in which the Kethib is not set aside as a corrupt
text, but simply deemed indelicate; and a word of the same
meaning, but not so coarse, is substituted in reading. Such

THE WEEKLY PENTATEUCH LESSON 253
corrections are made as well in the prophetic books as in
the Tora, and are marked in the copies from which the
former are generally read. Those in the Tora the reader
must know by heart.11

CHAPTER II
LESSONS OUTSIDE OF THE WEEKLY ORDER
On all the Biblical holidays, that is, on the Festivals
which require rest, on the middle days of the Feasts, and on
the New Moon, also on Purim, the public fasts, and on
Hanucca, which is wholly un-Scriptural, passages from the
Pentateuch are read in the public service with the same
solemnities as on the Sabbaths or on Mondays and Thurs
days. At present the order is the following:
On the first day of the Passover the narrative of the de
parture from Egypt, beginning with verse 21 of the 12th
chapter of Exodus and ending with the last verse of the
chapter. When it is on a Sabbath the Sefardim begin at
verse 14.
On the seventh day of the Passover, the crossing of the
Red Sea, beginning with section XVI (Beshallah) in the
13th chapter of Exodus and closing with the 26th verse of
chapter 15.
On Pentecost, the 19th and 20th chapters of Exodus,
giving the narrative of the revelation on Mount Sinai and
the Ten Commandments as part thereof.
On the first day of the New Year, the 21st chapter of
Genesis, containing the birth of Isaac.
On the second day of the New Year, the 22d chapter of
Genesis, the "binding of Isaac."
On the Day of Atonement, in the morning, the sixteenth
chapter of Leviticus, which sets forth the Temple service
of that day. (254)

LESSONS OUTSIDE OF THE WEEKLY ORDER

255

On the same day in the afternoon, the 18th chapter of
Leviticus, containing the laws against incest.
On the first day of the Feast of Huts, the 23d chapter of
Leviticus, in which all the festivals are prescribed, and as
an introduction thereto the last eight verses of chapter 22d.
On the ninth day of the same feast, that is, on the double
of the "Eighth," in other words on the "Joy of the Law,"
section 54 of the Pentateuch, and as soon as it is ended,
the first chapter of Genesis with three verses of chapter 2,
that is, the Elohistic account of creation.
The lesson for the second day of the Passover and of the
Feast of Huts is the same as on the first day of the Feast
of Huts.
On the eighth or double of the seventh day of Passover,
on the second day of Pentecost, and on the "Eighth" in the
Feast of Huts, the account of the three Feasts in Deuter
onomy is read. On the two former of these days, when
on a work-day, the lesson begins at ch. 15, v. 19; on the
last-named Festival and always on the Sabbath at ch. 14,
v. 22, and it always ends with the weekly portion, section
XLVII, Deut. 16: 17.
These lessons displace that of the week though the day
be a Sabbath. So also, when one of the middle days of the
Passover or of the Feast of Huts is on a Sabbath, the weekly
portion is not read, but a part of section XXI beginning
at Exodus 33: 12, and closing with 34: 26, which contains
a short reference to the three Festivals.
On the middle days of the Passover when not on the
Sabbath, the following small portions are read: On the
first middle day (the third of the feast), Ex., ch. 13: 1-16;
on the second middle day, Ex. 22: 24 to 23: 19; on the third
middle day, Ex. 34: 1-26; on the fourth, Num. 9: 1-14
(about the second Passover). All of these contain references
to the three Feasts or at least to the Passover.
On the middle days of the Feast of Huts the sacrifices

256 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
for the particular day are read from Numbers, ch. 29, count
ing both from the first and from the second day.1
On Purim the last nine verses of the 17th chapter of
Exodus are read, proclaiming the everlasting war against
Amalek.2 On public fasts passages from the 32d and 34th chapters
of Exodus (11-14 of the former and 1-10 of the latter), tell
ing of God's forgiveness of the sin of the golden calf and
teaching the thirteen qualities of mercy. These passages
are read both in the morning and in the afternoon.3 But
in the morning of the Ninth of Ab the lesson is from
Deuteronomy, chapter 4, verses 25-40, which are full of
warning. On Hanucca are read three of the paragraphs in the
seventh chapter of Numbers, in which the chiefs of the
tribes bring their gifts at the dedication of the Tabernacle,
progressing according to the day.
On New Moons Numbers, ch. 28, vv. 1-15, is read, which
contains the public sacrifices for every day, for the Sabbath,
and for the New Moon; about all appertaining to the day
that could be found in the Pentateuch.4
Purim and the fasts are never celebrated on a Sabbath,
and the New Moon or Hanucca lessons do not displace
the weekly lesson, but are read in addition thereto; that for
the ,New Moon being begun at Num. 28: 9, and that for
Hanucca being confined to the verses for the particular
day. But all these lessons displace the reading from the
current Sidra for Mondays and Thursdays. Nothing but
the Day of Atonement displaces the Saturday afternoon
reading. Thus when the first and eighth days of the Pass
over come on Saturday, the fiist subsection of the lesson for
the Sabbath which follows after these two is read qn the
afternoons of three Saturdays, two of which are also Festi
vals. On all Festivals, also on the middle days of the Passover,
two scrolls are read from; the portions named above are

LESSONS OUTSIDE OF THE WEEKLY ORDER 257
read first from one scroll, then the paragraph from the 28th
or 29th chapter of Numbers, which sets forth the duty and
the sacrifice of the particular feast, are read from the other.
The second days of the Festival are treated for that purpose
as if they were the genuine first days. On the middle days
of the Feast of Huts (except on the Sabbath) only one
scroll is read from, because the lessons are entirely from
the 29th chapter of Numbers.
On Sabbath and New Moon or a Sabbath in Hanucca
there are two scrolls, for the reason given above; but if the
New Moon of Tebeth is a Sabbath, three scrolls are needed,
one for the portion of the week, one for the reading of the
sacrifices for the Sabbath and the New Moon from Numbers
28, and the third for the Hanucca lesson from the 7th
chapter of Numbers.
Lastly the four extra lessons must be explained. During
the subsistence of the Temple a poll-tax of a half-shekel was
paid in pursuance of Ex. 30: 11-16 by every full-grown
Israelite on the first day of the eleventh month, the anni
versary of the day when like contributions were made to the
Tabernacle in the wilderness. Hence to remind men of
their duty, this passage (known as Shekalim) was read on
the Sabbath next before or coinciding with the first of
Adar. Next, on the Sabbath before Purim, the last three
verses of Deut. 25 were read (Remember what Amalek did
unto thee) on the supposition that the wicked Haman was
an Amalekite by descent. On the Sabbath after Purim
it was fit that men should take the proper steps to become
Levitically clean for the Passover; hence the law about
the ashes of the red heifer (Numbers, ch. 19) was then read.
Lastly, as the first command given by Moses to the children
of Israel refers to the consecration of Nisan (then called
Abib) as the first month of the year, the "portion about the
month," Ex. 12: 1-20, was read on the Sabbath before or
coinciding with the New Moon of Nisan, that this duty and
the events upon which it rests might be impressed on the
37

258 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
minds of the hearers. Thus arose the institution of the four
Sabbaths known as Shekalim (Shekels), Zachor (Remem
ber), Para (Heifer), Hodesh (Month). The short lessons
are read from a second scroll after the weekly portion.
Shekalim and Hodesh may happen on a New Moon, and then
three scrolls are used, one for the weekly portion, one for
the New Moon from Numbers 28, and one for the lesson
due to the season.
This is the modern custom in nearly all of its details, and
it seems to agree pretty well with the statement of the Baby
lonian Talmud as to the custom in the days of Abbaye, who
flourished in the middle of the fourth century, and this cus
tom purports to rest upon the teaching of Sages of the
Mishna, such as Rabbi Meir. The Babylonians only add
further readings for their second holidays, which were un
known to the old Sages, and where these were divided in
opinion as to the proper lesson, they follow both views,
assigning one lesson to the first, the other to the second day.
However, the lesson for the eighth of the Passover, the
second of Pentecost, and eighth of the Feast is in the Tal
mud given only in its shorter form, beginning in the fif
teenth chapter of Deuteronomy, v. 19, and omitting the
provisions about the tithe for the poor, the year of release,
and the manumission of bondmen.0
But the Mishna differs very much from the modern cus
tom thus delivered to us by the Babylonians. Only for the
Day of Atonement it prescribes the reading of Lev. 16,
which was already read by the High Priest in the Temple,
and could not be passed by;on all other festivals it puts us off
with parts of the "lesson of feasts" (i. e., ch. 23) in Leviticus
or a short paragraph about Pentecost in Deuteronomy; it
thus robbed that day of its peculiar holiness as the feast of
revelation, and did not associate New Year with the youth
of the world, the age of Abraham and Isaac.6
It is not clear from the list of the lessons as given in the
Talmud that the paragraphs as to sacrifices from Numbers

LESSONS OUTSIDE OF THE WEEKLY ORDER 259
2$ and 29 were read from a second scroll on those days
when a lesson elsewhere was prescribed; in other words,
on any days but the middle days of the Feast of Huts.
There is however a hint that such was already the custom
in Talmudic times, conveyed in the legendary saying that
Abraham anxiously asked God how the sins of Israel would
be forgiven when their Temple was destroyed, and they
should have no place where to bring their sacrifices, and
he was told that to read the duty of these sacrifices from the
Tora would be accepted as a full equivalent.7

CHAPTER III
HOW THE LESSON IS DISTRIBUTED
About the distribution of the lesson from the Penta
teuch the Mishna teaches the following:
"On Mondays and Thursdays and on Saturday afternoon
three read, neither more nor less; on New Moons and Mid
dle Days, four, neither more nor less; on (other) festivals
five, on the Day of Atonement six, on the Sabbath seven;
never less, but they may have more; none should read in
the Tora less than three verses."1
It is the part of the leader (generally under the secular
head of the congregation) to call these 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or more
men to the desk, and for many centuries each read his
allotted part aloud in the hearing of the congregation.
The "Hazan," or overseer, or other person skilled in the
knowledge of the text might prompt him, but those present
expected to hear the lesson from the person called, and as
there might not always be the seven men on hand capable
of reading, it was lawful to call boys under thirteen or
women to the desk.2
When a man of the priestly tribe (a Cohen) is in the
Synagogue, he is called first; after him a Levite; thereafter
those making up the smallest required number (seven on
a Sabbath) should be plain Israelites, and a woman should
rather be called to make up the seven than that one priest
after another should read a portion.3
When the reading by from three to seven laymen was first
instituted, the "companions still held aloof from the un
learned people of the land;" moreover, vowel points being
unknown, whoever could read Hebrew at all read as well
(260)

HO W THE LESSON IS DISTRIBUTED 26 1
from the scroll as from any other book; lastly, those ac
cents which give to each verse a different tune had not yet
been set to the texts in books other than the scroll; hence
no need of a long preparation for studying these tunes.
When the bars against the ignorant were thrown down,
when the use of vowel points in ordinary books had raised
the reading of the bare scroll into an art, and when chanting
by accents had come into vogue, say as early as the tenth
century, the men called to the desk felt unequal to the task
of reading aloud; they left it to a permanent official, them
selves reading with the eye only, at most, articulating inaud-
ihly, as in the silent Prayer. That such a course was
already taken in olden times, that R. Akiba himself once
refused to read his Parasha for lack of preparation, is
asserted in the younger Aggadta, but is not very probable.4
But it was always the rule that only one must read, either
the official or the person called, never both of them to
gether. The sixteenth century Code of R. Joseph Karo
with its later annotations still recognizes the distinction
between persons who can and those who cannot read; it
still speaks of women and children being preferred to men
unable to read. But when these men were only expected
to read with the eye, the distinction became untenable,
especially when it was hoped that those called to the desk
would make offerings to the fund of the Synagogue. Such
aid could not well be refused for a lack of skill that would
not be tested. Thus anyone was called to the desk, and
hardly anyone read. Another change naturally followed.
According to the Mishna, whether three or seven were
called to the desk, only the first one spoke a benediction,
which covered the day's lesson, and the last again another
benediction covering it retrospectively.5 The first benedic
tion is introduced in the way heretofore described as "break
ing on the Shema," and runs thus:
"Bless ye the Lord, the highly blessed. Ans. Blessed be the
Lord, the highly blessed, forever and ever. Blessed be thou, O

262 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Lord, our God, King of the world, who hast chosen us from all
the nations and given us thy Law. Blessed be thou, O Lord, the
giver of the Law."
The benediction after reading is, "Blessed be thou, etc.,
who hast given us the Law of truth, and planted within us
eternal life. Blessed be," etc., as above.0
The Talmud speaks of some passages to be honored as if
they were complete books by having these benedictions
recited before and after them, namely the Red Sea Song,
the Ten Words in Exodus, the Ten Words in Deuteronomy,
the last eight verses of the Pentateuch.7 But at a later time,
during the growth of the Talmud, it became the custom for
every man called to the desk to bless before and after his
subsection; hence those stepping on the platform had some
thing to say, while otherwise they must have gone through
a dumb show.8 Thus, under the present usage, a man is
called to the desk to pronounce a benediction before and
after his subsection and not to read it. To read is now the
exception. It takes place, first, when the official reader is
honored with an "Ascent" (Aliya) in his own right; second,
when this official wishes to honor some scholar who likes to
read from the scroll, and invites him to do so; third, when a
Bar Mitzva, a boy who has just attained religious full
age, having passed his thirteenth birthday by the Jewish
Calendar, is called to the desk for the first time. But it is
deemed more meritorious that such a boy should study up
the whole Sabbath portion, and be the Baal Kore for the
day, reading for the others as well as for himself.
The Bar Mitzva celebration has its benefits and its draw
backs. When a boy is trained to study the whole section
for the week together with the prophetic lesson thoroughly,
so that he can read both as correctly as the regular reader,
he obtains some valuable training, such as most boys will
gladly undergo for the pleasure of showing their achieve
ments in public. But the boy's time may be wasted in
learning to chant the lessons rather than understand them.

HOW THE LESSON IS DISTRIBUTED 263
A greater drawback is the early age at which this induction
into manhood takes place; to many parents it seems the
proper season at which the son's religious studies should
come to an end.
Tlie ostensible ground for solemnly calling the boy to
the desk as a Bar Mitzva (son of, that is, bound by, the
Law) is that learning and teaching the Tora is the one great
duty at the base of all others; but this cannot be the true
reason, for all the standards, from the Mishna down, hold
that boys under thirteen are competent to read the Tora
in public; and as to the prophetic lesson, it is still quite
common to allot it to such boys.0
The custom of the Bar Mitzva is hardly three hundred
years old, and may have been suggested by the confirma
tion of Christian children at nearly the same age. Reform
congregations are more frank in their borrowing, for they
have taken over the name and form and season along with
the general idea of "confirmation."
The Pentateuchs published by Jews for private use have
the subsections marked in them, and the two rituals disa
gree as to this subdivision only in a few places. The Tal
mud lays down the rule that as far as possible each subsec
tion should begin and end with pleasant or honorable words.
Thus a part of the blessings in Leviticus 26 is read by (or
for) him who has the "rebuke," or prediction of evils, in his
portion. In the 48th of Genesis a subsection closes, "For
thy salvation I hope, O Lord." Subsection four of XVI,
which embraces the Red Sea Song, goes on to the words,
"I, the Lord, am thy physician." But there is one weekly
portion, the last but one in the cycle, Deut. 33, which in
cludes the farewell of Moses, of which the Talmud itself
marks the dividing points; this leads us to believe that the
subdivision of the other portions is not much younger.10
When two sections are read together, for instance 51 and
52, near the end of Deuteronomy, the fourth man called to
the desk reads across from the first to the second section.

264 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The books for use in the service mark the divisions thus,
"Seventh, fourth when united," or "Second, fifth when
united." When only one scroll is used, as on an ordinary Sabbath,
a small passage at the end, say three or six verses, are read
by or for the Maftir, or "leave-giver," by way of repetition
after the whole portion has already been read by or for the
seven or more persons called to the desk. When there is a
second scroll the lesson from that belongs to the Maftir.
On the middle days of the Passover three men read from
the special lesson for the day, and the fourth from the 29th
chapter of Numbers. This reading by the Maftir is clearly
of Talmudic age.11
The lesson for Saturday afternoon and Monday and
Thursday is generally the same as the subsection which on
the following Sabbath is read to the Cohen, or first man
called. Only in Ki Tissa (XXI) this subsection is inor
dinately long, and much less is deemed sufficient, while in
Behar Sinai (XXXII) and in the four last Sidras the first
subsection has less than ten verses, and therefore is too
short. Even in subdividing these small portions among
three men, pains are taken to give to each, if possible, a
pleasant or solemn ending. Where paragraphs are marked
by breaks in the line, the divisions of either the whole sec
tion or subsection should either coincide with them or differ
from the break in the line or the paragraph by at least three
verses.12 It is seen that everything connected with the reading of
the lessons is minutely looked to, and all contingencies are
provided for.

CHAPTER IV
THE LESSON FROM THE PROPHETS
In the Hebrew Bible eight books are classed as "Proph
ets;" four "earlier Prophets," that is, Joshua, Judges, Sam
uel, and Kings; and four "later Prophets," Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, and the Twelve. It was never proposed to read
the whole of these books in the Synagogue; on the con
trary, the Sages of the Mishna indicate some passages which
should not be read publicly for fear of misunderstandings.
But at an early day, probably during the Maccabean wars,
it became customary to read lessons from these eight books,
at first perhaps as a substitute for those from the Penta
teuch, when no copy of this could be obtained, but soon in
addition to them, after them. It seems that while now the
prophetic'lesson is only the last exercise of the desk, being
followed by Musaf, it was formerly the very last of all the
Sabbath morning services; hence it obtained the name of
Haftara (leave-giving, or dismissal), whence many think
the Missa (the meeting is dismissed), or Mass, of the Chris
tians derives its name; and he who read it was said to be
"giving leave" (Maftir) in the Prophet.1
There are at present two classes of Haftaroth for the
Sabbaths of the year, one chosen with a view to the season,
the other, and much larger one, with regard to the lesson in
the Law. There are twelve of the former class, tbe three
"Punishments" for the three Sabbaths before the Fast of
the Ninth of Ab, the seven "Comforts" for the seven Sab
baths which follow it, then one or two "Repentances," ac
cording as one or two open Sabbaths intervene between
the Day of Memorial and the Feast of Huts. As the event
(265)

266 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
around which ten of these lessons cluster is the day of the
destruction of the Temple by Titus, it is clear that they
cannot have been read in this order while the Temple
stood. The first of the "Punishments" is Jeremiah, from ch. i :
i to ch. 2: 3; the second, in the same book, ch. 2: 4-28, (to
which the Germans add by way of comfort ch. 3, v. 4, the
Sefardim ch. 4: 1, 2; the third, in Isaiah, in chapter 1,
verses 1 to 27, known as Hazon (The Vision), from its first
word, and so celebrated for the scorn with which the
prophet speaks of sacrifice and ceremony.
The "Comforts" are all from the second part of Isaiah,
beginning with "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people," for
the Sabbath after the fast, ch. 40: 1-26. On the next fol
lowing Sabbath, "But Zion said, the Lord has forsaken
me," from ch. 49: 14 to 51 : 3; on the third, "Thou afflicted,
tempest-tossed," from ib. 54: 11 to 55: 5; on the fourth, "I,
even I, am your comforter, ib. 51 : 12 to 52: 12; on the fifth,
"Sing, O thou barren," ib. 54: 1-10; on the sixth, "Arise,
shine, for thy light has come," ib. 60: 1-22; on the seventh,
"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord," ib. 61 : 10 to 63: 9.
As to the "Repentances" the rituals differ. The Sefar
dim read on fhe Sabbath before the Day of Atonement,
"Seek ye the Lord when he may be found," Isa. 55: 6 to 56:
8, which the Germans set aside for fast day afternoons; the
Germans, "Return, O Israel, to the Lord, thy God," from
the last chapter of Hosea, to which "Blow ye the horn in
Zion," Joel 2 : 1 5-27, is added when there is no free Sabbath
after the Day of Atonement, but the last three verses of
Micah, when there is; while the Sefardim reserve "Return,
O Israel" for fast day afternoons.
For a Sabbath between the Day of Atonement and the
Feast the Haftara is Ezekiel 17: 22 to end of ch. 18, a com
plete treatise on the right of the individual to earn divine
favor by a return to righteousness.2
For the other Sabbaths of the year the Flaftaroth are

THE LESSON FROM THE PROPHETS 267
chosen as shown hereafter: For Section I, the Creation,
"Thus says God the Lord who created the heavens," Isaiah
42: 5-21 (or to 43: 10). For II, the Deluge, lesson from
Isa. 54: 1-10, with the words, "Is not this for me like the
waters of Noah," the same as the fifth "Comfort." Section
III, the call of Abraham from the east, Haftara, Isa. 40: 27
to 41 : 16, with the words, "Whom has he aroused from the
east," applying to Cyrus. For Section IV, the late birth
of Isaac and his escape from death, 2 Kings 4: 1-37 (or 23),
the son born to the lady at Shunem brought back from
death. Section V, Abraham getting old, David becomes
old, 1 Kings 1: 1-31. Section VI, the birth of Jacob and
Esau and their blessings; Malachi 1: 1 to 2: 7, God's prefer
ence for Jacob. Section VII, Jacob goes to Laban wooing,
"Then Jacob fled to the plain of Syria, and Israel served,"
etc., Hosea 12: 13 to the end of the book, for which the
Sefardim substitute Hosea 11: 7 to 12: 12, referring to
Jacob's later life. Hence with VIH, the friendly meeting of
Jacob and Esau, some of the Germans read Hosea 11: 7 to
12: 12; others and all Sefardim read the book of Obadiah, a
rebuke to Edom, the descendants of Esau. IX, Joseph sold
by his brethren, "When they sell the righteous for money,"
etc., Amos 2: 6 to 3: 8. X sets out with Pharaoh's dreams;
hence, unless it is read during Hanucca, "And Solomon
awoke and behold it was a dream," leading to his wise judg
ment, 1 Kings 3: 15 to 4:1. Section XI begins with Judah's
plea before Joseph and their drawing together; the Haf
tara, Ezekiel 37: 15-28, predicts the reunion of Judah with
the House of Joseph, led by Ephraim. Section XII tells
of Jacob's death; the Haftara, 1 Kings 2: 1-12, of David's
death; unfortunately the latter does not die with only bless
ings on his lips like the former. So far in Genesis.
Exodus begins with Section XIII, the call of Moses,
also the great increase of the children of Israel; hence the
Sefardim read the call of Jeremiah, the same Haftara as the
first of the "Punishments" above; the Germans read from

268 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Isaiah, "In coming days Jacob will drive roots," etc., 27: 6
to 28: 13, adding the comforting verses, ch. 29: 22, 23. In
Section XIV Moses is sent with a threatening message to
Pharaoh; the counterpart, Ezek. 28: 25 to 29: 21, predicts
the .sufferings of Egypt under Nebuchadnezzar. In Section
XV Moses is again told to "go in unto> Pharaoh" with
threats; this is coupled with Jeremiah's prophecy against
Egypt, ch. 46: 13-28, with the two beautiful verses at the
end, assuring Israel that it is indestructible. In Section
XVI the main feature is the Song on the Red Sea; the
Song of Deborah (Judges 5) is the proper counterpart;
the Germans begin with chapter 4, whereby the Haftara
becomes inordinately long. Section XVII, the revelation
on Mount Sinai, calls for the vision of Isaiah; chapter 6,
in which the Seraphim utter their Thrice-Holy. The Ger
mans add, rather awkwardly, ch. 7: 1-6, and the two appar
ently Messianic verses, 9: 5, 6. XVIII begins with the
law requiring the discharge of Hebrew bondmen after a ser
vice of six years; hence the narrative, Jer. 34: 8-22, on this
subject, with the comforting verses, ibid. 33: 25, 26, added.
The next two sections, XIX and XX, contain the com
mands as to the building of the Tabernacle and all its ves
sels; these are matched from 1 Kings 5: 26 to 6: 13,. as to
the building of Solomon's Temple, and Ezek. 43: 10-27,
about the ideal Temple of the prophet Ezekiel. In XXI the
Golden Calf and the zeal of Moses against the idolaters are
spoken of; Elijah is introduced (1 Kings 18: 1 or 20 to 39)
as overthrowing the Baal worship of the Northern King
dom. The two next sections (XXII and XXIII) relate
how the Tabernacle was built and set up, the Haftaroth
are taken from 1 Kings, ch. 7 and 8; that for Pekude
(XXIII) ends with ch. 8: 21, where Solomon dedicates his
finished Temple.
We now come to Leviticus. The first two sections
(XXIV and XXV) give detailed laws as to all kinds of
offerings; both of the Haftaroth, Isa. 43: 21 to 44: 23,

THE LESSON JROM THE PROPHETS 269
and Jer. 7: 21 ito 8: 3, with 9: 22, 23 added for com
fort, make rather light of sacrifices. The former dwells
mainly on the folly of idolaters; the latter opens with the
plain words, "Add your burnt-offerings to your peace-
offerings and eat flesh." In XXVI the two elder sons
of Aaron die by fire from heaven for improperly handling
holy things; the same fate befalls David's friend Uzza in
the Haftara, 2 Sam. 6: 1-19 (or to 7: 17). The next
two sections (XXVII and XXVIII) deal with leprosy;
the two prophetic lessons are both from the story of Elisha
in the 2d book of Kings; the first speaks of Naaman the
Syrian (4: 42 to 5: 19) whom Elisha cured; the other (7:
3-20) of the four lepers who, during the siege of Samaria,
sat in the gate and were the first to learn of the flight of
the besiegers. XXIX deals with in'cest; for this and other
vices Israel is reproved by Ezekiel, chapter 22: 1-19. Sec
tion XXX (Kedoshim) also rebukes gross vices; and the
Sefardim accompany it with a kindred lesson from Ezek. 20:
2-20, while the German Haftara for this week, "Are ye not
unto me like children of the Ethiopians," Amos 9: 7-15
has no visible relation to the lesson from the Tora. Section
XXXI, about the duties of the Aaronide priesthood, is
illustrated by Ezekiel's prophecy (ch. 44: 15-31) as to the
position of the "Priests, the Levites, sons of Zadok," in his
ideal commonwealth. Then XXXII, on the Jubilee and
redemption of land, is illustrated from Jeremiah 32: 6-27,
where the prophet, under God's command, redeems with
money his cousin's field, while the Chaldean army is en
camped upon it. For XXXIII, with its promises of good
and evil, a good side-piece is found in Jeremiah 16: 19 to
17: 14, in which the man who trusteth in human strength
and the man who trusteth in God are contrasted.
Next for the book of Numbers. Its first section with the
census of the tribes is met by Hosea's prophecy, "The num
ber of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the
sea," ch. 2: 1-22. In XXXV is the law of the Nazarite;

270 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
the Haftara, Judges 13: 2-25, tells the miraculously an
nounced birth of Samson, the life-long Nazarite. The next
section (XXXVI) begins with the seven-branched candle
stick; Zechariah's vision of the candlestick with its seven
pipes and lamps (2: 14 to 4: 7) follows it. In XXXVII
Moses sends his scouts into the Holy Land; in the Haftara
(Josh. 2: 1-24) the spies sent out by Joshua to Jericho are
saved by Rahab. In XXXVIII Moses, in view of Korah's
revolt, avows his disinterestedness; Samuel does so in
almost the same words (1 Sam. 11: 14 to 12: 22), when the
people ask him to give them a king. In XXXIX the con
quest of part of Ammon's territory by the Emorites is told,
and how this land was conquered from the latter by Israel;
in the lesson from Judges 11 : 1-33, we read how the children
of Ammon sought to reclaim this district, and- how Jephtha
fought and defeated them. Section Balak (XL) tells how
Balaam was forced to bless Israel, whom he sought to
curse; this is mentioned by Micah in the Haftara (5: 6
to 6: 8), which winds up with the summary of man's duty,
"but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly
with thy God."
The next section (Phinehas) is read either within or before
the three weeks preceding the fast of the Ninth of Ab;
in the former case the first of the "Punishments" is read
with it, for which see above; in the latter case, as Phinehas
was zealous for the Lord, the Haftara (1 Kings 18: 46 to
19: 21) introduces Elijah's words, "I have been truly zeal
ous for the Lord the God of Hosts."3
This disposes, with the Punishments, Comforts, and Re
pentances already enumerated, of all the sections except
the last, which is read on the "Joy of the Law," and has for
its Haftara what follows next in the Bible, the first nine (or
twenty-one) verses of the first chapter of Joshua.4
When two sections are combined on a Sabbath, the Haf
tara belonging to the second prevails. On the Sabbaths
which have short readings from a second scroll, this reading

THE LESSON FROM THE PROPHETS 27 1
determines the prophetic lesson. It is for Shekalim the
account of King Joash gathering money contributions for
the repair of the House (2 Kings 12: 4-17); for Zachor
(Remember Amalek), the death of Agag (1 Sam. 15: 1-34);
for Para (the Red Heifer), a spiritualized cleansing, "I shall
sprinkle upon you clean water, and ye shall be clean, I
shall cleanse you from all your sins" (Ezek. 36: 16-38); for
Hodesh (the Month), Ezekiel's predictions as to the service
on Sabbaths and New Moons,Ezek. 45: 16 to 46: 18. On the
Sabbath before the Passover, known as the "Great Sabbath,"
though there is no reading from a second scroll, there is
still a special Haftara: Malachi, ch. 3: 4 to end; on account
of the verse, "I will send you the Prophet Elijah before the
coming of the great and fearful day of the Lord." On a
Sabbath in Hanucca the same Haftara is read as for section
XXXVI, the vision of the candlestick. If there are two
Sabbaths in Hanucca, they read on the second from 1 Kings
7: 40-50 — the dedication of Solomon's Temple.
On a"Sabbath and New Moon" the 66th chapter of Isaiah
is read, by reason of the verse (last but one, but repeated as
the last), "It shall come to pass that every month on its new
moon and every week on its Sabbath, all flesh shall come to
bow before me." When the Sabbath is not, but the next
day (Sunday) is a New Moon, a passage from 1 Samuel is
read (20: 18-42), beginning with the words, "And Jona
than said unto David, to-morrow is new moon." But these
two last-named lessons yield the place not only to Hanucca,
to Shekalim, and to Hodesh, but also to the "Punishment".
on the first of Ab.
The lessons for the Festivals remain, and all of these are
enumerated in the Talmud. On the first day of the Pass
over, the celebration of the Passover in the Holy Land (Josh.
5: 2 to 6: 1); on the second day the celebration as restored
by King Josiah, 2 Kings 23: 1-9, 21-25; otl the Sabbath
in the middle days, Ezekiel's vision of the Valley of Bones
(36: 37 to 37: 14), for which the reason is not clear. On the

272 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
seventh day of the Passover, as the lesson from the Tora
contains Moses' thanksgiving song on the Red Sea, the
great thanksgiving of David (2 Sam., ch. 22). On the
eighth of the Passover, Isaiah 10: 32 to the end of chapter
12, perhaps because the last chapter is also a song of joy;
but the Talmud gives another and not very apparent reason.
Although the Mishna by a majority of voices forbids the
public reading of the "Chariot,"5 Ezekiel's vision (ch. 1,
also 3: 12) nevertheless has become the Haftara for the first
day of Pentecost — a vision cf heavenly things as against
visible revelation; the choice of the third chapter of Ha-
bakkuk, which is a Psalm, for the second day, seems to rest
either on the word Shebuoth, which it contains, or on the
opening, "O Lord, I have heard thy report, and have
feared," as reminding of the thunders of Sinai.
On the fast of the Ninth of Ab the very sad passage from
Jeremiah 8: 13 to 9: 23, is read in the morning.
On the first day of the New Year, the birth of Samuel and
the prayer of Hannah, because Samuel, like Isaac, was,
according to the legend, born on the first of Tishri; on the
second day, Jeremiah 31: 2-20, because the closing verse,
"Is Ephraim my darling son," is deemed the most impress
ive among the "Remembrance" verses.
On the Day of Atonement in the morning Isaiah is read
from ch. 57: 14 to the end of 58; the true manner of making
the fast acceptable before God is here taught, and in the
afternoon the Book of Jonah is read, because it teaiches that
repentance to lead to forgiveness must be real ("and God
saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways").
A fit lesson for the first day of the Feast is found in the
14th chapter of Zechariah, where it is predicted that all
nations will have to celebrate the Feast of Huts. On the
second day the dedication of Solomon's Temple by prayer,
cn the "Feast in the seventh" month, 1 Kings 8: 2-21; and
on the "Eighth" from the same chapter, verses 54-66, in

THE LESSON FROM THE PROPHETS 273
which the eighth day (though of a second week of feasting)
is specially named.
Meanwhile, on the Sabbath falling into the middle days,
they read from Ezekiel the prediction of the wars, in which
Gog of the land Magog, prince of Rosh, Moshoch, and Tubal,
is to succumb in the Holy Land (Ezek. 38: 18 to 39: 16).
With the Haftara for the "Joy of the Law" already named,
this disposes of the whole year.6 There are a few days when
the two rituals disagree, a few when the Haftara is longer
in one (generally the German) than in the other; but on the
whole the agreement is very close, and indicates a high
antiquity for the selection. An Aggadic work of the sev
enth century, the Pesikta, restored from scattered frag
ments by the labors of Rapoport and Zunz, is written as a
commentary upon eleven of our present Haftaroth, which
must then have been in undisputed use.7 Those for the Festi
vals are indicated in the Talmud just as we read them now,
except that a prayer by Solomon from 1 Kings 8 is there
named, for which the beginning of Joshua as the continua
tion of the last chapter of Deuteronomy was substituted
afterwards, the dispute not being fully settled in the thir
teenth century. The first chapter of Isaiah, which now
serves for the last Sabbath before the fast of the Ninth of
Ab, seems in Talmudic times to have been read a week ear
lier.8 A Haftara ought to have twenty-one verses, three for
each man called to the desk to read in the Law; one of the
Sages says, when an interpreter is employed, they should
stop at ten verses, in order not to become irksome to the
public, though the subject-matter is not finished; when it
is, ten verses always suffice; and one Haftara in the German
ritual (for Sec. XXX) has only nine verses.0
Another somewhat later authority says that when the
lesson is translated or made the subject for preaching, from
three to seven verses are, enough without benedictions.10

18

274 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
That the German Haftara is so often longer than the Se
fardic happened probably because the Germans dropped the
habit of translating the lessons much earlier than the
Sefardim. Altogether the Haftaroth cover a little more than one-
fifth of the eight books that are classed as Prophets. Most
Jews and Jewesses of the old stripe know very little of these
books but what, in the course of every year, they read again
and again in these lessons, which contain very little history,
but much of the ennobling and comforting sentiments of
the second Isaiah and of other prophets. There are no less
than thirteen Haftaroth from Isaiah, chs. 40-66, and thir
teen from the "Twelve." The selections were made more for
the heart than for historic learning.
It has been noticed that in many Haftaroth one or more
verses are added from a later chapter, and the Maftir even
skips from the last chapter of Hosea to Joel or Micah. This
skipping is expressly authorized in the Mishna, while for
bidden to those who read from the Law.11
Something must be said about the prophet lessons which
went with the Palestinian cycle of three years. They were
naturally shorter than those which go with the one-year
cycle. The Gospel of Luke, ch. 4, v. 17, tells how Jesus
was called to the desk as Maftir at Nazareth, as any man
of note coming into the Synagogue at his old home would
be in our own days. He finds his place in the Book of
Isaiah; he reads two verses (61: 1, 2), rolls up the book and
returns it to the Shammash, and then preaches upon what
he has read. The lesson seems strangely short, but it might
have been no longer had he stood at the desk of a Syna
gogue in Galilee fourteen hundred years later. A manu
script in the Bodleian Library gives a list of the Haftaroth
for about one-half of the three-years portions. They vary
from two verses to twenty-one; some of our present Hafta
roth are in the list allotted to other portions of the Penta
teuch, e. g., the lesson from Micah ending, "and to walk

THE LESSON FROM THE PROPHETS 275
humbly with thy God," which we read with the story of
Balaam, goes with Jacob's flight to Haran. Some lessons
in the list allotted to one-third of a full section are a part of
that which now goes with the whole; thus about half of the
German Haftara, "In future Jacob will take root," for the
first section in Exodus, is allotted here to a "Seder" within
that section. But lessons of only four or five verses are not
unusual. Some of the portions of the Tora for which Hafta
roth are here chosen, such as Genesis 21, seem to be not
Sabbatic but Festival lessons. Among the forty-five pro
phetic lessons for Genesis there are twenty-nine from Isaiah,
one each from Jeremiah and Ezekiel, seven from the Twelve,
six from the historic books, one in doubt.12 There are other
sources, disclosing in part the Haftaroth for the three-years
cycle, which do not fully agree with what is found in this
manuscript.13 The Talmud refers occasionally to a Haftara on Sabbath
afternoon, and it is believed it was taken, not from the
Prophets, but from Flagiographa.14 The usage has however
wholly gone out; the only Haftaroth for afternoons at pres
ent are those for the Day of Atonement and for other fasts.

CHAPTER V

THE LITURGY OF THE DESK

The benedictions before and after each subsection having
of necessity been given and explained heretofore, we need
speak here only of the additional thanks to be rendered
when one who is called to the desk falls within the four
classes who are to render them under the teachings of
Psalm 107, namely: One who arises from grave sickness;
or who is released from prison; or who has crossed the sea;
or the desert; such a one adds to his benediction after read
ing the following:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who
bestowest favors on the guilty, and who hast bestowed on me
all that is good.
The by-standers answer:
He who has bestowed good on thee, may further bestow good
on thee. Selah.1
Fie who "gives leave in the prophet" reads beside the
benedictions over his portion from the Pentateuch the fol
lowing: Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who hast
chosen goodly prophets, and wast pleased with their words, that
were truthfully spoken; blessed be thou, O Lord, who hast chosen
the Law and Moses, his servant, Israel his people, and true and
righteous prophets.
And after the prophetic lesson:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, Rock of
all ages, righteous in all generations, the faithful God, who says
(276)

THE LITURGY OF THE DESK 277
and doeth, who decrees and carrieth out; all of whose words are
truth and righteousness. Thou art faithful, O Lord, our God, and
thy words are faithful, and not one of thy words will return un
fulfilled. Blessed be thou, O Lord, the God, faithful in all his
words. (Among the Sefardim the congregation chimes in with
the words, "truth and righteousness," cmeth vatzedek):
Have mercy on Zion, which is the home of our lives; save her,
whose soul is grieved, speedily in our days. Blessed be thou, O
Lord, who gladdenest Zion in her children (an older reading: who
buildest Jerusalem). Gladden us, O Lord, our God, with Elijah,
the prophet, thy servant, and with the kingdom of David, thy
anointed; may he soon come, that our heart may rejoice, and may
no stranger sit upon his throne, nor let others inherit his glory;
for thou didst swear to him by thy holy name, that his seed shall
never come to an end. Blessed be thou, O Lord, Shield of
David. In the service for fast days and on the afternoon of Atone
ment there are only these three benedictions.2 On the Sab
bath they proceed:
For the Law, and for the service, and for the prophets, and for this
Sabbath day, which thou hast given us, O Lord, our God, for holi
ness and rest, for glory and beauty; for all this we thank and bless
thee; be thy name blessed by the mouth of all that live, always
and for evermore. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who sanctifiest the
Sabbath. On Festivals this benediction is modified like the last part
ofthe "Holiness of the Day" in the Amida. It concludes on
the Day of Memorial thus:
Thy word is true, and standeth forever. Blessed be thou, O
Lord, King of all the earth, who sanctifiest (the Sabbath and)
Israel and the "Day of Memorial" (or "the Day of Atonement"
on that day).
We have to go back now to the very beginning of the cer
emonies which are bound up with the lesson. But very lately,
first probably on some Cabbalistic ground, but now mainly

278 JEWISH SER VICES IN SYNA GOG UE AND HOME
as a text for singing, the Germans have introduced the re
cital of the following lines before the Ark is opened to take
out the scroll:
(Ps. 86: 8): There is none among the Gods like thee, O Lord,
and none like thy works. (Ps. 145: 13): Thy Kingdom is the King
dom of all ages, and thy dominion lasts for all generations. The
Lord is King, the Lord has reigned, the Lord will reign forever
and ever. (Ps. 29: 11): The Lord giveth strength to his people,
the Lord blesseth his people with peace. Father of mercy, deal
after thy will kindly with Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem. For
in thee alone we trust, King, high and exalted God, Lord of
Eternities. When the Ark is opened the Germans on all occasions,
except on the "Joy of the Law," say:
(Numbers 10: 35): It came to pass when the ark moved for
ward, Moses would say: Arise, O Lord, and thy enemies will
scatter, and those that hate thee will flee before thee. (Isa. 2: 3):
For from Zion the Law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. Blessed be he who gave the Law to his people
Israel in his holiness.
The Sefardim begin on Sabbaths and Festivals with the
verse: (Deut. 4: 35): Unto thee it was shown that thou mightest know
that the Lord is God, there is none beside him.
Other verses follow; among them, "There is none," etc.,
and "It came to pass," etc., as above. But on work-days
they say nothing to accompany the opening of the Ark,
unless it be the prayer from the Zohar, given in Book II,
ch. XIX, and "God, long-suffering, etc." (See ch. XVI.)
On the "Joy of the Law," when the taking out of the
scrolls is the very center of the day's celebration, the leader
gives out separately and the congregation repeats after him
the veises cited above, beginning,"Unto thee it was shown,"
and several other verses from the prayer of Solomon in the
8th chapter of 1 Kings. These had become stereotyped

THE LITURGY OF THE DESK 279
and well remembered as early as the eleventh century, and
poetry of easy grasp gathered round them, shutting out
later accretions, which came into use for other Festivals or
for the Sabbath.
For example: On all other festive days it has within the
last two or three hundred years become customary with the
Germans, right after the scrolls are taken from the Ark,
to sing three times the "thirteen qualities" (Ex. 34: 6, 7; see
chapter on Day of Atonement). The custom came in by
the Cabbalistic door, as is shown by a prayer, "Be it thy
will," which follows; but at present its main strength is
musical. The leader in prayer carries the scroll from the Ark to
the platform; when more than one scroll is needed, the task
of taking it out and carrying it to the platform is conferred
as an honor on some member of the congregation. When
the platform is reached, the leader, holding up his scroll,
proclaims: (Ps. 34: 4): Ascribe greatness to the Lord with me, and let us
exalt his name together.
Such is still the Sefardic custom, and was but recently
that of Western Germany. But within the last fifty or sixty
years a not much older Polish usage has altogether on
musical grounds become general among all the Germans;
that on Sabbaths and Festivals the leader first gives out:
"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,"
which the congregation or choir repeats after him. Then he
says: "One is our God; great is our Lord; holy is his name,"
which is repeated in like manner. Then he adds as above,
Ascribe greatness, etc. This is answered in the German
ritual with the verse (1 Chron. 29: 11), "Thine, O Lord, is
the greatness," etc., which has been set to beautiful music;
and the two verses, "Exalt ye," etc., from Psalm 99. The
Sefardim answer with these latter verses, to which they add

280 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
many otheis. They proceed then to the Hagbaha, or "hold
ing up high;" that is, the leader partly unrolls the scroll,
and holding it up high turns around with it, so that all
present can see the written part. While doing so he says
aloud: "This is the law which Moses has set before the children
of Israel." With the Germans the Flagbaha follows the
reading, and they add to the above the words, "from the
mouth of the Lord, by the hand of Moses."
With the Sefardim thereupon the reader of the lesson or
the leader in prayer simply calls, "Cohen come near and
do thy duty," while the Germans introduce this call thus:
May thy Kingdom appear and be revealed. May he show grace
to our remnant, to the remnant of his people Israel, for happy life
and peace. All of you ascribe greatness to God, and show honor
to the Law! Cohen come near. Let  son of  , the Cohen,
stand up.
Then in both rituals two verses from Ps. 19, in praise
of the Tora, are spoken. Also (Ps. 18: 31), "The God whose
way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried; he is a shield
to all that trust in him." On Sabbath the seven who are to
read are addressed in the seven Hebrew words (Deut. 3: 4),
"But-ye, that-cleave to-the-Lord, your-God, are-all alive
this-day." Whereupon the first man called says his bene
diction and the reading begins.
If no Cohen is present, an Israelite is called with an ex
planatory remark. After each subsection an official in
vokes on the man called to the desk this blessing:
He who has blessed our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
may he bless  son of  ; because he has come up in honor
of God, of the Law, and of the Sabbath (or Festival or Day of
Judgment); may the Holy and Blessed One for this merit bless
and preserve him, send happiness and success into all his under
takings, together with all Israel, his brethren, and say ye, Amen.
If the person called wishes to "offer" money to the Syna
gogue or a charity, the same official will, at his request

THE LITURGY OF THE DESK 28 1
invokeasimilarblessingby name or description upon others,
and state what offering is made. When the blessing is
invoked on women, "He who blessed our mothers, Sarah,
Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah," is named.
The names used in calling to the desk and when invoking
blessings are the Hebrew names, such as Moses, the son of
Eleazar (Moshe ben El'azar), with Hac-Cohcn or Hal-Lcvi
added, when such addition fits the party. Not all Biblical
names are now in use among Jews; and there are a few
Aramaic and Greek ones that are fully recognized as "holy
names," Akiba and Sheragga (Lamp) of the former, Alex
ander and Kalonymos among the latter. Among women
fully one-half have not Hebrew names, but for religious
purposes only old German names, handed down from
grandmother to granddaughter or greatniece without
change; and the Sefardim use for their daughters current
Spanish or Italian names, by which they are blessed in the
Synagogue. About the only Hebrew names for women
still in common use are Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah,
Deborah, Hannah, Hadassah, Esther, also Malca (queen),
Haia (the living), which are not Biblical.
These "vows" take the place of the contribution box in
Christian churches, as it is not deemed lawful to actually
handle money on the Sabbath or Festivals.
When the portion is finished the reader recites the Half
Kaddish; among the Germans only after the portion from
the first scroll (or after the first and second, when there ar^
three); among the Sefardim after each scroll, except in the
afternoon service, when the Flalf Kaddish before the Prayer
is supposed to rest on the lesson or lessons.
A number of prayers which are spoken before the scroll
is returned, but not connected with the lesson, have been
given in Book II, ch. XVI; on Sabbath and Festivals
among the Germans, with the Sefardim on all days. Ashre
is also recited while the scroll remains out. Before return
ing it to the Ark the leader, standing on the platform, lifts

282 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
it up and sings from Ps. 148, "Let them praise the name of
the Lord: for his name alone is exalted." The congrega
tion or choir continues:
His majesty is above earth and heaven. He has lifted the horn
of his people, to the praise of all his saints, of the children of
Israel, the people near unto him. Halleluiah.
Next in order on Sabbath mornings, when seven men are
called and the divine law is thus heard seven distinct times,
is the 29th Psalm with its seven times recurring, "Voice of
the Lord." On all other occasions the 24th Psalm is spoken,
with its question, "Who may ascend the mount of the Lord"
(that is, the platform from which the Law is read), and the
answer, "He who is clean of hands and pure in heart."
Meanwhile the scroll is slowly carried back to the Ark, and
when this is opened the Germans speak the verse following
upon and corresponding to the one spoken when the scroll
was taken out, viz.:
(Num. 10: 36): And when it (the ark) rested, he would say:
Return, O Lord, with the myriads of thousands of Israel. (Then
Ps. 132: 8, 9, 10; Prov. 4: 2.) (Prov. 3: 18): She is a tree of life to
those who take hold of her, and those who grasp her firmly are
happy. (Ib. 17) : Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and her
paths are peace. (Lam. 5: 21): Draw us back unto thee, O Lord,
and we will return, renew our days as of Old.
The Sefardim recite only the first and last of these verses,
introducing them with two un-Biblical lines.
Other verses and petitions are found in the prayer books
as accompanying the scroll on its travels between the Ark
and the desk, some of which are omitted in one or the other
place; some are slurred over. Those copied above, and some
that are not, are found in the Treatise of Scribes, and this
alone contains the benedictions over the prophetic lesson,
a little longer than the one now in use and with parts of it
still in dispute.3
The formula for calling up by name must reaqh back at

THE LITURGY OF THE DESK 283
least into the twelfth century, for the Mahzor Vitry already
contains its poetic enlargement, by which on the "Joy of
the Law" the "Bridegroom of the Tora" (he who reads the
closing chapter) and the "Bridegroom of Genesis" (he who
reads ch. i : i to 2 : 3 from Genesis) are called to the desk,
after the most gushing compliments to the Law and to
them, with a threefold: Stand up! Stand up! Stand up! and
blanks for the name of the proom and of his father.

CHAPTER VI
THE FIVE SMALL BOOKS
There are five small books, composed at very different
dates, which are comprised under the name of the Five
Rolls (Mcgilloth) y the1 Song of Songs^Ruth;' Lamentations,
Ecclesiastes, and Esther. These have been allotted to five
seasons of the year, the Song of Songs to the Passover,
as the time when winter passes away, because of the verse,
"Behold the winter is gone;" Ruth to the Feast of Weeks,
as the time of the first-fruits, though it is really the time for
early wheat, and in the book of Ruth they are harvesting
barley; Ecclesiastes to the Feast of Huts (give a share to
seven, also to eight); and what is more natural and more
important, Lamentations to the Ninth of Ab and the Book
of Esther to Purim.
The three former books are read at the Synagogue on
some day of the respective Feasts, generally on a Sabbath,
without any benediction or ceremony, though it seems that
formerly a benediction used to precede them. Every man
reads from his own copy; no parchment scrolls are pre
pared; the reading takes place after the morning Prayer
and before the scrolls of the Law are taken out.
With Lamentations there is more ceremony. On the
night of the Ninth of Ab the leader chants them slowly
and plaintively; the last chapter is repeated with certain
interjections of woe and glosses which lead up to the dirges
that follow. In the Sefardic ritual the book is read again
in the morning service. The benediction, which is recom
mended by the "Treatise of Scribes" for Lamentations, as
well as for Canticles and Ruth, has long been dropped; it
(284)

THE FIVE SMALL BOOKS 285
would be too hard to give thanks for the occasion which
calls for such a lesson.1
But it is altogether different with the Book of Esther.
This is written out on a parchment roll with lamp-black
ink, in square characters, without vowels or accents, like the
Pentateuch; this roll is well-known as the Megilla.2 It is
read on the night of Purim after the evening service and
again in the morning after the "lesson" of the day from
the same desk. The reader says these benedictions before
he begins:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who hast
sanctified us by thy commandments, and hast commanded us to
read the Megilla. Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the
world, who hast done wonders for our fathers; in those days, at
this season. Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the
world, who hast let us live, and hast kept us up, and made us
reach this time.
The first and second (though not the third) of these
benedictions are again spoken in the morning before the
book is read.3
To render the recital of this book more solemn the people
break in at the following verses, reading them before the
reader: At verse 5 of chapter 2, in which Mordecai is
named for the first time4; at verse 15 of chapter 8, telling of
Mordecai's triumph, and again at the following verse: "The
Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor;" then at
verses 7, 8, 9, 10 of chapter 9, with the names of Haman's
ten sons; and at the last verse of the whole book, as they
do at the close of the Pentateuch.
After the book is finished the reader and the others pres
ent join in this benediction:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world; who
strives in our quarrel, and who judges our cause, and wreaks our
vengeance, and requites to all our enemies their just deserts, and
punishes our enemies. Blessed be thou, O Lord, who dealest out
punishment to Israel's enemies, the God, the Deliverer.1

286 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
This benediction and the following short piece (not yet
enriched by the fourfold rhyme) are found in the Treatise
of Scribes:
The lily of Jacob rejoiced and was glad, when all beheld the
rich blue of Mordecai. Their salvation was everlasting; their hope
reached through all generations. It was made known, that men
hoping to thee' shall not be put to shame; nor shall those who
trust in thee ever have to blush. Cursed is Haman, who sought
to undo me; blessed be Mordecai, the Jehudi; cursed Zeresh, wife
of him who troubled me; blessed Esther, my shield and shading
tree! Even Harbona be mentioned for good!
The reading of Canticles on the Passover and Ruth on
Pentecost is witnessed by the Treatise of Scribes as being
then a well-known custom, but they were read at night at
the home rather than in the Synagogue. Phrases from
Ecclesiastes are found in some of the Piyutim for the
Eighth of the Feast, and the Song of Songs is woven all
through those for the Passover; a good proof of the age of
these compositions. In the thirteenth century men were
yet divided, whether to read Ecclesiastes in the Hut or in
the Synagogue, nor had the proper time for Canticles been
fully decided.
The Book of Lamentations must have become the chief
lesson for the Ninth of Ab very soon after the last Temple
was destroyed. It had been written on a similar sad occa
sion at a time when the Hebrew language and the poetic
genius of the Jewish people were at their highest. No one
could write anything more sublime or soul-stirring than the
dirges ascribed to Jeremiah.
A Baraitha, which by its pure Hebrew seems to prove its
antiquity, says: On the Ninth of Ab it is unlawful to read
the Law, the Prophets, or the Holy Writings; but one reads
in the Lamentations, and in Job, and the sad parts of Jere
miah. As the former book is so short, when the habit to
read "in it" was once established, it must soon have ex
tended to reading the whole of it. To read Job is still the

THE FIVE SMALL BOOKS 287
custom among the Sefardim, but only chapters i, 2, 3, and
42 are read aloud at the Synagogue.8
While the Mishna is silent about the public reading of
the other four rolls, a whole treatise is named Megilla, after
the Book of Esther; the lessons from the Law and the
Prophets are treated in the latter part of the treatise as if
they were of lesser importance. In Jerusalem and other
cities that were already fortified in the days of Joshua, the
son of Nun, Purim is, as in Susa, kept on the 15th instead
of the 14th of Adar.7 When the month of Adar is doubled,
Purim is celebrated in the second month of that name.8
The benediction after the reading of the Megilla is said to
be a matter of custom; it should be recited or omitted
according to the usage of the country or town.

CHAPTER VII
THE INTERPRETER, OR METHURGAMAN
Nehemiah speaks in his last chapter of his efforts, which
must have been vain, to keep up among his compatriots
the classic idiom of Judea ?gainst the inroads of dialects
from the Philistian and Phoenician coast. Yet these dia
lects were at least Hebrew. Three hundred years later, in
the days of the Maccabees, the people of Judea no longer
spoke Hebrew; they used it in prayer, in the study of their
sacred law, and in writing poetry. Aramaic, infiltrated to
some extent with Hebrew and with Babylonian, in which
about one-half of the Book of Daniel is written, seems in
those clays to have been the spoken language of Judea.
Legal documents, such as marriage contracts and bills of
divorce, were drawn up in Aramaic. In Galilee the Phoeni
cian dialect of Hebrew may have held its own a little
longer, but the Aramaic of Syria crowded it out. In the
time covered by the Gospel narrative it seems that Aramaic
was the common language of intercourse, both in the north
and in the south, though many of the wealthier folk spoke,
and all men of education understood, the Greek language
also.1 Thus the Methurgaman, or Interpreter, came into the Syn
agogue. The Mishna, in speaking. of a person reading the
Law or Prophets at the desk, says: He gives out only one
verse at a time to the Methurgaman from the Law and not
more than three from the Prophets; where a verse treats of
a separate subject, then only that one verse; and it names
several passages from both which are "read but are not
translated."2 (288)

THE INTERPRETER, OR METHURGAMAN 289
The Methurgaman was not allowed to read from a book,
in order to keep the difference between the sacred text and
a translation clear in the minds of his hearers; but there
seems to have been no rule against his having a book at
home from which to study up the clay's lesson. His render
ing followed the tradition; it was governed by the Rab
binic schools, and it was a ready means for keeping in
the people's memory the accepted meaning of obscure pass
ages. Thus we find in the "Targum (translation) Onkelos,"
which is the authorized version, that the four species named
in Leviticus 23, to be handled on the Feast of Huts, are
"citrons, palm leaves, myrtles, and willows."
"Onkelos" is corrupted from Akylas, the Greek for
Aquila. A convert from Pontus by that name turned the
Bible into either Greek or Aramaic, while R. Akiba taught,
but long after public readings were in use. The older
writers always speak of Onkelos as the convert, identifying
him with Akylas; many modern writers believe that the
Targum which goes by his name is only the old tradition put
into writing by one or more unknown hands and not earlier
than the third century.3
The version is pretty literal, but in seeking to prevent
all misconceptions about God it gives him practically but
one name, placing the mark of the double or treble Jod,
which is read Adonai, not only for the Tetragrammaton,
but for Elohim. Where the latter word is used in a profane
sense, such as "the gods of Egypt," Onkelos turns it into
"the errors," that is, the idols. Where the Bible speaks of
God somewhat boldly, as if he came down or appeared
bodily, Onkelos interposes "the Word of" (Memra d') before
the Sacred Name. Only a few passages are paiaphrased
in a poetic vein, as by giving an allegoric meaning to geo
graphical names. The rule for the observant Jew is dur
ing every week to read the portion at home twice in text
and once in Targum; hence the latter is published in most
19

290 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Jewish editions of the Pentateuch, and it serves as a basis
for all commentaries.
A Targum of the eight prophetic books, ascribed to Jon
athan ben Uzziel, a survivor of the Temple, is more para
phrase than version; it is full of legend, and it accommodates
older events to the spirit of his own time. This, as far as we
can see, was used to accompany the prophetic lessons while
these were read with Targum, as shown by examples in the
Mahzor Vitry.
The lessons from the Law and the Prophets were thus
for centuries interspersed with an Aramaic version in all
those countries in which Greek was not the common
tongue, even when Aramaic was no longer spoken, and was
understood less than Hebrew. One of the Talmudic Sages
protested, saying: Let us have Hebrew and Persian in the
East, Hebrew and Greek in the West (i. e., in Palestine).4
The Grand Rabbis, bearing the title of Gaon, however, in
sisted to the last (1040) on reading with Targum, though at
their own home Arabic had for centuries been the only lan
guage of conversation. They claimed that Onkelos taught
the traditional meaning of the Tora, and was indispensable
on that ground. In many places an unreasoning conserva
tism holding on to usages that have outlived themselves
sustained the Gaons. In Yemen, at the date of this writing,
a boy stands by the desk, turning every verse as it is read
into the Aramaic of Onkelos.5 The Talmud itself does
not treat the reading of the Targum as obligatory in all
cases, as is seen by the rule already quoted from it, that
shorter prophetic lessons may be read where time is spent
in translation than where they proceed without it. The
Code of R. Joseph Karo flatly declares the public recital
of an Aramaic version as out of date, on the ground that
the people no longer understand it.6
In the thirteenth century the Jews of France, to judge
by the Mahzor Vitry, still heard the paraphrase of Jonathan

THE INTERPRETER, OR METHURGAMAN 291
read with the Haftara on Festivals in the old-fashioned way
after each verse of the original.
Attempts to introduce a running translation of the lesson
into some language other than Aramaic were made from
time to time, but these never led to a general or permanent
custom. Only within living memory congregations have
undertaken to read the Haftara in German, English,
French, etc., either in addition to or as a substitute for the
Hebrew text. The publication of printed copies of the
Bible has enabled those who are ignorant of Hebrew to
understand the lessons much better by perusal than they
could from listening to a Methurgaman. The Mishna
teaches that the Book of Esther may be read to "women
speaking another tongue" in that tongue, and the man who
reads it to them thus has discharged his own duty,
although he understands Hebrew and knows the square
writing.7 The modern standards follow the Mishna herein,
but a somewhat bigoted attachment to the old-fashioned
roll has nullified this permission. The women generally
preferred to hear the Book of Esther read from that roll
and get at the story at some other time by reading it or
hearing it read in an embellished paraphrase. Indeed, such
a paraphrase of the Pentateuch did for several hundred
years supply to them the place of a translator of the five
Books of Moses.
There have been and are some curious survivals of the
Methurgaman. We find from the Mahzor Vitry that at
its date it was the custom in France on the Pentecost to give
out the Targum after each of the Ten Commandments, and
moreover to introduce this rendition by a poem in the
same tongue. Thus to treat the most solemn part of God's
word looks to us like blasphemy, and we are glad that the
custom has gone out. But it has left its trace in the long
Aramaic poem (Akdamoth Millin), which is still chanted in
Synagogues of the German ritual on the first day of Pente-

292 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
cost after the first verse of the Law lesson, and in a short
poem in the same language, which is read in many Syna
gogues on the second day after the first line of the Haf
tara.8 Again, the Sefardim still read on the Ninth of Ab, after
every Hebrew verse of the Haftara (Jer. 8: 13 to 9: 23), a
Spanish version of the Aramaic paraphrase known as the
Targum Jonathan. Herein Jeremiah's thrilling words are
made to fit the second rather than the first destruction of
Jerusalem. His lament that "they have cast down our
dwellings" is turned into the complaint, destruyeron Ios ene-
migos todas las Sinagogas . y lugares de estudio (the ene
mies have destroyed all the Synagogues and houses of
study), which Nebuchadnezzar's soldiers could not have
done, as there were then none to destroy.
Greek stood on its own footing. The Alexandrians read
their services and lessons therein, most of them knowing
little or no Hebrew. A Greek scroll was as sacred to them
as that in holy tongue and character was elsewhere. A
Patriarch who held it unlawful to write versions of the
sacred books in other tongues held Greek editions to be
lawful. While versions of Esther in Coptic or Median
might be read only to those speaking the particular lan
guage, a Greek text might be read to the general public.9
But all this is ancient history without bearing on later
times. The great settlements of Greek-speaking Jews were
broken up, North Africa and Palestine became Arabic, and
the language of Homer and Plato, so much admired by the
Sages of Tiberias, became flat and stale in the mouth of
monks, pedants, and rabble, and was disfigured by Latin
and Slavonic admixture. Later Jewish writers would no
longer recognize in the Romaic of their time the language
of poetry, of learning, and of deep thought which their
ancestors had so highly prized.10

CHAPTER VIII
PREACHING
The Hebrew word for preaching means literally to
search, that is, to search the Scriptures. A sermon is called
Derasha, an act or the result of searching; a professional
preacher of the old stripe was known as a Darshan, some
times a Maggid, that is, one who tells, who strings out what
has in former chapters been defined as Haggada or Ag
gadta. But there has been preaching of dry law to the
exclusion of legendary lore and of sentimental interpreta
tion. Only in very modern times some preachers have
faithfully undertaken to draw good instruction and ennob
ling sentiment from the true and natural sense of Scrip
ture and from the highly poised moral teachings of the
Mishna.1 With many even in our days to preach means to
interpret Scripture in an ever new and ever varying and
vanishing fashion.
"The Sages teach that Moses already laid down the rule
that they should inquire and preach about the business of
the day, the rules of the Passover on the Passover, the rules
of Pentecost on the Pentecost, the rules of the Feast (of
Huts) on the Feast."2
As the lesson for the festival touched upon its laws, it
formed the readiest text for a sermon upon them, and if the
preacher was inclined rather to moralize, to rebuke, to com
fort, or to inspire with hopes, he could bring before his
hearers the legends and the free handlings of Scripture con
nected with the sacred day. On the Sabbath he had no
special laws to discuss, but he found a new text every week
in its portion from the Law or in the lesson from the
(293)

294 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Prophets. Here again the incident told in the Gospel of
Luke is instructive. When Jesus had finished the lesson
from Isaiah he immediately preached on the verses which
he had read. And an authority of the seventh or eighth
century (already quoted) speaks of shortening the Prophet
lesson when it is translated or preached upon. The Midrash
Rabba, that great store-house of Jewish homiletic lore, is
in the main a collection of seimon heads, many of which
are available to this day.3
The usual time for preaching is in the Synagogues of the
German ritual still, as it was when the Gospels or whdn the
"Treatise of Scribes" was written, either immediately after
the Prophet lesson with its benedictions, or a little later,
after the scroll has been returned to the Ark and before the
Additional. With the Sefardim the sermon is generally
put off till after the Additional, that is, to the very end of
the forenoon services. The wonder-working "Rebby" of
the Hasidim delivers his talks generally to a crowd gathered
round his table, and his talk is full of Cabbalistic lore;
he does not disdain the presence of outsiders (Misnagdim,
i. e., adversaries). In the night of Atonement Day it has
been usual for the Rabbi to rebuke sin and to preach repent
ance, but never on Friday evening or in the night service
of the Festivals; and this for two reasons, first, the women
did not attend; secondly, the men were not to be delayed
from the Sabbath or Festival supper, which was deemed
religiously more important than the exercises of the Syna
gogue. The great meetings held near the Babylonian schools on
the Sabbath before the Passover and a Sabbath before the
Day of Atonement have already been mentioned; they have
survived in the rule that a Rabbi ought to preach on the
"Great Sabbath," i. e., the one immediately preceding the
Passover, and on the "Sabbath of Repentance," if he does
not at other times. And many Jewish communities have

PREACHING 295
been satisfied with such a scant allowance of the "living
word." Even when preaching at stated intervals was
thought proper, a sermon once in each lunar month, on the
Sabbath on which the next New Moon is announced, was
deemed sufficient. The almost universal ability of men
and widespread ability of women to read books made
preaching less indispensable than it was among the more
illiterate Christians of the middle ages. In comparatively
modern times the travelling Maggid often attracted great
crowds of men only when his programme was "sharpness,"
that is, hair-splitting discussion of Talmudic problems; of
both men and women, when he proposed to speak in the
way of the Aggadta. The discourses of a speaker of this
class would run .on for two hours or more at a stretch, and
could not be wedged in between the two forenoon Prayers;
the audience would come on purpose in the afternoon to
hear him.
The problem, how to find proper preachers, confronted
the Jews of Germany and Austria (and to some extent of
England and America) most seriously in the first quarter
of tne nineteenth century. Many Jews in commerce or in
professional life and their wives and daughters had the
advantages of modern culture; they spoke the language of
their country with purity, often with elegance; they had
some slight knowledge at least of history and of science,
and expected the truths of religion to be illustrated from
these fields of human endeavor. But the Rabbis who
should have instructed them or kept religious feelings alive
in their breasts spoke nothing but an uncouth jargon, knew
nothing but Bible and Talmud, not even Hebrew Grammar,
and for that reason did not know even the Bible and Talmud
correctly. The old-fashioned Derasha would not suit the
leading members, but the Rabbi, or Maggid, was unable
to furnish any other mental food.
This difficulty has been in a great measure overcome in

296 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
all those parts of Europe in which laymen and women in any
great number are posses:ed of the culture of the day and
country. Rabbis and preachers are found who share it in
a like or even higher degree.

BOOK IV
Incidents and Ceremonies

BOOK IV
INCIDENTS AND CEREMONIES
CHAPTER I
POSTURE, SOUND, THOUGHT
The ordinary posture at worship is to sit. With a partial
exception in countries east of Palestine affected by Moslem
habits, the Synagogues are and ever have been fitted with
seats.1 The word "Amida" (Standing), applied to the
eighteen benedictions, and the term "seated," denoting
certain acts of worship outside of it, prove this, and stray
passages of the Mishna attest it.2 But while the congrega
tion sits, the leader in prayer, the reader of the lesson, those
who are "called" to the desk and virtually read their por
tions, the presiding officers who are at the desk during
the reading, and the preacher during his discourse, stand,
as do the priests, with hands uplifted before them, when
they impart the blessing.3
While some ascetics remain on their feet as long as they
stay in the House of God, the worshipper is required by
rule to stand only: first, while reciting the Amida, and
while the leader repeats the first three benedictions, includ
ing the Thrice-Holy; second, while he gives out the respon
sive parts of the service (Bless ye," etc., and the Kaddish),
and the mourners stand at their Kaddish; third, at the Psalms
of Praise on Feasts, New Moons, and Hanucca; fourth, at
the confession of sins; fifth, whenever the Ark is open, as
at the taking out and return of the scroll; but especially
(299)

300 JE WISH SER VICES IN S YNA GOGUE AND HOME
on the Festivals some passages, deemed more impressive,
are honored by the opening of the Ark, that the congrega
tion may stand up.4 Standing at a few other passages is
usual and enjoined by some of the standards, but it is not
deemed important enough for special mention.
During the lesson from the Law the people stand only
when the following passages are read: The Red Sea Song
(Exodus 15), the first version of the Decalogue (Exodus
20), the second version (Deuteronomy 5), the last three
verses of Deuteronomy; at these last all rise, reciting them
in chorus before the reader.5
When the worshipper stands in the Prayer, he turns his
face towards Jerusalem (at least if the Synagogue is built
with the Ark in that direction), in accordance with King
Solomon's words, "They will pray towards this House."
The Mishna, speaking of one who is journeying in a" boat
or on a raft, says, if he cannot turn his face towards the
Holy of Holies, he should turn his heart towards it. In the
Prayer the worshipper also stands in the most respectful
attitude, his feet close together; at its conclusion he steps
backward, like a servant in the presence of his master.6
He is guarded against disrespect from others; no one is to
sit down within four cubits; none should pass before him.'
Though the first verse of the Shema is the weightiest
part of the service, yet the worshipper need not rise when he
reaches it, but retains any respectful position he then occu
pies. Shammai's school thought that to fulfill the words of
the Law, "when thou liest down, and when thou risest," we
should read the Shema at night lying down and standing
up in the morning; but the school of Hillel, which prevailed,
relied on the words, "when thou sittest in thy house, and
when thou walkest by the way." (A deep moral underlies
this view; religion must be in and with us whatever we do.)8
Kneeling (unless for a few moments) does not now belong
to Jewish worship; it did when the Book of Daniel was writ
ten, for its hero prays thrice a day on his knees, and the

POSTURE, SOUND, THOUGHT 301
Talmud speaks of some great Rabbis who, when praying
in private, knelt and prostrated themselves." In the Tem
ple, when the High Priest three times, in the three confes
sions of sin, pronounced the otherwise unpronounceable
Name, the people "knelt and bowed down and fell on their
faces," which is still done among the Jews of the German
and Polish ritual when the Atonement service is recited.
They also suit the action to the word when, on Memorial
Day and the Day of Atonement, the words, "We kneel and
bow down," are reached, while the Sefardim on both occa
sions are satisfied with a curtsy.10
Bowing the head forward seems natural to a man in
devout supplication. But our Sages feared that frequent
bowing would degenerate into mock humility, and re
stricted the habit, so that one reciting the eighteen or seven
benedictions of the Prayer should bow the head only at
the beginning and close of the first (Fathers) and of the
last" but one (Thanks) ; following therein the warning in
Isaiah 58, "Is it to bend the head like a bulrush?"11
When the penitential Psalm is recited in public, men sit
and lean forward with the head resting on one arm, as a
mark of sorrow and remorse, much as they do in American
churches.12 The Jews all over the world have long had the habit (only
broken in upon by modern culture) of swaying the body
backward and forward at their devotions, justifying it by
the Psalm verse (35: 10), "All my bones shall say, my Lord,
who is like thee!" Among the several explanations of the
rise of this habit the most rational is found in the nervous
temperament of the Jew, who likes to speak with his whole
body, not only to God, but to his fellow-men.13
The covering of the head may be here mentioned. The
Bible tells us that the priests within the Tabernacle wore
miters and head-tires; in fact, the High Priest could hardly
be thought or even dreamed of without his miter.14 To the
people at large, men and women, as with the dwellers of

302 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Western Asia now, the head-cover was a matter of course.
A woman with uncovered head was deCmed immodest; a man
in like guise was in undress, like a European when in shirt
sleeves, or worse. If once in the Talmud the covered head
is spoken of as conducive to piety, it is simply because the
uncovered head was deemed slovenly and indecent. A Jew
would always put on his turban, made of a kerchief, when
he got out of bed, along with his belt and shoes or sandals.15
But to the Romans it was a matter of pride to brave sun
shine and rain with uncovered head. When they invaded
the Holy Land, the covered or uncovered head became a
badge of distinction between the Jew and the invading for
eigners; and so it was in Jewish settlements elsewhere. The
Romans also demanded of their Asiatic subjects that they
should, as a mark of respect, doff their headgear when
addressed by the representatives of. the Emperor.16
Hence when Paul of Tarsus set forth his views to
churches made up of Jews and Gentiles, intending to 'fuse
both elements into a new communion rather than a Jewish
sect like that over which James presided at Jerusalem, he
demanded that the men should sit in church with uncovered
head as the surest method of breaking the lingering tie
between the Church and the Synagogue.17 From this com
mand in Paul's Epistle comes the Christian custom, by
which the bare head alone is admissible in worship, or
wherever else respect is to be shown to anyone; probably
the lifting of the hat in salutation had its rise when Chris
tians meeting each other took it off as a mark of recogni
tion.18 Modern standards of Rabbinic law, written in or for
Christian countries, naturally forbade the performance of
any religious act or the reading of the Law with uncovered
head as being an imitation of. Christian custom. Perhaps
the writers did not know how this custom originated in hos
tility to the Synagogue, but they could not have been more
severe if they had known it.19

POSTURE, SOUND, THOUGHT 303
Bare feet have always been a mark of humility, proper
for those who stand on sacred ground, as is known to all
readers of the Bible; to this day Mohammedans always
enter the Mosque without shoes. But such is not the cus
tom of the Synagogue. Shoes are removed on the Day of
Atonement and on the Ninth of Ab, only because this is one
of the inflictions which belong to the fast.20 Indeed, in
old times to say prayers in bare feet was deemed suspicious
as the badge of a sect which looked on the "flesh" as de
praved, and sought to mortify it on all occasions.21
From posture and array we come to sound. The early
Sages assume that the words of the services are articulated,
not merely thought over, or read with the eye;22 but these
words need not be uttered loud enough for even the utterer
himself to hear them. In the Shema, the weightiest part of
the service, a sound loud enough for the reader's own ear
and a clear separation of the words are deemed meritori
ous,23 while for the Prayer tlie conduct of Hannah is
quoted as a precedent, "Her lips were moving, but her voice
could net be heard;24 yet God answered her." In the Syna
gogue the obligation of each person present not to disturb
the others is an additional reason for speaking the Prayer
in the lowest possible tones; the standards however make
some allowance for the supposed irrepressible warmth of
feeling on the Days of Memorial and Atonement.25 The
responses, such as, Amen, the answer to "Bless ye," the
Thrice-Holy, etc., should of course be given heartily by all
who attend public worship; "in assemblies I will give
thanks to the Lord," "the Majesty of the King is in the
multitude of people," are the words of Scripture. The
oldest line in our service of which the continuous use can
be traced, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good," etc.,
was always sung or shouted by all the people. Each of the
five paragraphs of the Kaddish ends, "Say ye, Amen," show
ing that a loud response was expected.26 Among the
majority of the Jews, those of the Polish branch of the

304 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
German ritual, responsive reading of the Psalms from the
prayer book has fallen into disuse through a fear that the
people might not listen attentively enough to the odd num
bered verses, which fall to the leader; everyone reads each
Psalm for himself, and lets the leader chant the closing
verses; the Germans proper have kept up the old and beau
tiful custom.
This brings us to musical treatment. Leaving modern
chorals out of consideration, there are great local differ
ences. The old, always Oriental congregations of Bagdad
and Cairo are satisfied with the simple chant of antiquity,
easily learned and rendered by any man with sound or
gans; they do not care for a professional to lead them
in prayer. The Sefardim of Europe and America' would
employ a Hazan, and ask from him some proficiency,
but as the congregation chimes in, and the phrasing is
highly monotonous, this proficiency could be readily ac
quired. But the Jews of the German ritual soon changed ,
the simple old sing-song of Asia into something more
European and more melodious; distinct airs were devel
oped for different parts of the service on the Sabbath
and on all the feasts and fasts, which airs could not be
rendered well except by men with good voices and
some musical training.27 The Hazan borrowed from his
Christian antitype the name' of Cantor, or "Vorsanger;"
the profession of the leader in prayer became more and
more musical; good Hazanim would travel from place to
place to attract crowds like opera singers or violinists. Old
established tunes were carefully handed down from age to
age, and the invention' of a new tune for some passage in
the service (especially for the "Fearful Days") became a
source of pride and fame. The skill to "arouse"28 was
especially valued; a good Hazan must have the capacity
to make his congregation weep in anguish or shed tears of
joy. In the east of Europe, in Poknd and Hungary, the

POSTURE, SOUND, THOUGHT 305
standard of good singing- was higher, and the desire to hear
the best performers more widespread and intense than in
Germany. The ways of these artists were in many respects
deplorable. While slurring over those parts of the service
which both for their contents and according to the Rab
binic law should never be spoken without devotion, they
dwelt with unending trills and roulades on some single
word or on unmeaning sounds between the words. The
peculiar chorus, made up of the so-called Meshorerim and
led by a "singer," or high tenor, and a base, did not sing
responsively, but only helped the Hazan in his coloratura,
and thus aggravated the abuse, and the remonstrances of
the learned, supported by the Shulhan Aruch, could not
repress them till the modern choir rescued the services of
the German and Polish Jews from their musical excres
cences, perhaps to lead to some new abuses worse than the
old.29 Now as to the frame of mind during services. Prayer,
praise,or thanks addressed to God should of course never be
put forth without devotion or at least without attention to
the words spoken and to their meaning. But can the wor
shipper keep his mind fixed upon all parts of the service
when it grows in length to one or two hours? If so, what is
the minimum of attention demanded from him? The
Mishna distinguishes between the reading of the Shema and
of the Prayer. One may recite the former while "walking
by the way," except the first two verses, which must be "on
thy heart," or matter of devotion; but a man must not even
enter upon Prayer but out of a serious mood.30 An old
maxim is recorded that Prayer should not be a fixed duty,
but a seeking for mercy,31 and the hours for Prayers are
more extended than those for the Shema, to give the wor
shipper time to reach the proper mood.32 And if he cannot
keep his attention alive throughout, he must hold it at least
while reciting the first benediction (Aboth), in which God's
attributes of mercy and his love for Abraham and his seed
are remembered.33

306 JE WISH SER VICES IN SYNA GOG UE AND HOME
Even the dry words of the written law require attention
to certain parts of the service. "That thou mayest remem
ber the day of thy going forth from Egypt," is not satisfied
by uttering words concerning it thoughtlessly. "Remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy," is not obeyed if in the
Kiddush or the night service we say, "Blessed be the Lord
who sanctifies the Sabbath," without thinking of the Lord
or of the Sabbath.
All this was well weighed when the Sages declared that
(the reading of) the Shema, the Prayer, and Grace after
meals might be recited in any language, for there can be no
devotion or thought in words which the speaker himself
does not understand.34
The worshipper is not in the frame of mind for prayer
when he is the worse for drink; in the words of our Sages,
who probably were thinking of heathen orgies, one who
prays while drunk is no better than an idolater.35 Nor
should one perform acts of worship while he feels the calls
of nature, nor while within the sight or smell of anything
which is filthy or indecent to behold.30
But aside from attention to the context there are "atten
tions" (Cavvanoth) of a subtler sort. Thus, in the "Hear,
O Israel," the word Ehad (One) is drawn out long, to give
the worshipper time to think of the One as filling and ani
mating the earth and heavens and the four regions around
him. In the next verse, "with all thy heart" means with thy
lower as well as thy higher impulses; "with all thy soul," even
if it costs thy life; "with all thy might," with all thy wealth or
means. Such and a few similar "plain meanings" are found
in the Talmud, and though our taste may reject them as dry
and undevotional, they can do but little harm.37 It is not
worth while to speak here of the still subtler "Cavvanoth,"
which are found in prayer books published by masters of
the Secret Lore.
The worshipper is not to interrupt his devotions by a
single word which does not belong there; the oldest

POSTURE, SOUND, THOUGHT 307
standard lays down the rule thus as to the Reading of the
Shema: In the middle (of a paragraph or benediction)
one may salute from fear, and return a greeting from respect
(to a superior) ; between the parts one may salute first from
respect, and may return any one's greeting.38 But as to the
Prayer the rule was more severe; for of the pious of olden
times it is said: Even if the King should greet one (while
at Prayer) he would not answer; a rule so harsh that the
Talmud in its comments upon it seeks to soften it in the
interest of security of life and limb.30
The modern codes have not lowered the rule against
interruptions; certainly talking in the Synagogue is not
good orthodoxy. In fact, the tenor of the services, not to be
broken by an outside word, has been much lengthened
since the hymns and Psalms for the morning were prefixed
to the Shema and cast into one recital with it, while the
joining of "Redemption" to "Prayer" leaves no gap where
to edge in a word during the greater part of the lengthy
morning service.40 And while the lesson from the scroll or
from the Prophets is read there is the same requirement of
silence and attention.41

CHAPTER II

THE TROPE

The Greek word rponrj (trope) for melody, sounded
"Tropp," has come in the jargon of the German Jews to
denote the musical reading of the Bible lessons from the
platform, while the Sefardim know only the Hebrew word
Negina (melody). The accents on which this melody
depends were invented two hundred years or more after
the vowel points, and are carefully attached to the whole
text of the Hebrew Bible upon a uniform system, only the
three poetic books, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, having their
own system, with which we are not here concerned. The
accents are found in almost every printed edition of the
Bible or of any part; not however in the parchment scrolls
made for use in the Synagogue. Most of them are put
under or over the tone-syllable of the word, and thus aid in
the right pronunciation. But their main office is performed
in other languages by punctuation. They are divided into
disjunctives of several degrees and conjunctives. Words
belonging very closely together are connected by a hyphen
(Makkif); only the last of the words thus joined has any
accent; thus the Makkif binds more closely than any con
junctive. Of the disjunctives the strongest are the Sof.
Pasuk, or Silluk, at the end of the verse. The division into
verses is well-known to the Mishna; hence, is much older
than the accents. Next in power is the Ethnah(ta), put under
the last word of half the verse. Next in power comes the
Segol, rather rare, marking off the first one-third of a verse ;
the Zakef Katon, which cuts the two halves of a verse into
shorter clauses; when a single word is such a clause, it has
(308)

THE TROPE

3°9

Zakcf Gadol; the Tifha is a divider near the end of the half
or whole verse.
The weaker dividers are Rebia, Pashta (which on a single
word may become Jethib), Zarka (only before Segol), and
Tebir (only before Tifha). Still weaker are Pazer, Telisha,
Geresh (which takes three shapes and names), and a con
junctive accent with a vertical stroke (Pesik) after the
word. The conjunctives are Munah, Mahpach, Mer'cha,
Telisha Kctanna, Kadma (the strongest conjunctive), and
Darga. Including four very rare marks there are twenty-
six in all.1
If the men who invented and applied this system were
right in their understanding of the text, they have, by pla
cing these accents as they did, contributed much to teach
later generations a correct interpretation of the sacred
books. A good illustration of this may be given from the
opening verse of Ezekiel's vision of the valley of bones
(Ezek. 37: 1):
"The hand of the Lord was upon me; Va-wtziem (there
took me out) With a conjunctive mark, Beruah (in spirit)
with a weak disjunctive, Adonai (the Lord); i. e., the Lord
carried me out in spirit, not in the flesh. The common
English Bible mistranslates, "and carried me out in the
spirit of the Lord," which conveys no sense.
The names of the accents have been strung together with
some repetitions in something like the order in which they
might occur in a long verse, except that Jethib Pesik are
put near the end to denote the cadence at the end of a lesson
or subsection.2
Each accent indicates a musical phrase, and when
grouped they make up something like a tune. And when a
verse is read by such tune, the grouping of the words ac
cording to the sense strikes the ear naturally.
They are, however, read musically in different ways. The
first distinction is between that of the Sefardim and that of
Germans and Poles. The former is very much like the old

3IO JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Oriental chant; it moves mostly within five tones, often by
chromatic intervals, while the latter moves over a wider
compass, is livelier, and more akin to European music.
Again, each branch of the Synagogue has its "trope"
for the Pentateuch, which is simple and does not express
much, if any, feeling; and a modification thereof for the
Haftara, or Prophet lesson, which is richer and somewhat
pathetic. The German Jews modify the prophetic trope
still further into a very sad air for the Book of Lamenta
tions and for the Haftara of the Sabbath preceding the Fast
of the Ninth of Ab. There is another variation for the Book
of Esther, brisk and defiant; and yet another among the
Germans for the Pentateuch lessons on the morning of the
Solemn Days. Some passages of the Pentateuch are read
to marching music: part of the Red Sea Song, the tribes an.d
their princes with their marching order in Numbers io,
and the journeys and stations in Numbers 33.
The music for the accents in the conventional order is
given in a note as chanted in the German ritual to the
Pentateuch lesson and to the Haftara; in the Sefardic ritual
as applied to the Haftara; also the first verse of Lamenta
tions in the Sefardic chant.3
The benediction before the Haftara is read so as to fit in
with its "trope;" many service books fit accents to it as
if it were a Bible verse. On the Solemn Days the benedic
tions before and after the reading from the Pentateuch are
chanted so as to fall in with the tune of the lesson.
The "trope" is generally learned by Jewish boys when
they are nearing their thirteenth birthday, and are to cele
brate their Bar Mitzva (see Bk. Ill, ch. Ill) by reading
the Sidra and Haftara for the first and alas! often for the
last time.
The accents are not noticed in reading any part of the
Bible except the Pentateuch, the lessons from the Prophetic
books, and the Books of Esther and Lamentations.
The time and place of the invention of the accents are

THE TROPE 31I
shrouded in obscurity, as much so as the time when the
vowel signs were contrived. But while the vowels are a
product of Galilee, the accents seem to have originated
among Jews who read Hebrew in the Sefardic style, if we
may judge by the secondary word-accent known as Metheg,
which is part of the system, and which helps to distinguish
the long from the short Kamets and thus to read correctly
from the Sefardic standpoint.4
But while the details are comparatively late, the general
habit of chanting the Bible rather than reading it in decla
matory style is probably as old as the use of Scripture in
public service. An early Talmudist said, "Whoever reads
(Bible) without pleasantness and teaches oral law without
song, of him Scripture says (Ezek. 20: 25): I also gave
them statutes that were not good."5
In fact, there is a particular sing-song in which Mishna
and Gemara are studied, wholly different from the trope in
any of its forms, but quite as characteristic.

CHAPTER III
FRINGES AND PHYLACTERIES
The fringed shawl and the phylacteries are a sort of uni
form which the good Israelite dons in the service of God.
According to the tradition the wearing of the fringes (Tzi-
tzith) as well as of the phylacteries is required only in day
time, and as women are not bound by positive commands
which apply only to some given time, they do not wear
either the fringes or the phylacteries.1
Towards the end of the 15th chapter of Numbers the
children of Israel are told that they make a fringe upon the
corner of their garments in their generations, and that they
put upon the fringe of the corner a thread of blue. The
Hebrew word, which is here rendered blue, does not mean
that color in general, but a blue dye stuff, which the Tyrians
used to obtain from a shell. This shell is no longer found,
perhaps only because it is no longer sought, and the latter
part of the command is in our days wholly neglected.2 In
Deuteronomy 22: 12 the people are told: "Thou shalt make
to thee cords on the four corners of thy garment." Tlie two
passages being construed together, it was inferred (1) that
no garment is bound to have either cords or fringes unless
it has four corners, neither more nor less; (2) that every
such garment should have both cords and fringes at each
corner, i. e., the four woolen threads which are run through
a hemmed hole near the corner are first wound and knotted
into a cord, and the eight ends are then allowed to hang
down loose as a fringe. The avowed object of the observ
ance is, that upon looking at the fringe with its blue thread
we should be reminded of God's commands, and not spy
(312)

FRLVllES AND PHYLACTERIES 313
after our eyes and our hearts, and be holy to our God, as
is recited twice a day in the third paragraph of the Shema.3
A shawl with the fringes is known as Talith (a word
probably derived from the Greek stole); it is worn in the
morning service by every man present, among the Sefardim
also by small boys; and though some worshippers may not
be provided with it, those having any functions, as the
leader in prayer, he who reads the lesson, the preacher, the
officers who stand by the desk, etc., always wear it. Before
putting on this shawl, the benediction is spoken, "Blessed,
etc., who hast sanctified us, etc., and commanded us to
wrap ourselves in the fringes."4
It seems that, with the disappearance of the proper dye
stuff of which to make the thread of blue, the wearing of
fringes for a while fell into partial disuse before the Rab
binic Jews adapted themselves to the new condition of
wearing the fringed shawl without blue threads, as they
were justified in doing under the teaching of the Mishna;
but ever since the eleventh or twelfth century such a shawl
has been generally worn. The Karaites have solved the
problem otherwise, by placing among the white woolen
threads a thread dyed in some common vegetable blue.5
It appears from the Mishna that while the distinction be
tween "Companions" and the "People of the Land" re
mained, the latter were not in the habit, or at least not in
the constant habit, of wearing fringes on their garments.
But it does not appear that any sect or school denied the
obligation to wear them. The failure to do so was simply
the result of indifference.6
The word phylacteries, found in the New Testament, is
only a Greek corruption of the Hebrew Tefillin. The Greek
word means "things that guard," as much as talismans or
amulets, which the phylacteries are not and never were.
The Hebrew word is derived from Tefilla, i. e., prayer, be
cause they were worn mainly during the morning devo
tions. The wearing of the Tefillin is commanded by four

314 JE WISH SER VICES IN SYNA GOGUE AND HOME
passages in the Pentateuch, Exodus 13: 1-10, ib.
11-16; Deut. 6: 4-9; 11: 13-21, all of which con
tain the words, "thou shalt bind them for a sign
on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between
your eyes." The word for "frontlets" is Totafoth in
Hebrew, which is also applied (in later writings) to bands
worn by women round the forehead by way of ornament.
Any derivation from African or other outlandish tongues is
fanciful and unscientific.7 The four passages, including in
each the above command, are written on strips of parch
ment, or continuously on one. strip; one copy is enclosed
in a leather box, which is put on the left arm above the
elbow, the other in a similar box, to be placed high up in
the middle of the forehead. For this purpose a loop is
attached to each box, through which long leather straps are
drawn. The strap for the arm is wound seven times round
the arm below the elbow and then round the hand and
fingers; that for the head is tied into a peculiar knot at such
a distance as to fit the head, and its two ends hang down
behind. There is some dispute as to the order in which
the four pieces for the phylactery of the head should be
arranged; in the phylactery for the arm the four passages
are written upon one strip in the same order in which they
follow each other in Scripture.8
Phylacteries are not worn on the Sabbath or the Festi
vals, because these are "signs" between God and Israel, and
no further sign is needed; the Sefardim and the sect of
Hasidim extend the same reasoning to the middle days of
the Passover and Feast of Huts, as the Unleavened Cake
and the Hut are sufficient signs.9
In "laying Tefillin," that for the arm is put on first, after
a blessing, "who hast commanded us to lay Tefillin;" then
those for the head, with the blessing, "who hast commanded
us about the duty of Tefillin." Then the strap of the phy
lactery for the arm is put about the fingers in a conven
tional way, while the verses from Hosea are recited, "I shall

FRINGES AND PHI 'LA CTERIES 3 1 5
betroth thee unto me forever: I shall betroth thee unto
mc in righteousness and justice, in kindness and in mercy:
I shall betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt
know the Lord."10
It is maintained by the Karaites and by many modern
Bible students that the commands to put or to bind certain
words upon hand or forehead were meant in a figurative
sense, and mean simply that these words should govern our
actions and our thoughts. This is however on two grounds
very improbable. Many of the nations which surrounded
Israel wore talismans inscribed with what were supposed
to be powerful charms, and these were well-known to the
Israelites. Hence they would naturally understand a com
mand to have certain words upon the hand or between the
eyes literally, and whoever wrote the passages in Exodus
or Deuteronomy must have known that they would be thus
understood. In the next place, in the two latter passages
it is also commanded to write the same words upon the
door-posts, and it is impossible to give a figurative sense
to this precept.
The author does not mean to say that the Biblical pass
ages in their natural sense mean that the whole of each
paragraph, including the very command to make it a sign
or to bind it. should be written out in full. It is admitted
that the duty "to speak of them," enjoined in the second
paragraph of the Shema, may be fulfilled by reading the
Ten Commandments, because they also teach the doctrine
of rewards and punishments; and similar substitutes might
be found for the duty of phylacteries as for the daily recital.
Nor does the Tora demand the wearing of these signs and
frontlets with any regularity at stated times. But those who
would otherwise have carried about them talismans in
scribed with incantations expressive of trust in subordinate
beings or invocations of heathen deities (as most men prob
ably did), were here directed: Turn your thoughts wholly
to the God of Israel, and let every scrap of writing that

316 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
you carry about you be witness to your undivided faith.
And in this sense the fourfold command may have been
fulfilled long before the modern phylactery (say in the
Maccabean age) was developed.11
The religious leaders in Israel, being once convinced that
the two passages in Exodus and the two in Deuteronomy
ought to be observed, and finding men here and there who
observed them, naturally sought to so interpret the words
of the Law as to establish a uniform custom. They had to
determine therefore how much is to be written of each pass
age, whether only in the Hebrew text, or whether it might
be written also in Greek or in some other tongue; in what
characters, on what material; whether the phylacteries
should be placed on the hand or on the arm, between the
eyes or higher on the forehead, and many other like par
ticulars.12 The Mishna denounces those who have round
instead of cubic phylacteries, those who gild them, who
bind them on the sleeve instead of the bare arm, etc., as
sectaries hostile to the traditions. A well authenticated
Baraitha speaks of those who do not wear phylacteries
while reading the morning service as bearing witness
against themselves when reciting the very command which
they break. This indicates that in olden times already the
Tefillin were worn mainly at prayer.13
However, as long as the schism between the "com
panions" and "the people of the land" prevailed, the latter
cared very little for the institution, and the former often
wore phylacteries all day.14
The Talmud claims immemorial custom (Halacha of
Moses from Sinai) for almost every feature of the Tefillin,
but admits that the black straps had, within times of
memory, not been universal, as a noted Sage of the Mishna
tied his own Tefillin with purple ribbons.*13
No contemporary writer earlier than those who furnished
the facts for the Gospel history speaks of the wearing of
phylacteries at all. But after the Talmud had once regu-

FRINGES AND PHYLACTERIES 317
lated the mode of making them, and enjoined the duty to
wear them, the custom seems to have taken firm ground
among all otherwise law-observing Jews, and there is no
proof that it ever fell into disuse for any length of time in
any great part of the dispersion except among the Karaites,
who reject the literal meaning of the four Biblical pass
ages.16 If it ever fell into disuse elsewhere, it was at any
rate fully re-established by Rashi, according to whose views
tlie writing in tlie phylacteries for the head, has been ar
ranged since his days. The diverging opinion of his grand
son Jacob, known as Rabbenu Tarn, has not prevailed any
further than that some over-scrupulous men "lay" Tefillin
of both kinds every day, to be sure of having done their
whole duty.17
To the Talmudists the fringed shawl and phylacteries,
enforced by the writing on the door-post, appeared like a
heavenly uniform; how can a man thus surrounded by all
that reminds him of God come to sin? Alas, he often
does.ls

CHAPTER IV
CEREMONIES ON YEARLY OCCASIONS
Among the yearly or great occasions the priestly bless
ing, given in form, must now be reckoned, for it is in our
days imparted only on the seven Biblical festivals doubled
into thirteen; arid in many Synagogues not on one of
these days when it happens, on a Saturday, lest more honor
be shown to a festival than to the Sabbath.
A Cohen who has ever killed a human being, or has ever
worshipped idols, or who has on that morning drunk wine
or strong drink in sufficient quantity to affect him, must
not stand among those who bless; nor a cripple or hunch
back, nor one whose hands are swollen or crippled or dyed
a sharp blue, lest the attention of those present be dis
tracted. Otherwise every Cohen over thirteen years of age
is competent. Those who are incompetent for the above
reasons, or who deem themselves unworthy, should leave the
Synagogue before the leader gives the signal in the bene
diction Aboda (see Bk. II, ch. VII); for otherwise they
would violate the positive command of the Law (Num.
6: 23), "Thus ye shall bless the children of Israel."1
The "priests" take off their shoes. A basin and pitcher
are provided, and the Levites, or if there are none, the first
born who are present in the Synagogue, step with the
"priests" into an anteroom or court, and pour water over
their hands. The latter step upon the platform before the
Ark, say the benediction prescribed for them (Bk. II, ch.
VII) with their faces towards it, and then, with their fringed
shawls over their heads, turn to the congregation with their
hands held before their faces in a traditional manner; that
(318)

CEREMONIES ON YEARLY OCCASIONS 319
is, the two thumbs brought tip to tip, the second and third
fingers of each hand held straight up and together, and the
fourth and fifth fingers separate from these and likewise
joined. Each word is sung out for them by the leader from
a book before him; they sing it after him in his tune, which
differs according to tlie festival; the last word in each of the
three blessings is dwelled on pretty long to give time to
repeat a prayer recommended in the Talmud to those who
are troubled by a dream.2
The leaders, in the "Additional" on the first clay of the
Passover who pray for fertilizing dew, and on the Eighth
of the Feast who pray for rain, are supposed to plead
before God as on the Day of Judgment; hence they put on
the white shroud with linen cap to match as on the Solemn
Days, the days of judgment, and they chant the Half Kad
dish with which the Additional service begins in a tune bor
rowed from the Solemn Days.3
On the Day of Memorial we have the most striking o£
all the ceremonies, the blowing of the Cornet. The Cornet,
or Shofar, is a ram's horn without metal mouthpiece; it
must be sharply bent at the broad side near the base of the
horn so as to double the column of air. Putting this horn
obliquely to the lips and blowing with sufficient force brings
out a clear, deep note, something near the A on the top line
of the score in the base clef; blowing with greater effort
gives the fifth above. Only these two notes are used.
In speaking of the silver trumpets Scripture distin
guishes "blowing," or rather "sounding," simply and pro
ducing alarm sounds. By tradition the former, or Teki'a,
means two long notes, the lower first, then its fifth, each
sustained for at least two seconds. The "alarm sound"
requires notes of only one-third of this length; each of these
is supposed to be equal to three of the shortest notes that
can be blown. Each alarm sound has been always intro
duced and followed by a Teki'a. It was thought that there
should be three alarm sounds; this would make nine sound-

320 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
ings altogether, and Mishna and Talmud speak throughout
of the duty to hear nine soundings from the cornet in the
indicated order.
Afterwards doubts arose whether slow "breaks" (She-
barim), like A e A e A e, each note about two-thirds of a
second, or a greater number of much shorter notes (A A
A A A A A A e), the latter being called Teru'a in the nar
rower sense, were the truest alarm sounds; and to solve all
doubts the following scheme was adopted, in which the
combination of both alarms is put first:

Teki'a

Shebarim-Teru'a

Teki'a

Teki'a

Shebarim

Teki'a

Teki'a

Teru'a

Teki'a

These were still considered to be only nine soundings.
The Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, in speaking of the
Shofar-blowing on the Day of Memorial, always connect it
with the fourth, fifth, and sixth benedictions in the "Addi
tional" (Bk. II, ch. XI); the "second (i. e., the leader in the
Additional) causes the blowing;" and the more learned,
knowing this, consider the "standing cornet sounds," that
is, those emitted during the Prayer, as the most solemn and
important. In the Sefardic and West German Minhag
they are rendered as in the above scheme, with Shebarim-
Teru'a after the "Kingdoms," Shebarim after the "Remem
brances," and Teru'a after the "Shofars;" while in Eastern
Germany and Austria-Hungary Shebarim-Teru'a is sounded
after each benediction.4
But from a passage of the Jerusalem Talmud, now lost,
though attested by several medieval writers, it appears
that the whole scheme was at an early day felt to lack one
element: there was no opportunity to render thanks in the
common form for the performance of duty, nor for the good
luck of having lived to reach the occasion; for the Prayer
could not be interrupted for such a purpose; henc'e the "sit
ting cornet sounds," that is, blowing outside of and before

C ER EM( ) NIES ON YEARLY OCCA SIONS 3 2 1
the additional Prayer, were introduced. The man chosen
to blow the cornet, after the Prophet lesson and after a
Psalm (such as 47) or appropriate verses have been read,
chants slowly:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who hast
sanctified us by thy commandments, and hast commanded us to
hear the sound of the cornet. Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God,
King of the world, who hast let us live, and kept us up, and hast
made us reach this season.
And he then blows each of the three lines above given
three times, upon words of command given by some promi
nent member.
The form of the benediction was still in doubt in the
twelfth century — should it be "to hear" or "to sound?" It
was settled as above by R. Jacob Tam; his decision is
approved by Maimonides, who speaks of these "sitting
sounds" as a fully established custom.6
The last command given is "Great Sounding" (Teki'a
gedola), and in response the performer brings out louder
and longer notes; he then sa}^ the verse:
(Ps. 89: 16) "Happy the people who know the alarm
sound, O Lord, they walk in the light of thy countenance."
The people repeat this after him, and the ordinary service
proceeds. Thus the Synagogue fulfills the command to
make the first of the seventh month a day of alarm sound.
In the Temple the two silver trumpets were sounded along
with the ram's horn; hence (or by reason of) the verse,
"With trumpets and the sound of the cornet make a joyful
noise to the King, the Lord."
The performer on the Shofar must, to satisfy the feeling
of the community, be a man of piety and good conduct; a
very correct principle, which, however, has its drawbacks;
first, because it leads to much ill-natured criticism of those
chosen to blow the cornet; second, because it throws the
task often on men ill-qualified to perform it, who, by their
unsuccessful efforts to get the right notes or any notes out

322 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
of the Shofar, bring into ridicule a ceremony which is
intended to be solemn and awe-inspiring.
The Day of Atonement is brought to an end in the Ger
man ritual with a single Teki'a, among the Sefardim with
the four soundings of the first line. This is nowhere pre
scribed as a duty, but is simply a reminiscence of the cornet
sounds which in the year of Jubilee proclaimed liberty to
the land.0
The feature of the services on the Feast of Huts is based
on a verse in Leviticus 23, which, rendered according to
its traditional meaning, reads thus:
"Ye shall take unto yourselves upon the first day the fruit
of the citron tree and branches of palms, and the twig of a
myrtle tree and willows of the brook, and ye shall be glad
before the Lord your God."
The tradition also teaches that there is one citron
(Ethrog), and one palm leaf in its natural folded state
(Lulab), three twigs of myrtle of the species which has the
leaves in whorls of three, and two willow branches. The
citron is held separately in the left hand, the branches are
tied together with strips of palm leaf. Scripture speaks
only of the first day, but there is a custom which has come
down from the days of the Temple of shaking the Lulab
(the word is applied for short to the four elements) on the
seven days of the Feast of Huts.
But the Shofar is not blown and the Lulab is not handled
on the Sabbath, for reasons which it would lead us too far
to explain. When the first day of the New Year and of the
Feast of Huts is on Saturday, both of these ceremonies are
adjourned to Sunday.
The festive bunch is to be coupled with gladness before
God, hence with reading of the Hallel Psalms (Bk. II, ch.
XIII). The "first," i. e., the leader in the morning Prayer
and whoever beside him is in possession of a Lulab and
Ethrog say, before beginning Hallel, the following benedic
tions:

CEREMONIES ON YEARLY OCCASIONS 323
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who hast
sanctified us by thy commandments, and hast commanded us about
the handling of the Lulab. (Adding on the first day) Blessed be
thou. O Lord, our God, King of the world, who hast let us- live,
and kept us up, and made us reach this season.
To fulfill the command every one who has a Lulab and
Ethrog then moves them up and down to the right and left
and to the fore and aft, in acknowledgment of God's omni
presence. Hallel then proceeds; the same motions are made
again at the first four verses of Psalm 118 ("for his mercy
endureth forever") at the line, "We beseech thee, O Lord,
save now," and again at the last verse, "Give thanks unto
the Lord, etc., for his mercy."
The command as to the four species has been carried out
in substantially the same manner as it is now as far as any
tradition or testimony reaches back; the Karaites, however,
point to Nehemiah 8: 15 as showing that the four species
should be employed in building the Flut, and not handled
separately, as they are by the Rabbinical Jews.
Those who have no "four kinds" of their own, borrow
them from others or from the congregation; but on the first
day every man ought to have a proprietary interest in those
which he handles.7
The Hosanna hymns on the Feast of Huts have been
mentioned among the later' poetry (Bk. II, chs. XVII and
XVIII). Right after the repetition of the Additional the
leader takes a scroll from the Ark with the invocation
Hosha'na; those who have a Lulab range themselves behind
him in procession, and they walk slowly round the plat
form, singing the Hosanna hymn for the day. On a Sat
urday he makes the circuit alone, or stands still. On the
seventh ofthe Feast (the Great Hosanna, or Hosha'na Rabba)
all the scrolls are taken out, and seven circuits are made
through the whole Synagogue, a separate hymn being sung
each time, and different men carrying the scrolls on each
circuit. The Cabbalists have, in modern times, taken hold

324 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
of the seven circuits by choosing a verse with the appro
priate Sephira to recite after each of six, while the verse,
"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness," from i Chron. 29, is
recited after the seventh circuit as embodying all of the
seven lower Sephiroth. The older standards, such as the
Mahzor Vitry, know nothing of all this.
After these circuits a new implement, peculiar to this day,
comes into play, the willow bunch, made up of five small
willow twigs, familiarly known as the Hosha'na. Like
everything else that distinguishes the seventh day from
the other middle days of the Feast of Huts, this bunch,
made of five small twigs, tied together with strips of willow
bark or palm leaf, cannot be traced to any Biblical source.
The celebration is drawn from the great national holiday
of the second Temple, the "Joy of the Water Fetching,"
which the Mishna describes as Laving exceeded all other
entertainments of the world in its intensity of delight. In
this celebration those who made circuits around the altar
carried willow bunches. As little as is left of all this, we
cannot forget that the authors of the Calendar laid so much
store by this holiday that they would push all the feasts
forward by one day rather than let it fall on a Sabbath, and
thus interfere with the exercises.
The willow bunches are tied up the night before; in the
morning they are taken to the Synagogue. After the seven
circuits with the scrolls and palm leaves round the platform,
a few more poetical prayers are recited, among them
one full of Messianic hopes: "A voice brings news, brings
news and says" (see Bk. II, ch. XVII). At last, with a
petition for forgiveness of sins, each worshipper strikes his
bunch a few times on the desk before him and throws it
away; a poor remnant, indeed, of the merry processions of
the "Water Fetching House." The Cabbalists have given
this day a new meaning: the judgments enrolled on New
Year and sealed on Atonement Day are sent out by divine
messengers into the world. This is certainly a very dif-

CEREMONIES ON YEARLY OCCASIONS 325
ferent character from that which the Willow Day bore in
old Jerusalem.8
On tlie last day of the Feast, the "Joy of the Law" is
often celebrated in a rather boisterous manner. In the
countries of the Polish Minhag the scrolls are taken out
near the end of the evening service, which is contrary to
all rules observed at other times. They are carried about
in procession, all the little boys following with paper flags;
representing the twelve tribes, singing as prescribed for
the next morning, while the ladies in the gallery throw
nuts and candies among them. As a further deviation from
sober rules, a scroll is sometimes opened, and any passage
at random that is flattering to children (e. g., the blessing of
Ephraim and Manasseh) is read, "all the boys" in unison
saying the benediction.
In the morning it is regular to take out the scrolls of the
Law, leaving a candle in their place in the Ark. A proces
sion is formed by the leader, the men carrying scrolls,
while all sing:
We beseech thee (Anna), O Lord, save now!
We beseech thee, O Lord, give success now!
We beseech thee, O Lord, answer us when we call!
This is varied by an alphabet of names for God, put in
the place of, "We beseech thee, O Lord," with the same
three petitions. When the procession has walked round
the platform, other men are called with profuse compli
ments to carry a scroll during the next circuit (Hakkafa),
and the merry song goes on. When the song is ended, all
but three of the scrolls are replaced, and the regular read
ing begins. A Cohen is first called "with all the priests;"
they all come to the platform and say the benedictions
together; then a Levite is called "with all the Levites."
Then others are called, have short passages read to them
in chapter 33 of Deuteronomy; these same passages being
read over and over again, until none are left uncalled but

326 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
the three needed to finish Deuteronomy, to read in Genesis,
and to act as Maftir, or until the patience of the meeting is
exhausted. The last called before these three is requested
to "stand up with all the boys," and all the boys under thir
teen come as near as they can to the desk, and join with
him in the benedictions.9 At the last three verses of Deuter
onomy all rise and read them before the reader; and so
again in Genesis all chime in, "There was evening and
there was morning," six times, and again in the three
verses about the Sabbath of Creation.

BOOK V
The Jewish Home

BOOK V
THE JEWISH HOME
CHAPTER I
MINIAN at the house
The liturgy which has been analyzed in the Second
Book, excepting only the responsive parts, such as, "Bless
ye," or the "Kaddish," or the "Thrice-Holy," and some of
the lesser prayers for "this congregation," are just as much
intended for the individual at his home as for those who
meet at a common place of worship; in fact, taking all the
days of the year together, much more is recited in private
houses than in the Synagogue.
But there is an occasion when services must be, another
when they are likely to be, carried on at the house; the
former is the week of mourning, the latter the anniversary
of a father's or mother's death. The former is known as
Shib'a (Seven), the latter among the Jews of the German
ritual as Jahrzeit (anniversary), no Hebrew term having ever
been contrived for it; among the Sefardim, as Nahala (inheri
tance). Deep mourning is kept for father or mother, son
or daughter, brother or sister, husband or wife. The ob
servance of the anniversaries of death is a very modern
institution, in all likelihood not quite three hundred years
old.1 Deep mourning, or "sitting Shib'a," involves staying at
home, generally in the house in which the death took place,
for nominally seven days after the burial. It is carried on
(329)

330 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
in honor of father or mother, husband or wife, son or
daughter. (Before the burial the kindred on whom the duty
to bury rests are absolved from reading the Shema and the
Prayer, and from the observance of all ceremonies what-
over.)2 The part of a day counts for a whole day, and the
Sabbath is free. Thus,if a funeral takes place on Wednesday,
the mourners "sit" during the afternoon service of that day,
the evening service that follows, all Thursday, Friday dur
ing morning and afternoon services; attend at the Syna
gogue on Friday night, and Saturday in the morning and
afternoon; they "sit" again on Saturday night, all Sunday
and Monday, and Tuesday morning during the services,
and for one hour thereafter. We deal here only with the
length of time during which the mourners are confined
to the house, not with the customs which they otherwise
observe. While they cannot go to the Synagogue, it be
comes the duty of their friends and neighbors to come to
them, to "make up Minian," that is, the lawful number of
ten adults, at the home; so that they may have the privileges
of a responsive service, above all that of reciting the Kad
dish, which in the last three or four hundred years has
taken such strong hold of the Jewish heart.3
The services at the house during the "seven days" differ
from those on other occasions; thus, Hallel (on Hanucca or
New Moons), the outbreak of exultant joy, is omitted as
unbefitting the newly bereaved widow and child or parent.
Nor is the lesson from the Law read; for the study of the
Tora is a pleasure in which those in deep mourning may
not join.
For a similar reason the Psalms for the days of the week
(see Bk. II, ch. XIII) are omitted, and in the place thereof
some Psalm of comfort to the weary (16 or 49) is read. The
old custom was also to leave out the Red Sea Song from the
morning hymns and to substitute for it Moses' Song of
Warning (Deut. 32); and this is still the rule with the Se
fardim, as well on this occasion as on the Ninth of Ab.

MINI. IN A T THE HO USE 33 1
On the other hand, the penitential Psalm, with all its inci
dents and surroundings (including those for Mondays and
Thursdays), is omitted; for the grief of the mourners is not
to be aggravated by the sorrow of the community for its
sins, nor by its plaints over undeserved sufferings. Lastly,
in the Kaddish after the Prayer, which elsewhere is read
complete, the third paragraph (May our prayer, etc.) is
omitted, so that it does not differ from the Mourners' Kad
dish (Bk. II, ch. V). In fact, the latter has probably grown
out of this omission.
The shorter period of seven days is met with in the 50th
chapter of Genesis, where Jacob's descendants weep near
his grave for his loss; the longer period of thirty days is
prescribed as a rule in Deut. 21: 13, and found illustrated,
Deut. 34: 8, in the mourning of all Israel for Moses. The
Mishna recognizes both periods, but hardly anything other
than shaving is forbidden during the "thirty." While the
Sabbath only interrupts the "seven," the three Festivals, if
they happen three days or more after the funeral, stop both
the "seven" and the "thirty," and at all events the former.
The Eighth of the Feast counts as a new Festival for this
purpose. The Sages, though prescribing seven days,
thought that really three days of deep mourning were
enough, and according to Scripture perhaps even one day.4
The Days of Memorial and Atonement, though at first
treated like a Sabbath, as only interrupting the "seven," by
the rule now in force put an end to them.5
The prayer meeting on anniversaries stands on wholly
different ground. Those who honor the memory of a father
or mother at such a time may go to the Synagogue; if
"Minian" is gotten up at a private house it is either as a
mere matter of convenience, or because one of those con
cerned would like to act as leader in prayer, and might not
be allowed that privilege in public. But the order of service
is exactly the same as at the Synagogue. Nothing is left
out, nothing added. If a scroll is at hand, the lesson is read;

332 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
if it is New Moon, they read Hallel. It is usual, either after
or before the service, to read and translate a few sections
of the Mishna, in order to give occasion for the Kaddish
of the Rabbis (see Book II, ch. V).
Another occasion for services at the home is a wedding,
when celebrated in the afternoon. If there are ten men
present, Minha is read before the ceremony. It being an
occasion of joy, the penitential Psalm is of course omitted.
As those present are supposed to be impatient, the service
is shortened as much as possible; the Prayer is at once read
aloud by the leader as far as the Thrice-Holy, the rest of it
silently by all.
A Jewish wedding in its modern form is made up of two
parts, which anciently might be separated by days, months,
or years — the betrothal and the marriage proper. The
former, whether by ring or by written contract, is a legal
act, not a devotion or service; the marriage proper con
sists only of this, that groom and bride, standing together
under a canopy which represents their future home, drink a
cup of wine together.
The following seven benedictions are spoken before they
drink it:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, Creator
of the fruit of the vine. Blessed be thou, etc., who hast created
everything to thy glory. Blessed be thou, O Lord, etc., Maker
(literally, shaper) of man. Blessed, etc., who hast shaped man in thy
image, in the image of thy likeness, and prepared for him perpetual
succession out of himself: blessed be thou, O Lord, Maker of
man. Let the barren one rejoice and shout, when her children
are gathered with her in gladness: blessed be thou, O Lord, who
gladdenest Zion with her children. Gladden, O gladden the be
loved friends, as thou didst gladden of old thy first-made man in
Paradise: blessed be thou, O Lord, who gladdenest groom and
bride. Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who
hast created joy and gladness, groom and bride, rejoicing, song,
mirth, and pleasure; love and brotherhood, peace and friendship;
may soon, O Lord, our God, (Jer. 33: 11) be heard in the cities of
Judah and streets of Jerusalem the voice of the groom and the

MINIAN AT THE HOUSE 333
voice of the bride, the jubilant sound of grooms from their cham
bers and of young men from their feasts of song; blessed be thou,
O Lord, who gladdenest the groom with the bride.
These benedictions are found in the Talmud substan
tially, but not literally, as they stand now.0
About the services at death we need state only one fea
ture, which is common to all Israel; it is the desire of every
good Israelite to die with the words, "Hear, O Israel, the
Lord our God, the Lord is One," upon his lips, and those
who surround him join him therein, and repeat the words
when he can do so no longer.
Rabbi Akiba, when put to death amid horrid tortures,
expired with these words in his mouth. Before the sev
enth century this custom must have become general among
the Jews of Syria and Arabia, for from it the Moslems
learned to die with the words, "I am witness that there is no
god but God."

CHAPTER II
WHAT CHILDREN LEARN FIRST
The Mishna teaches that children should, at the age of
five, begin to read the Bible. This rule is still carried out
literally in the training of hundreds of thousands.1
One of the first verses learned by the child as soon as he
can talk is Deut. 33: 4, "Moses commanded us the Law, a
heritage to the congregation of Jacob." "Hear, O Israel"
goes with it, or soon follows,2 and a few short benedictions,
among these that upon washing the hands either on rising
from bed in the morning or that before meals, then the
short grace before eating bread:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who
bringest bread forth from the earth (cmp. Ps. 104).
Also similar benedictions before eating fruit, "Blessed,
etc., Creator of the fruit of the tree;" before partaking of
milk or other animal food and all beverages other than
wine, "Blessed, etc., by whose word all things came into
being." But where a meal begins with a morsel of bread,
the benediction over that covers everything else. It is not
worth while to enumerate here all the other benedictions
before varying articles of food or enjoyments.
The Talmud seeks in vain for any Biblical passage that
requires us to bless God before partaking of food, and con
tents itself -at last with resting the duty to do so, which was
already fully accepted, on grounds of reason or natural re
ligion.3 Children also learn to speak their benediction at lightning
and thunder, which helps to keep them from superstitious
(334)

WIIA T CHILDREN LEARN FIRST

335

fears, and to bless God when they get new clothes, in the
words in which a festival is received (Who let us live, and
kept us up, and made us reacn this time).4
Children are also taught separately some of the Bible
verses in the "Reading of the Shema at the Bed," such as
Ps. 31: 6 or Ps. 121: 4 and Gen. 49: 18, but are at an early
age led to recite the whole or a great part of it. It follows
here in full, except as far as reference is made to Bible pass
ages or to earlier parts of this work.
A passage of the Talmud, already quoted for the bene
dictions upon awaking and rising, recommends the follow
ing devotion upon retiring to bed:
The first paragraph of Shema (Deut. 6: 4-9) and this bene
diction :
Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who
layest the bonds of sleep on my eyes and slumber on my eyelids
[and who givest light to the pupil of my eye]. Be it thy will, my
God, to let me lie down in peace;1' [lead me in the path of duty,
not in the path of law-breaking; do not lead me into sin, into
wrong, into temptation, or into contempt] ; [may the good, not
the evil impulse rule over me, and deliver me from evil happenings
and from grave sickness] ; may evil dreams or evil musings not
disturb me. May my couch be perfect in thy sight; and illumine
my eyes, lest I sleep the death. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who
lightest up the whole world with thy glory."
The Germans leave out the parts in brackets, and only
say, "and let me rise in peace" at *. The second bracketed
passage is omitted in the Sefardic Prayer Book also. In
practice the benediction is placed before the verses from
Deuteronomy, in analogy to the evening service.
In the older Prayer Books of the Sefardim the night
prayer is made up only of these pieces and of the last verse
of Ps. 90, followed by all of Ps. 91, as in the Saturday even
ing service (Bk. II, ch. XIII), and Psalm 3, without the
title heading, which, being taken from the history of David,
would here be out of place. Both Psalms are highly appro-

336 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
priate, Psalm 91 by reason of the verse, "Be not in fear of
the terrors of the night or of the arrow that flieth by day,"
the other for the line, "I lie me down and sleep; I awake,
because the Lord holdeth me up."
Tbe German ritual adds further the benediction, "Let us
lie down," from the evening service (see Bk. II, ch. Ill),
but without the "sealing," as to repeat this here would be
deemed a "vain benediction;" next, the third benediction
("Blessed be the Lord by day"), which the Germans add in
the work-day evening service (Bk. II, ch. XV), also without
the sealing, or close. The important part here is the verse
(Ps. 31: 6), "In thine hand I commit my spirit; thou hast
redeemed me, Lord, God of truth;" a verse which is especi
ally recommended in the Talmud as a sufficient night prayer
in itself.6 Then come a few verses from different books,
the first of which has, in Germany proper, obtained the
undeserved prominence of being about the first thing for
children to learn and to repeat (Gen. 48: 16), "The Angel
who has redeemed me from all evil bless the lads! etc."
Exodus 15: 26, which follows next, is more appropriate;
Zech. 3: 2 (And the Lord said to the Adversary), not so;
while Cant. 3: 7, 8 (Behold the litter of Solomon) seems
especially ill-chosen; for Solomon, as here said, relied
upon sixty armed soldiers rather than on divine help
"because of the fear in the night." Next comes the priestly
blessing (Num. 6: 24, 25, 26), which children thus learn to
memorize while very young, and then the two most im
portant lines of all (each to be said thrice) :
(Ps. 121: 4) Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither
slumber nor sleep.
(Gen. 49: 18) For thy salvation I have hoped, O Lord.
(This makes three words in Hebrew.)
At this point the Cabbalists left their mark, first, by fol
lowing up the given order 1, 2, 3 of these words, with the
inversions, 2, 3, 1 and 3, 1, 2; next, by this invocation:

WHA T CHILDREN LEARN FIRS! 337
In the name of the Lord, the God of Israel! at my right hand
is Michael, at my left hand Gabriel; before me Uriel, and behind
me Rafael; and over my head the presence (Shechina) of God.
Then follows Ps. 128, the praise of labor and content
ment, and lastly a verse also recommended in the Talmud
(Ps. 4: 5), after which there should be no further talking:
Stand in awe, and sin not.
Speak to your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.'
In many prayer books the poem, "Lord of the World"
(see Bk. II, ch. XVIII), is either reprinted or referred to
at the end of the devotions on retiring to bed, its last couplet
being drawn from the Psalm verse, "In thine hands I com
mit my spirit."
Pious Jewish parents take particular pains in training
their children to say, "Blessed be he and blessed his name"
(Baruch hu u-baruch Shemo), whenever the father has pro
nounced the first three words of a benediction, and "Amen"
at its close, for which occasion will be shown in the following
chapters.8 And as the. youngest child at the table has to
ask "the questions" on the Passover night, they naturally
form one of the first reading lessons.
The lighting of the lamps or candles on the eight nights
of the Hanucca also belongs here, as it is quite usual in
old-fashioned homes to furnish to each boy his own set of
them, one for the first night, two for the next, and so on to
the eighth, beside the "servant," with which the others are
lit. The lamps or candles are set near a window, where
people on the street may see them, soon after dark before
the streets are deserted, all to "publish the miracle." Before
lighting them the following benedictions are chanted, the
third naturally only upon the first night:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who hast
sanctified us by thy commandments, and commanded us to light
the lamp of Dedication (Hanucca). Blessed, etc., who didst work

338 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
miracles for our fathers, in those days, at this season. Blessed, etc.,
who hast let us live, and kept us up, and made us reach this time.
A song (Ma'oz Tzur) follows to a well-known tune, which
for lack of space is here omitted.

CHAPTER III

THE meal

The important acts of Jewish home life cluster round
the meal; the short blessing before it has been noticed, but
Grace after Meal takes a higher rank, as its obligation is
drawn from the written Law.
Moses, in his great farewell discourse, tells the children
of Israel (Deut. 8: 7-10), "For the Lord thy God bringeth
thee into a good land — a land of wheat and barley, of vine
and fig tree and pomegranate, a land of the oil-olive and of
honey (i. e., palm syrup) — a land wherein thou shalt not
lack anything. When thou hast eaten, and art full, then thou
shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he
hath given thee."
From these words the Sages of Israel infer the duty of
saying grace after a meal which, in whole or in part, con
sists of any of the seven fruits for which the land is
praised. This grace is fuller when bread made of wheat
and barley (which embrace also spelt, rye, and oats) forms
part of the meal; in modern usage a piece of bread the size
of an olive is deemed the leading element, all the rest being
only side dishes. The grace after bread contained at first
only three benedictions. A fourth was added from grati
tude for the poor boon which the Emperor Antoninus gave,
to bury the bones of the brave defenders of Bethar, the last
national stronghold in the days of Hadrian.
We consider first the address and response when three
or more men (or three or more women) take a meal to
gether. Two men and a boy old enough to have ideas
about God are also deemed sufficient. (339)

340 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
The leader, after asking leave ("By leave of the master of
the house — or of my father — and the gentlemen"), proceeds:
"We will bless him from whose wealth we have eaten."
The others respond:
"Blessed be he from whose wealth we have eaten, and
through whose goodness we live."
When there are ten at table God's name is employed in
the address and response:
"We will bless our God, from whose wealth we have
eaten." "Blessed be our God, from whose wealth we have- eaten,
and through whose goodness we live."
When there are ten at a wedding meal, after "our God"
-the words, "in whose dwelling is joy," are inserted in both
address and response. The leader in every case repeats the
response after the others.
Every word and almost every letter of the address and
response are thoroughly discussed in the Talmud, the read
ing now in use being in each case claimed as that of the
learned, and some variant denounced as the badge of ignor
ance. There is also a probable story told of Simeon ben
Shetah opening grace after dinner with this address after a
word skirmish, when seated at table with King Jannseus and
Queen Salome.
For the purpose of intertwining religious with home
feelings, the love of God with the love of parents, this
short address and response have been invaluable. Father
and sons are held together at the scantiest and coarsest
meal, if it but embraces a crust of bread.1
Of the benedictions that follow, the first is fitted for men
of any creed or race, if only they believe in God. It reads
in the German ritual thus:
I. Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world,* he
who feedeth the whole world in his goodness with grace, kindness,
and mercy, he (Ps. 136: 25) "giveth food to all flesh, for his mercy
endureth forever." And with his always great goodness, we have

THE MEAL 34 1
not lacked, and may we not lack food forever. For the sake of his
great name, for he feedeth, and taketh care of all, and doeth good
to all, and prepareth food for all his creatures that he hath made.**
Blessed be thou, O Lord, who feedeth all.
The Sefardim insert at * "who feedeth us, not from our
own wealth, who provideth for us, not from our own work,"
and at ** quote.'As it is written (Ps. 145: 16): Thou openest
thy hand, and fillest the desire of all that liveth." Both
these additions are rather modern, being unknown to Abu
draham. The second benediction is meant as a literal compliance
with the law in Deuteronomy. At an early date it was, how
ever, held obligatory to thank not only for the possession of
the promised land, but also for the deliverance from Egypt,
for the gift of the Law, and for the covenant with Abra
ham. The benediction has now with the Germans the fol
lowing form:
II. We thank thee, O Lord, our God, for that thou gavest as a
heritage to our fathers a delightful, good, and spacious land, that
thou hast brought us forth from Egyot, and redeemed us out
of the house of bondage, for thy covenant which thou hast sealed
on our body, for thy law which thou hast taught us, and thy ordi
nances wherein thou hast instructed us, for the life, grace, and kind
ness which thou hast bestowed on us, and for the food to eat; for
thou art our feeder and provider; every day, at every time, at each
moment.* For all this, O Lord, our God, we give thanks to thee and bless
thee. Be thy name blessed in the mouth of all that liveth, always
and for evermore; as it is written: "When thou hast eaten, and art
full, thou shalt bless the Lord, thy God, for the good land he hath
given thee." Blessed be thou, O Lord, for the land and for the
food. The next benediction, which ends in a prayer for the
building of Jerusalem, is, by the fullest testimony which
Mishna and Talmud can give, much older than the destruc
tion of the city by Titus; but it may have been considerably
modified by that event:

342 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
III. Show mercy, O Lord, our God, to Israel thy people, and
to thy holy city Jerusalem, and to Zion, the camp of thy glory,
and to the kingdom of David, thy anointed, and to the great and
holy House, over which thy name was pronounced. Our God, our
Father, be thou our shepherd, feed us, take care of us, sustain us;
and give us breathing room speedily, O Lord, our God, out of all
our troubles; and put us not in dependence on the gifts or loans of
flesh and blood [Sefardim add: for their gift is small, and the dis
grace great], but only on thy full, thy holy, thy wide-open hand,
that we may not be put to shame or to blush for evermore.*
And build Jerusalem, thy holy city, speedily in our days. Blessed
be thou, O Lord, who in thy mercy buildest Jerusalem. Amen.2
This is the only benediction which he that pronounces it
himself closes with "Amen." The word was put there, when
the less obligatory fourth benediction was added to "Grace,"
as a hint to busy servants or workmen that they might
leave the table and go to their work.
At the point * the Sabbath is thus noticed:
Be pleased and strengthen us, O Lord, our God, through thy
commandments, even through the commandment of this great
and holy seventh day, the Sabbath; for this day is great and holy
to rest and stop from toil according to thy command; and in thy
favor thou wilt give us such rest, O Lord, our God, that there be
no distress or trouble thereon. Let us see the comfort of Zion and
the upbuilding of Jerusalem, thy holy city; for thou, O Lord, art
able to save and able to give comfort.
On New Moons and all Festivals and Middle Days the
petition, "May our remembrance," given in Book II, ch.
VII, and again in ch. VIII, is here inserted (on a Sabbath
after the above petition for the Sabbath) with this change
in the closing words, "thou art a gracious and merciful
God and King," the last word, "King," is omitted. And
herein lies a curious protest against Christian dogma; the
Kingdom of David and the Kingdom of God are not to
be mentioned in the same benediction, for they are widely
different in their scope and meaning.
On a Sabbath the Sefardim leave out the last petition,

THE MEAL

343

"Build Jerusalem," and wind up thus, "Blessed, etc.,
who comforts Israel by building Jerusalem. Amen." The
idea is not to ask for anything on the Sabbath that is prayed
for in the work-day Prayer.
The insertion for the Sabbath, while not set out at large
in tlie Talmud, is treated by it as well-known and highly
imperative; a short, separate benediction for the Sabbath,
New Moon, or Festival is prescribed for those who should
forget to insert it at the proper place."3
The gist of the fourth benediction is in these words,
"Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, King of the world, who
art good and doest good," which were spoken for a long
time before the war of Bethar upon the receipt of good news.
But it must at an early day have grown into much greater
bulk, otherwise the hint would not have been given to
workmen to leave the table by the "Amen" which precedes
it. It is in full:
IV. Blessed be, etc., the God, our Father, our King, our (o) Ma
jestic, our (fc) Creator, our (g) Redeemer, our (g) Holy One, the
Holy One of Jacob, our (r) Shepherd, the Shepherd of Israel, the
King, "good and doing good" to all, who on every day does and
has done and will do good to us. He has bestowed, and does and
will forever bestow upon us in grace, kindness, and mercy, enlarge
ment, deliverance, and prosperity, blessing and salvation, provision
and sustenance, life and peace, and every good thing; and may he
never let us lack all that is good.*
(i) The Merciful shall reign over us forever.
(2) The Merciful shall be blessed in the heavens and on the
earth. (3) The Merciful shall be praised in all ages, shall be glorified
through all changes, and honored to all eternities.
(4) May the Merciful give us honorable support.
(5) May the Merciful break the yoke of exile from our necks,
and lead us in erect gait to our land.
(6) May the Merciful send plentiful blessing into this house and
upon this table at which we have eaten.
(7) May the Merciful send us the Prophet Elijah of happy
memory, who will tell us good news, of salvation and comfort.
(8) May the Merciful bless (a child of the family says: my hon-

344 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
ored Father and Mother) the Master and Mistress of this House
(the pater familias says: me and my wife), them and their house
hold and their seed (us and ours), as our fathers were blessed,
Abraham in all things, Isaac of all things, Jacob as to all, thus
may he bless us all together, and say ye, Amen.
[May they in heaven find merit in him and in us, to bring us
lasting peace; may we receive a blessing from the Lord and jus
tice from the God of our salvation, and let us find grace and kind
attention in the sight of God and man].
(On the Sabbath) May the Merciful give us for our heritage a
day which is all rest and quiet in eternal life.
(On New Moons) May the Merciful renew this month for happi
ness and blessing.
(On New Year) May the Merciful renew this year for happiness
and blessing.
(On other Festivals) May the Merciful give us for our heritage
a day which is wholly good.
(In the Succa) May the Merciful raise for us the fallen hut ofs
David. (9) May the Merciful give us the merit to reach the days of the
Messiah and the life of the world to come.
(Ps. 18: 51): He gives great deliverance to his King, and
showeth kindness to his anointed, to David, and to his seed
forever. He who maketh peace in his heights, may he make peace
among us and among Israel, and say ye, Amen.
(Ps. 34: 10, 11; 118: 1; 145: 16; Jer. 17: 7.) (Ps. 37: 25): I have
been young, and have also become old; but I have never seen the
righteous forsaken, nor his children begging bread. (Ps. 29: 11):
The Lord giveth strength to his people; the Lord blesseth his
people with peace.4
The letters (a), (b), (g), (q), (r) denote the Hebrew ini
tials of the words so marked; probably a full alphabet has
been abridged into the few words now remaining.
The words "in all things, from all things, all" refer to the
terms employed in Genesis as to the wealth, blessings,
or contentment of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The reference to father and mother (only found in the
German ritual) is literally "my father, my teacher; my
mother, my instructress." But probably "Mori, Morathi"
are only the Hebraized forms for the Aramaic Mar and

THE MEAL 345
Martha, Sir and Lady, and Immi Morathi is "my lady
mother." The bracketed lines are not in the Sefardic ritual;
but it has three other petitions, "May the Merciful put peace
among us. May the Merciful heal us with a perfect cure.
May the Merciful open to us his wide hand."
On Sabbaths, New Moons, and Festivals the verse from
Psalm 18 is read as in II Sam. 22. "The tower (Migdoi) of
deliverance," etc. After each petition to "the Merciful"
comes the answer, "Amen."
The second benediction is known as "Thanksgiving."
The thanks for the miracles (if such they may be termed)
that were done for our fathers on Purim and Hanucca are
inserted in this, as they are in the "Thanksgiving" of the
Prayer and in the same words (see Bk. II, ch. VII).1
As the Mishna teaches that three who eat at one table
without "words of the Tora" among them are like idolaters
eating from the "offerings to the dead,"6 it is usual to recite
or sing a Psalm at the table. The Sefardim have Psalm 23
(The Lord is my Shepherd) at the beginning of the meal;
the Germans recite Ps. 137 (On the Rivers of Babylon) on
work-days, on Sabbath, New Moons, and the Feasts, Ps.
126, one of the Songs of Degrees, or Ascents (When the
Lord returned the captivity of Zion). A number of hymns
have also been written during the middle ages to be sung
at the Sabbath meal. The most popular of these refers
to the "cup of blessing," which is drunk after grace. At
least, it was the custom of our fathers when they lived in
Western Asia to drink a cup of light wine mixed with water
at almost every meal; and when they had only one cup, to
hold it in the hand during grace and to drink it after grace
with the words, "Blessed, etc., Creator of the fruit of the
vine."7 At a wedding supper (and such is counted every meal
within seven days of the ceremony at which the groom and
bride are present, and at which there are ten men ready to

346 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
say grace together), the seven benedictions set out in Bk.
V, ch. I, are recited before the "cup of blessing."8
We here subjoin in part a rhythmic version of "Rock from
whose wealth we have eaten:"
Our Rock with loving care,
According to his word,
Bids all His bounty share,
Then let us bless the Lord.
His flock our Shepherd feeds
With graciousness divine,
He satisfies our needs
With gifts of bread and wine.
Therefore with one accord
We will His name adore,
Proclaiming evermore
None holy as the Lord.
Our Rock, etc.
Thy city fill once more,
Thy temple-walls upraise,
There will we Thee adore
With joyful songs of praise,
Thee, Merciful, Adored,
We bless and sanctify,
With wine-cups filled up high,
By blessings of the Lord.
Our Rock, etc.
But by the side of all this elaboration for solemnly clos
ing and blessing the meal, we read of one of the Babylonian
worthies, Benjamin the Shepherd, whose gracewas made up
of five Aramaic words, "Blessed-be the-Merciful (Rah-
mana), the-Master of-this bread," and it was held to be a
sufficient compliance with the Biblical command.9
After drinking wine (as much as the contents of a fair-
sized hen egg and a half), after eating food made of the five
grains other than bread, or after grapes, dates, figs, olives,
or pomegranates, otherwise than at a meal, an abstract of the
benedictions of grace is spoken. We give it here in the

THE MEAL 347
form it takes after drinking wine; else the words, "susten
ance and food" or "tree and fruit of the tree" take the place
of "vine and fruit of the vine," and "sustenance" or "fruits,"
of the words, "fruit of the vine." Those who are not ob
servant enough to recite this benediction at any other time,
do so perhaps in the Passover night service :
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, for the
vine and the fruit of the vine and the produce of the field, and for
the delightful, good, and wide land which thou gavest to our
fathers to eat of its fruit and to be filled from its bounty. Have
mercy, O Lord, our God, on Israel thy people, and Jerusalem,
thy city, and bring us into it, and gladden us therein, that we may
eat of its fruit and bless thee therefor in holiness and purity (and
strengthen us on this Sabbath) (and gladden us on this Feast .of Un
leavened Bread, etc.) ; for thou art good and doest good to all.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, for the land and for the fruit of the vine.10

CHAPTER IV
SANCTIFICATION AND SEPARATION
The first line of the Fourth Commandment truly ren
dered reads, "Remember the Sabbath day to hallow it!" It
is thus the duty of every Israelite, as soon as Sabbath
comes in on Friday at night-fall, to name, to think of, and
to feel its holiness. We have heretofore seen how this is
done in the middle benediction of the Prayer; but our
fathers knew that the true spirit of the Sabbath could be
caught only in the home circle, where husband and wife,
parents and children meet at the meal.
"Thy wife as a fruitful vine at the sides of thy house,
Thy children like olive branches around the table."
And they instituted the Sanctification (Kiddush, whence
the Christian Sacrament) over the cup of wine at the place
of the meal, in short, over bread and wine, as Melchizedek
blessed God in the days of Abraham.
Before darkness sets in on Friday, the housewife lights in
the dining room extra candles or a special lamp in honor
of the Sabbath, first giving thanks thus:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who hath
sanctified us by his commandments, and commanded us to light
the Sabbath lamp.1
When the husband and sons come back from the Syna
gogue (women were not wont to attend it on Friday night),
they find the table laid with a clean table-cloth, and where
the head of the family sits, two loaves of bread (generally
baked for the occasion), in memory of the double portion of
manna that was gathered on Fridays, lie covered with a
(348)

SANCTIFICA TION AND SEPARA TION

349

napkin, and next to them stands a cup and by it a jug or
bottle of wine to fill it.
The husband chants the praises of "the woman of force"
(Proverbs 31: 10-31), each man fondly believing that she
is reproduced in his own wife. If he has a Cabbalistic tinge,
or if he "says" everything that the Cabbalists have crowded
into the Prayer Book, he will, however, first greet the "mes
sengers in attendance, messengers of peace."
The Kiddush itself begins with the verses in Genesis 2,
which tell of God's rest on the Sabbath day; but it is usual
to start a few words further back, thus:
It was evening and it was morning, the sixth day.
And the heavens and the earth were finished and all their host.
And God finished on the seventh day all the work which he had
made, and rested on the seventh day from all the work that he
had made. And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it; for
on it he rested from all the work which God had created and
made. These verses are spoken though the Sabbath be also a
Festival. The master of the house then holds up the full
cup and proceeds:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, the crea
tor of the fruit of the vine.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who hast
sanctified us by thy commandments, and wast pleased with us, and
hast given us for a heritage, in love and favor, thy holy Sabbath,
a memorial of the work of creation. For it precedes all the holy
convocations, in memory of the going forth from Egypt. For
thou hast chosen us, and hast hallowed us above all nations, and
hast given us, in love and favor, thy holy Sabbath for a heritage.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, who hallowest the Sabbath.3
The master then drinks from the cup and hands it to his
wife, and she passes it to the. children and other persons at
the table, and all drink from it. Then they wash their
hands, the master thanks for the bread, cuts one loaf, takes
a morsel for himself, and distributes pieces to the others.

350 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
If no wine is available, they wash their hands first, and
substitute the benediction over bread for that over wine,
and the bread is cut and distributed at once. To each
benediction those present answer "Amen."
On the nights of the three Festivals, the hallowing of the
feast (say the Passover) takes the following form:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who hast
chosen us from every tribe, and lifted us over every tongue; thou
gavest us, O Lord, our God (in love, Sabbaths for rest), set times
for gladness, feasts and seasons for joy; this (Sabbath day and
this) *day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the season of our
liberation, in memory of the going forth from Egypt; for thou hast
chosen us, and hast hallowed us, and hast given us (in love and
favor) in gladness and joy the (Sabbath and thy) holy set times
for a heritage; blessed be thou, O Lord, who hallowest (the Sab
bath and) Israel and the seasons. Blessed be thou, O Lord, our
God, King of the world, who has let us live, and kept us up, and
made us reach this season.
The proper changes are made on Pentecost, Feast of
Huts, and the Eighth, as shown in Bk. II, ch. IX, in the
paragraph, "Thou gavest us." On the last days of the
Passover the thanks for reaching the season are omitted.
On the night of the New Year the benediction proceeds
at *:
"This Day of Memorial, a day of alarm sound, a holy convoca
tion, in memory of the going forth from Egypt, and thy word is true
and standeth forever. Blessed be thou, O Lord, King over all the
earth, who hallowest (the Sabbath and) Israel and the Day of
Memorial." Then the thanks for having lived to see the day.3 But
how is a festive day consecrated upon a Saturday night?
To those who keep single days this' can happen only on the
first nights of Passover and Pentecost; but with double
days, also on the second and last days of the Passover, on
the second of the New Year, on the Feast of Huts, and on
the Joy of the Law.

SANCTIFICATION AND SEPARATION 351
Wine seems indispensable. After two benedictions, one
over the cup, the other for the sanctity of the day, follows
one over the light, which on the Sabbath just ended it was
unlawful to produce from fire:
"Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, Creator
of the light-rays of the fire."
Then this "separation" (compare Bk. II, ch. IX):
"Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, who dis
tinguishes! between holy and profane, between light and darkness,
between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the
six work-days; between the holiness of the Sabbath and the
holiness of the holiday thou hast distinguished, and thou hast dis
tinguished and sanctified thy people Israel in thine own holiness.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, who distinguishest between holy and
unholy." Then the thanks for living to see the day.
On Festivals, as on Friday night, the meal proceeds right
after the Kiddush, but two loaves are not required.
The five benedictions for a Festival on Saturday night
are a combination of the Kiddush with the Habdala or Sep
aration.4 The Talmud says quaintly: When the children of Israel
were poor, it was ordained to "separate" in the Prayer;
when they got to be rich, to separate over the cup; then
they got poor again, and again separated in the Prayer.
But it is the custom to do both, first to say the evening
Prayer with the "separation" or "distinction" in the fourth
benediction; afterwards to recite the Habdala over a cup
of wine, a lighted wax candle, and a spice box. Including
the verses with which the ceremony is introduced in the
German ritual the whole of it runs thus:
(Isa. 12: 2, 3): Behold the God of my salvation, I trust and do
not fear; for my strength and song is Jah the Lord; and he hath
become my salvation. And ye shall draw water with joy from
the springs of salvation.

352 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
(Ps. 3: 9): Salvation is with the Lord, thy blessing over thy
people. Selah !
(Ps. 46: 12): The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is
a fortress for us. Selah.
(Esther 8: 16): The Jews had light and gladness and joy and
honor (be it thus with us!). (Ps. 116: 13): I lift the cup of salva
tion, and call on the name of the Lord.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, Creator
of the fruit of the vine.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, Creator
of the light-rays of the fire.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, Creator
of many kinds of spices.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, who distinguishest between
holy and profane, between light and darkness, between Israel and
the nations, between the seventh day and the six work-days.
Blessed be thou, O Lord, who distinguishest between holy and
profane." The wine is then drunk, and the wax candle is put out
with drops from the cup.
The first and fourth benedictions are spoken also on the
nights after a' festival; the fourth unchanged, though the
distinction to be made is not between the seventh day and
the other days of the week. The formula introduced for
the Sabbath was deemed sufficient for all cases. On the
night of the Day of Atonement the "light-rays of the fire"
are also mentioned, as lighting fires is forbidden on that
day as on the Sabbath.
Hymns are next in order, each of which has its well-
known tune. There is one common to the German and to
the Sefardic rituals, recited right after the separation, in
eight quatrains, the first of which is thus rendered by Mrs.
Lucas : May He who sets the holy and profane
Apart, blot out our sins before His sight,
And make our numbers as the sand again,
And as the stars of night.
The third line of the Hebrew text is here slightly ideal-

SA NCTIFICA TION AND SEP A RA TION 353
ized, for it reads, "multiply our seed and our money like
the sand."
Every verse ends with the word La'ila — night.
In another hymn they pray to God to send speedily
Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah the Gilead-
ite, and the Anointed King. Another gathers in an al
phabet for the first part of the line short clauses from
Scripture about Jacob, such as:
(Alef) "God said unto Jacob," (Beth) "The Lord hath
chosen Jacob," while the second part of each of the twenty-
two lines remains (Jer. 46: 28), "Do not fear, my servant
Jacob." The most pathetic of these hymns, more so by its
air than by its words, is made up of eleven triplets, begin
ning: Honored, awful, and terrible one,
In my distress I call to thee,
The Lord is with me; I do not fear.
The first two lines in each triplet run through the alpha
bet; all three rhyme together.
It has ever since Talmudic times been the usage for the
leader in prayer at the Synagogue to "sanctify" over the
cup at the Synagogue except on the first two nights of the
Passover. He does not drink himself, but lets some children
take a few drops from the cup. The usage is rather ir-
. regular, as the Kiddush ought to be performed at the place
of the meal. It was justified on the ground, that poor trav
ellers were in olden times entertained in a room adjoining
the Synagogue; but the true reason was that even with the
abstract of seven benedictions (see Bk. II, chs. I and IX)
the night service for Sabbaths and Festivals was too short,
there being then no introductory hymn or Psalms, nor
Alenu, nor Mourners' Kaddish at the end.
The Habdala is also recited in the Synagogue, and as this
is not connected with the meal or table, quite properly.
The two ceremonies here described are among the oldest
23

354 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
in the service. True, the Talmud says that the duty to hal
low the Sabbath with bread and wine is not Scriptural, but
it takes this ground only because every man is supposed to
have already hallowed the Sabbath in his Prayer before the
evening meal. Yet the sanctification with bread and wine
was probably the older of the two, as service by acts and
words is always older than service by words alone. The
Sabbath lamp, the companion of the Kiddush, was one of
the badges of the Pharisaic sect, who, in the benediction,
as it is seen, claimed for it divine authority. The Kiddush
for the Festivals is intertwined with the four cups of the
Passover night (see next chapter), and is as old as these.
The aim of Habdala is to keep men from gradually
shortening the Sabbath at its latter end. One must delib
erately declare that the night has set in before he can return
to his work-day routine. The "first Hasidim," or Saints of
early Maccabean days, may have instituted the Habdala
in their zeal for the Sabbath, first as an insertion in the
Prayer, and when the war was happily closed, with cup and
spices. There is a "Great Kiddush," so called by way of irony,
because of its slight importance. Before breakfast on Sab
bath and Festivals verses appropriate to the day (Fourth
Commandment and Ex. 31: 16, 17 for the Sabbath; Lev.
23: 44 for the three Festivals; Ps. 81 : 4, 5 for the New Year)
are spoken; then the benediction over a cup of wine or
strong drink; all before the meal is begun with the benedic
tion over bread.
The ceremony of blessing the moon may be mentioned
here, as it is by preference performed on Saturday night
soon after Habdala; the moon is blessed once a month while
growing and when it is seen. The benediction as given in
a Baraitha runs thus:
Blessed be thou, O Lord, our God, King of the world, he who
by his command created the skies, and all the host by the breath
of his mouth.

SA NCTIFIC.I TION . I N/7 SEP. IRA TION 355
He implanted in them fixed law and time, and commanded the
moon to renew itself; a crown of beauty to those burdened from
birth, who will in future be renewed, and will honor their Maker,
for the glorious name of his Kingdom. Blessed be thou, O Lord,
who renewest the months.
A later authority has added to this simple blessing a great
deal of half-Cabbalistic trifles, which need not be noticed
here, and which it is best to omit.0
On the first (and second) night of the* Feast of Huts, or
on a Friday night within its middle days, the Kiddush is
performed at "the place of the meal," hence in the Hut (or
booth). After the benediction for the bread with which the
meal begins, not only at these more solemn suppers, but at
every meal taken within the Hut, the head of the family
proceeds: Blessed be thou, etc., who hast sanctified us, etc., and commanded
us to sit in the Hut.'

CHAPTER V
THE PASSOVER NIGHT
The Mishna lays down the following programme for
the first night of the Passover, supposing that the Temple is
restored, and that the roasted Passover lamb is the principal
dish. The change from this programme to the one followed
in our days is very slight:
Even the poorest Israelite should not eat supper without
reclining (across a cushioned bench), and none should
have less than four cups of wine. When the first cup is
mixed (with water, as all wine was then drunk), he blesses
first for the wine, then for the day. When they bring (the
herbs) before him, he dips with (i. e., dips and eats) the
horse-radish before he comes to the bread wafers. They
bring before him unleavened bread, horse-radish, and a mix
ture (of apples and nuts), and two kinds of meat, and in the
times of the Temple the Passover lamb itself. They mix
the second cup, and now the son asks of the father, and if
the son has not the sense, the father teaches him to say:
Why does this night differ from all other nights, for in
other nights we eat either unleavened or leavened bread,
to-night unleavened; in ordinary nights we eat other herbs,
to-night bitter herbs; in other nights we eat meat boiled,
broiled, or roasted, to-night all roasted; in other nights we
dip perhaps not once, to-night twice? And according to
the son's intelligence the father teaches him, beginning
with matters of reproach and ending with those to be proud
of, and discusses the text, "My father was a wandering
Syrian" (Deut. 26: 5), until he goes through that passage.
Rabban Gamaliel used to say, Whoever does not on the'
(356)

THE PASSOVER NIGH J

357

Passover pronounce these three words, Pesakh, Matza,
Maror (Passover, unleavened bread, bitter herb), has not
done his duty; Passover, because God passed over the
houses of our fathers; unleavened bread, because our
fathers were delivered from Egypt; bitter herbs, because the
Egyptians embittered the lives of our fathers in Egypt.
In every generation a man should look on himself as if he
had himself gone forth from Egypt, as it is written (Ex. 13:
8), "Thou shalt tell thy son on that day, saying: For the
sake of this the Lord did it for me, when I went out from
Egypt." Therefore we are bound to thank, to praise and
glorify, etc., him who did for us and for our fathers all
these wonders; who brought us from bondage to freedom,
from grief to joy, from mourning to holiday, from gloom
to the fullest light, from subjection to deliverance'; let us
say before him, Halleluiah (i. e., Psalms 113-118). How
far do they go? To "the flint to a pool of water" (i. e., to the
end of 114). Then the benediction, "Blessed, etc., who
redeemed our fathers from Egypt." Thus may our God
and the God of our fathers bring us to other festivals and
seasons, that come to meet us, in peace, glad through the
upbuilding of thy city and joyful in thy service, and may
we there eat of the sacrifices and Passover lambs, etc.;
"blessed, etc. ; he has redeemed Israel." They mix the third
cup.and say with it the grace after the meal; then the fourth,
and with it he finishes the Hallel Psalms and adds the bene
diction of song; between the other cups he may drink if he
chooses, but not between the third and the fourth. After
the Passover lamb they do not close (or take leave) "with
Epikoma."1 So far the Mishna. The last is clearly Greek; it may
stand for Ephikomenon (what comes later, i. e., dessert, or
Epikornon, or Epikomon), whatever that may mean. At
all events, a hundred years after the date of the Mishna
neither the Rabbis of Tiberias nor those of Babylonia knew
it; the former doubting between a dessert of sweetmeats

358 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
and merry music; the latter between the dessert and merry
visiting from house to house.
In our days the Epikomen is the part of one Matza which,
early in the evening, is laid aside, and which is broken and
handed around at the supper to be eaten as the last morsel.
At present "they (the women of the house) bring to"
the head of the family the following articles: On the sup
per table is the Seder-dish (the whole service is called
Seder, or Arrangement) with three heavy unleavened cakes,
made for the purpose, wrapped up in napkins; on top the}
lay a roasted bone to represent the Passover lamb, and an
egg boiled hard, to denote the free-will sacrifice of the
Feast (Hagiga);2 horse-radish in two forms, green tops and
roots, a bunch of parsley, a saucer with salt-water, and a
cup with a mixture of apples and almonds or nuts (Haro-
seth). Wine is on the table with drinking cups for each
person present, big or little, and an extra cup stands ready
filled for Elijah the Prophet, should he come in an unbid
den guest to honor the feast; though the old standards say
nothing about this cup. Cushioned armchairs are provided
for the master and mistress of the house.
The programme is put into sixteen Hebrew words, thus:
(i) Sanctify. (9) Bitter.
(2) Wash. (10) Wraps.
(3) Greens. (n) Table, he sets.
(4) Divide. (12) Table, he sets.
(S) Tells. (13) Hidden.
(6) Washing. (14) Blesses.
(7) Brings forth. (15) Hallel.
(8) Unleavened. (16) Accepted.3
1. The head of the family with a glass of wine before him
reads the Kiddush for the evening as on other Festivals,
taking due notice of Friday or Saturday night, if the Fes
tival should fall on either.
2. The master of the house, to qualify him as a priest for
the occasion, then pours water over his hands; but as this

THE PASSOVER NIGHT 359
washing is not prescribed by old Rabbinical law, he says no
benediction. 3. He dips the parsley in salt-water, blesses as in other
cases before eating vegetables, "Blessed, etc., the Creator of
tlie fruit of the earth," and hands tufts of the bunch around
to all present, and all eat. This is a deviation from the
Mishna, which speaks of horse-radish alone and of no other
herb. The parsley dipped in salt-water is to represent the
hyssop dipped in blood, mentioned in Exodus 12.
4. He breaks the middle of the two cakes in two, puts one
of the halves away and leaves the other in its place oh the
dish. 5. "He tells," i. e., now the story is told for the instruc
tion of the children. A "Haggada," or story of the Passover,
is attainable in both Hebrew and English, with wood-cuts
at that, for 25 cents or less, and it is therefore not worth
while to reproduce it here in full. First, all that take hold of
the Seder-dish or of the napkin on which it rests, lift it up,
and chant (in Aramaic):
This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of
Egypt; whoever is hungry, come and eat; whoever is in need, come
and make the Passover with us [this year here, next year in the
Holy Land; this year as subjects, next year as free men] !
The first part of this formula undoubtedly reaches back
to the days of the Temple.4
Then the youngest child at the table puts the questions
nearly as given in the Mishna, though the intention is there
conveyed that a child of sufficient intelligence should ask
in words of his own choice. But he leaves out the question
about the meat being all roasted as out of date, there being
now no Passover lamb "roasted in the fire," and puts in
place thereof, after the other three, one nearly as obsolete,
"On other nights, while eating, we all either sit or recline,
to-night we all recline." Couches on three sides of a ban
quet table, the guests reclining across the couch and leaning

360 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
on their left elbows, must needs be out of fashion, since we
eat our food with knives and forks, and this question has
thus become unmeaning. The father answers the question
in the words of Deut. 6: 21:
"We were bondmen unto Pharaoh in Egypt, and the
Lord brought us out thence with a strong hand and an out
stretched arm," proceeding in post-Biblical language to
say, the more we talk of the departure from Egypt the
better, and telling of R. Akiba and four of his noted col
leagues, who talked about it all that night till the scholars
came to call them to the morning service; and quotes the
section of the Mishna, in which Ben Zoma proves that
the departure from Egypt should be mentioned in every
night. Then come the four answers which Scripture gives for
four kinds of sons:
The wise (or learned) son asks (Deut. 6: 20): What are the
testimonies, statutes, and judgments which the Lord, our God, has
commanded you? Thou also tell him, according to the rules of
the Passover (as far as) : They do not after the Passover lamb
leave off with an Epikomen.
The passage quoted is nearly the last (probably was the
last) in the treatise on Passover; the meaning is, when your
son wishes to know all the law on the subject, teach him all.
The wicked son asks (Ex. 12: 26): What is this service to you;
to you, not to him, he takes himself out of the generality, and
shows his unbelief; hence you should blunt his teeth by saying
(Ex. 13: 8): For the sake of this .the Lord did it for me, when
I went forth from Egypt. Had he been there, he would not have
been saved.
The point is good, but the Bible does not give that
answer to that question:
The simple boy asks (Ex. 13: 14) : What is this? And thou shalt
tell him: With a strong hand the Lord brought us forth from
Egypt, from the house of bondage.

THE PASSOVER NIGHT 361
And he who cannot yet ask, begin thou with him and tell him:
For the sake of this, etc. (as above), which does not apply until
the hour when the unleavened bread and bitter herb are lying
before thee.
In short, the Passover table is to serve the children of
tenderest age as an object lesson. This apologue or par
able of the four sons is due to R. Hiya, a disciple of R.
Judah the Saint, and is thus later than the Mishna.0
Next, in conformity with the rule first given, to begin with
matter of reproach and end with matter of pride, the master
of the house reads from Joshua 24 how our fathers be
fore Abraham were idolaters, but he was chosen, etc., and
how God (Gen. 15: 13, 14) "said to Abram, thou shalt
surely know that thy seed shall be strangers in a foreign
land, etc., and thereafter they shall come forth with great
wealth."0 Now comes the discourse on the four verses (Deut. 26:
15), "A wandering Syrian was my father, andhe went down
to Egypt, and he sojourned there with a few men, and he
became there a nation, great, strong, and numerous." The
first clause seems to be misinterpreted, as if it read, "A
Syrian (Laban) was ruining my father." After that almost
every word is taken up separately and expounded by refer
ence to some other verse in Exodus or in other parts of
Scripture. At last "another idea" is applied to the last of
these four verses, namely, "Mighty hand is two, outstretched
arm two, terrors two, signs two, wonders two;" here are
the ten plagues, which are slowly named, first being "blood,"
and last "the smiting of the first-born." Next come three
curious specimens of Midrash, ascribed to R. Jose the Gali
lean, R. Eliezer, and R. Akiba, all Tanna'im of the highest
rank, in which it is figured out that there were fifty plagues
in Egypt, and two hundred, or even two hundred and fifty,
plagues on the sea.
Now comes the enumeration of the benefits bestowed on
our fathers at the exodus, with the refrain, Dayenu (enough

362 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
for us), in which the children gladly join: Had he brought
us forth from Egypt and not executed judgments upon
them — Dayenu! And so on: not executed judgments on
their gods — not killed their first-born — not given us their
wealth — not torn the sea for us — not brought us through
on dry land — not drowned our enemies therein — not pro
vided our needs in the wilderness for forty years — not given
us the manna — not given us the Sabbath — not brought us
to Mount Sinai — not given us the Law — not led us into
the land of Israel — not built for us his chosen temple —
Dayenu! But how much more are we under double and manifold obliga
tion to God, when he brought us forth from Egypt, etc., and built
for us his chosen temple, to atone for all our iniquities.
Next comes R. Gamaliel's saying on the necessity of pro
nouncing the three words, Passover, Matza, Bitter Herb;
each is spoken slowly, and the two latter objects as they lie
before the company are pointed to. Each is supported by
the proper verse, Ex. 12: 27; 12: 39; 1: 14.
Then follow the words of the Mishna, stating the duty of
every man to look on himself as if he had come out of
Egypt, quoting, however, another verse, namely (Deut. 6:
23), "Fie brought us out from thence, in order to bring us
in, and give us the land which he swore unto our fathers."
Then two Hallel Psalms (113 and 114) are read; then the
benediction, "who hast redeemed us," etc., as in the Mishna;
then the blessing before wine, and the second cup is drunk.
6. All wash their hands for supper in the usual way.
7 and 8. The head of the family breaks pieces off the first
and second cake for himself and each person at table, so
that each has a piece of each; before eating he pronounces
two benedictions, which all repeat:
Blessed, etc., who hast brought bread forth from the earth.
Blessed, etc., who hast sanctified us by thy commandments, and
commanded us about eating unleavened bread.

THE PASSOVER NIGHT 363
9. He next takes a bunch of the bitter herbs (horse-radish
tops) for each person present, dips it in the Haroseth, and
hands it around with the benediction, "Blessed, etc., who
hast sanctified, etc., about the eating of bitter herbs."
10. The head of the family breaks up the third cake, cuts
the horse-radish into slices, folds each slice between pieces
of the cake, and distributes the sandwiches thus made, say
ing: In memory of the Temple like Hillel. Thus did Hillel, when the
Temple stood. He would wrap together pieces of Passover Lamb,
Matza, and Bitter Herb, and eat them together, so as to carry out
what is written: upon unleavened cakes and bitter herbs ye shall
eat it.7
11, 12. Supper is brought in and eaten.
13. The half cake laid aside under 4 is brought out,
broken, and handed around and eaten.
14. That is, they all say grace, each having his "cup of
blessing," which is the third cup of the evening, before him.
If there are three or more, the head of the family, or he who
acts as such, makes the address. Of course the proper parts
for the Festival are inserted, and if it be Friday night, those
for the Sabbath. They then say the benediction over the
third cup and drink it.
The door is then opened while the following verses are
spoken: (Ps. 79: 6, 7): Pour thy wrath out on the nations which do not
know thee, and over the kingdoms which have never called on thy
name. For they have eaten Jacob up, and wasted his dwellings.
[The Germans add: Ps. 69: 25; Lam. 3: 66.]
15. "Hallel of Egypt" is finished, that is, Psalms 115, 116,
117, 118, are read in addition to the two which were read
before supper; also the introductory part of the benediction
after Hallel, but not the closing words (Blessed, etc., the
King praised in hymns). Next the Great Flallel, i. e., Psalm

364 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
136. Next the "Benediction of Song," or Nishmath, as
given in Book II, ch. XV, to the end.
After this, in the Sefardic and formerly also in the Ger
man ritual, they bless and drink the fourth cup, and speak
after it the "one benediction, the summary of three," given
in a previous chapter, by way of thanks for the wine that has
been drunk.
16. Accepted. This meant originally, and with the Se
fardim still means only, the service is at an end. But the
Germans now express this by a little rhyme, about thus:
The order of the Passover is ended; according to all that is
right and prescribed; as we had the privilege to order it, may we
have the privilege to work it out. Pure dweller in thy heights;
raise up thy numberless assembly; lead up speedily the young
shoots of thy plant redeemed to Zion with glad song.
Going back to the preceding number, the Germans insert
a Piyut on the first night, based on the words in Exodus
12: 29, "It was in the midst of the night," each line of the
twenty-two (from Alef to Tav) ending with the word La'ila
(night). On the second day a similar Piyut is chanted,
based on the words, "Ye shall say, it is the sacrifice of the
Passover," each line ending with the word Pesakh.s Next
comes an indescribable jingle (Ki lo na'e), which also
runs through the alphabet. After the last cup and the little
rhyme given above under 16, the Germans have Derhaps the
merriest time of the whole evening in three songs, which
many of them sing in the German tongue or rather in a
Jewish jargon.
The first is:
"Almighty (the word is chosen because like its Hebrew counter
part it begins with the first letter) is he; he'll build his house very
soon; speedily, speedily, speedily; in our days very soon; God
build; God build; build thy house very soon.
The other letters of the alphabet, "Blessed is he, great is
he, etc.," are, to save time, combined into four groups, the

THE PASSOVER NIGHT 365
rest goes on as above, "he'll build, etc." The air is very
simple and thoroughly German.
The next piece begins, "One who knoweth? One I do
know," and runs up to thirteen; the last verse shows the
contents of the whole:
Thirteen who knoweth? Thirteen I do know: thirteen are the
qualities; twelve are the tribes; eleven are the stars (in Joseph's
dream) ; ten are the words (commandments) ; nine are the moons
of birth; eight are the days of circumcision; seven are the days of
the week; six are the orders of the Mishna; five are the parts of the
Law; four are the mothers; three are the fathers; two are the
Tables of the Covenant; one is our God, who is in heaven and on
the earth.
The last and best known of these poetic enlargements is
"One Kid! One Kid!" written in Aramaic mixed with
Hebrew, in the same progressive manner as the preceding
and as "The House that Jack built." Its last and all embrac
ing part runs thus:
Then came the Holy and Blessed God, and killed the Angel of
Death, who killed the butcher, who slaughtered the ox, who drank
up the water, which quenched the fire, that burnt the stick, which
beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the kid, which my father
bought for two shillings, one kid! one kid!
The meaning is well-known. Our Father in Heaven
bought the kid Israel with the blood of circumcision and
the blood of the Passover. The Kid was swallowed by the
cat, Egypt. Egypt was conquered by Babylon (the dog);
both by the Medes and Persians (the stick); these by the
fiery Alexander; Alexander's empire by Rome, which like
water overspread the whole world; Rome as mistress of
Palestine was supplanted by the ox, the Saracens. So far
there is no dispute. It seems that the butcher stands for the
crusaders; that the angel of death, who was to put an end to
their cruelties, was only hoped for; and that the piece was
written while the Latin Kingdom ruled at Jerusalem. It is
objected that "One Kid" (Had Gadyo) is not found in ser-

366 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
vice books older than the sixteenth century,9 but it could
easily have been handed down by oral tradition. The
Sefardim in Palestine recite a number of legends con
nected with the Haggada in Spanish to this day without
publishing them in their service books.
The Jews of Yemen enrich their Haggada by an inser
tion at the beginning rather than at the end, i. e., in the
Kiddush, with which the ceremony begins. Poor and
oppressed as they have been for the last 1200 years, they
feel the joy of the great national holiday sufficiently to
congratulate themselves in the following grandiose words
inserted after "he has chosen us" in the regular form:
He was pleased with us and beautified us; separated us as a holy
gift from every nation, made us inherit a precious land, sanctified
his name in the world for the sake of the fathers who did his will,
did mighty deeds for his own sake; his wonders are past finding
out. He called us the community of the saints, a precious vineyard,
a pleasant plantation; he called them (us) his own property, took
them from all the nations of the earth; for they are compared to
the host of heaven, and set like the stars in the firmament; and
they were the uppermost in the world, and honored above all
tribes; the beaming of their faces is like the radiance of the sun,
and the looks of their likeness like that of the ministering angels.
Kings look to them and rise; princes bow low, on account of the
Lord of Hosts who has chosen them.10
Here we have the pride of Israel in its divine 'mission car
ried to the verge of burlesque, if not beyond it. But setting
aside this extravaganza, which the religious teachers of
Israel in other countries than Southern Arabia have wisely
rejected, the prevailing tone running through the Jewish
service book for the Sabbath and Festivals, and to a great
extent through all our services, is one rather of exultation
over our lot, that we are God's children, always at home
and welcome in our Father's house, than of grief for our
sufferings, deserved or undeserved, or of contrition for our
sins.

THE PASSOVER NIGHT 367
I have, however, no reflections of my own to add. Let
the reader draw his own conclusions. Following the cus
tom of Jewish commentators and editors, I now close with
the short epilogue:
Tain l~c-nishlam Shcbah la-El Bore Olam.
Complete and done, praise be to God, Creator of the
world.

NOTES

BOOK I
general and historical introduction
CHAPTER I
DIVISIONS OF THE JEWISH BODY
(Pp. 11-18)
1Curious to say, this latter identification is approved, or at least
spoken of as plausible, by such profound and earnest scholars as
Lenormant and Chevallier, in their History of the East. The
Spanish writers of the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth cen
turies speak of those of the Northern ritual as Tzarfathim, i. e.,
French, France outside of Provence being then the chief seat of
that ritual. The Jews of England were but a colony from France.
2Here are some proofs: (1) The vowel marks were made at
Tiberias in Galilee, and agree better with the German than the
Sefardic style; for in the former Kametz is always 0, in the latter
a or 0; in the former the Sheva is always no vowel, in the latter
either none or a light and short one; 3 and n, the letters which
oftenest take the Dagesh lene, are to the Germans changed by it in
sound, to the others not. (2) The guttural i' has been lost by the
Germans, as according to Talmudic testimony it was lost by
the Galileans. Late Phoenician inscriptions also show confusion
between Xandj' ; that is, the heathens of Galilee had unlearnt the
sound of the latter. (3) The German distinctions in 3 and n re
mind of the Aramaic dialect, the Syriac, spoken in the provinces
bordering on Galilee; while there is nothing similar in Arabic,
spoken in those bordering on Judea. (4) The Syriac also differs
from South Aramaic dialects in the change between a and 0, just as
it would, if spelled with Hebrew letters and vowel points, differ be
tween Germans and Sefardim. (5) In Phoenician, the Hebrew of
Galilee, as we know through Greek and Latin, the sound of Ka
metz was mostly 0; the letter name Iod, Greek Imra, Latin iota, is
the Hebrew ' ; Carthago, Kap^rj8d>v, the Hebrew Kart-hadashaCNew-
(37i)

372 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
town); Dido is TIT; fiuiiws is D03. And the Holem was not a pure
o; to the Romans it sounded u; e. g. Suffetes (the Consuls of Carthage)
were D'tflSl!-? ; jubilare comes from Var, the ram's-horn. The
Phoenician Shurek is rendered by Roman y, which recalls the
sound of this vowel in eastern Europe. By the by, the better
schools in Poland and Russia now teach the true sound of the y,
the short vowel value of the Sheva, and the correct word-accent.
Maimonides (Hilchoth Tefilla, ch. 8, § 12) shows the exclusiveness
of the Sefardim by disabling one who stammers, or "confounds
K and y " as a leader in public worship.
The IID of R. Amram was in modern times known only from
fragments quoted in medieval works; in 1865 an edition was printed
from the only MS. extant; but it is on its face thoroughly "cor
rupt." It contains passages belonging exclusively to the German
Minhag, and many compositions by Spanish poets of the twelfth
century. The book would yet have great historic value, if we
could be sure that the transcribers have only added, and not
omitted. For the German ritual the Mahzor Vitry, dated in 1208,
is the highest authority. It does, however, contain some passages
which at present belong not to the German, but only to the Sefar
dic Minhag. In 1892 it was published in print from two MSS. at
London and Oxford. A ritual, dated London, 5047 (1287), of which
many extracts are given in the Jewish Quarterly Review for October,
1891, is also instructive as to the old state of the German ritual. The
Jews of Egypt, Palestine, and Arabia formerly had a ritual differing
from the German and the Sefardic; but the authority of Maimonides
during his stay in Egypt and the inflow of Spanish fugitives carried
these countries (except Yemen) into the fold of the Sefardic ritual.
In the nineteenth century a vast immigration from Poland, Russia,
and Roumania has established synagogues of the German ritual in
Palestine and Egypt.
4Pesahim, ch. 4, §§ 1-5; Megilla, ch. 2, § 2. The phrase, "all
according to the custom of the country," is often met with.
°See an account given by Benjamin, of Tudela, quoted by Zunz,
in his Gottesdienstliche Vortrage. Ed. 1, p. 439; ed. 2, p. 424.
"A peculiar difference between the Sefardic and German service
books has arisen since the beginning of the nineteenth century by
the labors of Wolf Heidenheim, who revised all those of the German
Minhag, of all kinds, daily, Festival, and Fast, correcting the spelling
in both letters and vowels, and occasionally the grammatical forms
so as to make the text conform as nearly as possible to the Hebrew
ot the Bible. The Sefardic books have never undergone such a
revision; in fact, the greatest Hebrew scholar among the Sefardim

NOTES 373
of the nineteenth century, S. D. Luzzatto, objected to Heiden-
heini's work as obscuring the history of the Prayer Book.
'The writer owes what he says in this work about Yemen to
two pamphlets of Dr. H. Barnstein and Dr. W. H. Greenburg,
published in 1896. As to pronunciation, the former quotes a book
written by Jacob Saphir (Lyk, 1866, T9D \M ) from his own
knowledge. The Yemenites use an over-line set of vowel signs,
which has long been called the Babylonian, but must, like our
ordinary under-line vowel marks, have come from Galilee. For
the Babylonians were Judeans, sang pur, reading Hebrew in
Sefardic style, and could not contrive a notation in which the
same mark is used for long a and short 0, differing from those for
short a and long 0; and this is so in the over-line, just as in the
under-line system.
"Mr. S. Schechter has written a sketch of the life-work of Ba'al
Shem Tob, which has been published with other essays from his
scholarly pen by the Jewish Publication Society (S. Schechter.
Studies in Judaism. Philadelphia, 1896). In many towns of South
ern Russia, the Jews opposed to Hasidism have also adopted the
half-Sefardic liturgy of the Hasidim. One of these opponents (Mis-
nagdim) being asked by the writer wherein they differed from the
Hasidim, seeing they used the same ritual, answered: That they
believed in the "Rebby" — the miracle-working spiritual head of a
society of Hasidim — while he and his set did not.

CHAPTER II
HISTORIC BACKGROUND— LIFE-CENTER IN PALESTINE
(Pp. 19-32)
'Ezra 3:11; Jer. 33: 11 (with a slight variation).
2Neh. 8. Some critics hold that this chapter only dupli
cates a similar event told in Ezra 3; but if it does (which it is
needless to assume), the later date — that in Nehemiah — should be
preferred as the true one.
sSimeon (or Simon) the Just is well known to the Christian
world; his ministrations as High Priest are glowingly described at
the close of Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira). Only a few hundred years
after his death so little was known of the times between Ezra and
him, that he was taken for a younger contemporary of the former.
This error in chronology, making the time between the destruc
tion of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and that by Titus only 490

374 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
years, instead of 658, appears first in T. B. Aboda Zara, ga. The
late guess at 120 as the number of the men (T. B. Megilla, 176;
see also T. J. on Berachoth, ch. 2, § 4) coupled with this statement,
making them nearly contemporaries (see Bartenoro on Aboth, ch.
1, § 1), is worthless.
4T. B. Baba Bathra, 15a. Whenever and by whomsoever Canti
cles was written, the heading, "Song of Songs which is of Solo
mon," must have been by the Great Synod, or other Sages at
Jerusalem. The heading has the Judaic "it-VK, while in the poem
"which" is always expressed by the Galilaic VI.
"Aboth, ch. 1, § 2.
"Berachoth, ch. 1, § 1. "From what time on do they read the
Shema in the evening? From the hour when the priests come in to
eat their tribute ( nnnn )." The answer means: From the first
appearance of stars. Priests, becoming defiled, had, according to
the law in Leviticus, to wait till "evening" before they could
become clean, and thus qualified to eat their sacred food. Custom
had established, that for this purpose evening meant the appearance
of stars, about twenty-five minutes after sunset. So when the
question as to the reading of the Shema was first discussed, it could
be thus answered by referring to a rule already well-known.
'Ecclesiasticus, written soon after the death of Simeon the Just,
speaks of his time as one of peace and splendor; of its own time,
as beset by troubles and dangers.
"Aboth, ch. 1, carries the tradition down from Simeon to Anti
gonus of Socho, and leaving a gap, says that Jose ben Joezer and
Jose ben Johanan received it of them (i. e., some disciples of Anti
gonus). It names as the next couple Joshua ben Perahiah and
Nittai from Arbela (near Babylon) ; as the nexr, Judah ben Tabba'i
and Simeon ben Shetah (who plays quite a part in history) ; as the
next, Shemaiah and Abtalion ( said to have been converts) ; the
next are Hillel and Shammai. The first named in each couple
(JII) is the Patriarch, literally Prince (X'tffJ), or President of the
Sanhedrin; the other, the Father of the Court (pi JV3 3X) or Vice-
President. Menahem is named as the first colleague of Hillel; he
took a political office under King Herod, and made room for
Shammai (Hagiga, ch. 2, § 2). Maxims are ascribed to the bearers
of the tradition in Aboth, ch. 1, § 1 ; little else is known of any of
them before Hillel and Shammai, except Simeon ben Shetah;
and few names are found in the Mishna that certainly belong to
older times. Tanna ( SOJ? ) is the noun of agent in Aramaic, of a
verb equivalent to Hebrew nw, he did secondly, i. e., he taught
secondary learning, he taught Mishna.

NOTES 375
"Jadaim, ch. 3, § 4. The House of Shammai rejected Ecclesiastes
(Eduioth, ch. 5, § 3, "Ecclesiastes does not defile the hands"); the
Hillelites counted it in the Canon.
'"See Talmuds on Sanhedrin, ch. 10, § 1, for the dispute on the
resurrection; on retaliation or damages in money, see T. B. Baba
Kamma, 836. See also the chaffing between Pharisee and Sad-
ducee in Mishna, Jadaim, ch. 4. As to refinements against capital
punishments, see inter alia, Sanhedrin, ch. 8, §§ 1-4; as to stoning
and burning, ib., ch. 6, § 3 and ch. 7, § 2. Dr. Jost, in his Geschichte
des Judenthums, says that the Sadducees did not deny all traditions,
as they took part with the people in public worship; but only those
which run counter to the written letter. But this was a thing of
necessity; cutting loose entirely from established usage is almost
impossible. Dr. A. Geiger, in his Urschrift, seeks to trace
the warring sects back to King David's reifrn, deriving the name
of the Sadducees from his High Priest Zadok, and treats the two
sects as but another form for the old parties of the hereditary
priesthood and of the prophetic schools; but his view has not been
generally received.
uHoraioth, ch. 4, § 8.
"Sanhedrin, ch. 2, § 4, says: The king commands in a voluntary
war decreed by the Council of 71. The number was made up from
Numbers n: 24. As to the High Priest, see Joma, ch. 1, §§ 3-6.
uMatt. 15: 2. Berachoth, ch. 8, gives disputed points on wash
ing for the meal; Jadaim treats mainly of washing the hands. The
salt custom is based on Lev. 2: 3. ^BU "he washes," as applied
to the hands, is literally "he lifts." The hands are not dipped in
water; it is poured on them.
"Benedictions at hand-washing, kindling the Sabbath, Festival,
or Hanucca lights, reading the Book of Esther, reading the Hallel
Psalms. 15Sicarii in Latin; hence [lp'lp'D (cmp. Gittin, ch. 5), many of them
Gentiles. Jost, in Geschichte des Judenthums, pt. 2, p. 14, shows how
after Herod's death Rome placed all power in the hands of its tool,
the High Priest. It is said that forty years before the destruction
the Sanhedrin left the Hewn-stone Hall; the Shechina (God's
Presence) went into exile. The Gospels confirm this: there was no
regular court, nor regular trial of Jesus; only a political discus
sion before the High Priest as to the expediency of denouncing
him to the Romans. Aboth, ch. 2, § 8, indicates the interregnum
after Hillel and Shammai, by calling Johanan ben Zaccai their
successor in the traditions, though he opened his school only after
the fall of Jerusalem.

376 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
10Sota, ch. 7, § 5, where Agrippa is told, "Thou art our brother."
"Isa. 9: 6, 7; 11: 1-5; Micah 5: 2-4; Zech. 9: 9; Ps. 2; Hab. 2: 3-
The great millennial predictions are Isa. 2: 2-4; Micah 4: i-4>
"This point was made in a later age; see next chapter.
'°E. g., Theudas, mentioned in Josephus and in the Acts.
""Much of Eduioth and Berachoth, ch. 8, states many points on
which the schools divide; as to divorce, see Gittin, ch. 9, § 10;
as to tithing cumin, Eduioth, ch. 5, § 3- Jesus takes ground on
both points against Hillel. Hillel's school generally prevailed;
see in Berachoth, ch. 1, § 3, the reproof to R. Tarfon for acting
against it. Sometimes the Hillelites gave in to the better reason
of the Shammaites, as in T. B. Berachoth, 536: "If a man leaves
the table forgetting to say grace, must he go back to the place of
his meal to say it? Shammai says yes, Hillel no. Would you, ask
the Hillelites, send a man back to the top of a tower to say grace?
Would he not, say the others, go up, if he had forgotten a jewel?
Thereafter the school of Hillel taught like that of Shammai."
Shammai's school was generally the stricter.
21T. B. Pesahim, 47. Other expressions of hatred are given on
like authority.
22The treatise Dema'i deals with this mistrust about tithing. In
T. B. Berachoth, 47b, several Rabbis give their definitions of the
Am ha-aretz: (1) He who does not eat profane food in cleanness
(i. e., who does not, on Pharisaic principles, extend to his daily
food the rules which Holy Writ lays down for sacrificial food,
or the Teruma). (2) Who does not tithe rightly. (3) Who
does not read the Shema evening and morning. (4) Who does
not lay phylacteries. (5) Who has no fringes on his garment. (6)
Who has no Mezuza (parchment copy of Deut. 6: 4-9, and 11:
13-21) on his door. (7) Who does not bring up his sons to the
study of the Law. (8) R. Meir says, even if one studies Bible
and Mishna, he is an Am ha-aretz, unless he attends upon a disciple
of the wise. In this passage it is also conceded that a Samaritan
may be a companion (Haber). See above, Note 13.
Z3EccIus., ch. 38. The sick man should pray, the physician should
heal. 24 nw is the Hebrew name.
25Mishna, Sanh., ch. 10, § 3. "The ten tribes will never return,"
says R. Akiba. He is said to have travelled to the upper Tigris
that he might see the descendants of Shalmaneser's exiles for
himself. 20Neither Roman nor Jewish sources give a clear and connected
account of the rebellion, or series of rebellions. They began in

A'OTES 377
Trajan's time, the hard fighting was against Hadrian, and it is
said that an Antoninus (Pius) gave the Jews permission to bury
their dead.
"'T. B. Aboda Zara, ioa, seems to fix his time. He was intimate
with an emperor going by the name Antonine, which must have
been Elagabalus, as he speaks of Severus as his son; Severus was
such by adoption.
^The unnamed (DilD) Mishna is ascribed to R. Meir. A first
Mishna and a Mishna of R. Akiba are mentioned together in
Sanhedrin, ch. 3. § 4. The Patriarch is always quoted as "Rabbi"
simply: "R. Judah" means an earlier sage, the son of II' ai. The
treatise Eduioth (testimonies) looks like a first attempt at a col
lection of disputed points.
MMany believe that "Rabbi" did not write his collection, but only
made his scholars learn it by heart, but admit that two of these
reduced it to writing within twenty-five years after his death. The
close agreement between the Mishna embodied in the Jerusalem
and that in the Babylonian Talmud makes one think that it was
all written down under his direction. The six orders are: (1)
D'l'lt (Seeds), that is field-corner, tithes, and other charges on
agriculture, to which is prefixed treatise HU13 (Benedictions),
the most important for our purpose. (2) TjND (Set time) about
Sabbath, Feasts, and Fasts. (3) D'tSO, (Women), about marriage
laws and vows. (4) I'D'IJ (Damages), or civil and criminal law;
also two treatises of collected sayings, one of which, nux (Fathers),
is reprinted in the Prayer Book. (5) D'BHp (Holy things), mainly,
but not wholly, about sacrifice. (6) nnno (Cleanness) about
Levitical purity.
""Mechilta on Exodus, Sifra on Leviticus, Sifri (or Sifre) on
Numbers and Deuteronomy; additions to any one treatise are
known as Tosifta.
31Most of the fifth and sixth orders; also about King and High
Priest, Sanhedrin, chs. 2 and 3; the latter's ministrations on Atone
ment Day, nearly all through Joma.
32Sanhedrin, ch. 10, § I.
The Talmud seldom doubts the authenticity of the Mishna, but
Baraitha is often quoted in two or three conflicting forms. It
tells many fairy tales about R. Akiba, R. Simeon ben Johai, and
other early sages, foreign to the sober character of these men, and
naturally attributes to them late superstitions.
34Baba Metzia, ch. 4, § 2; Baraitha in T. B. on same, 58b;
Aboth, ch. 3, § 11.

378 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
35 Civil law forms as in Kethuboth, ch. 4, §§ 8, 10, and popular
saws, as Aboth, ch. 1, § 13, are given in pure Aramaic.
36Hor. Sat. L. I, Sat. 9, v. 63 {trigesima Sabbata).
"Jos. Ant. Bk. 20, ch. 2. Monobazes, King of Adiabene, and his
mother Helen are mentioned, Joma, ch. 3, § 10. The churches
addressed by John in Revelations and by Paul in his Epistles were
all made up in part of Jews, or "converts of the gate," i. e., Gentiles
acknowledging the truths of Scripture, but not submitting to the
yoke of the Law.
M DTD may be good Hebrew for kinds or species, hence sects;
ro, more probably a contemptuous shortening of J-'OXO believer;
or may come from the root |X0, to refuse, and mean recusants.
""Berachoth, ch. 9, § 5. "Since the Minim made mischief, saying
there is only one world," could not apply to Christians.

CHAPTER III
HISTORIC BACKGROUND— CENTER NO LONGER IN PALESTINE
(Pp- 33-43)
'For R. Simlai's discourse on the 613 precepts, see T. B. Maccoth,
23, 24. Jost, in his Geschichte des Judenthums, thinks that the enum
eration must be older; but as there is great latitude in the way of
counting, this is by no means certain. The two masters of legend
are important, as Palestine hereafter was less the land of dry legal
discussion, than of free exegesis, parable, and legend. The two
last Geonim, Sherira in the tenth century and Ha'i in the eleventh,
are the main chronologers of this period, the former giving the
dates of the Palestinian and Babylonian sages by the Era of
Seleucus. 2E. g., T. B. Berachoth, 50a, we find the Resh Gelutha well
versed in the forms of after-dinner grace.
3The "two colleges" ( Nirrno ) always claimed to set the standard
for the liturgy; see R. Amram passim in his Seder, and his quota
tions of his predecessor, the Gaon Natronai.
4A book of the twelfth century, called Kerithoth, followed by
later historians, draws the chain of tradition in East and West
from the two Talmuds, to the end of K13D (opinion).
"T. B. Sanhedrin, 996; but the Palestinian Rabbis here quoted
show the same forgetfulness or lack of learning. The ignorance of
Kab and Samuel, both men of Western education — T. B. Megilla,
1 ia— about the location of nn and W2 and of Gaza and Thap-

NOTES 379
sacus, is assumed for the sake of an argument. The real ignor
ance in Persian history, shown in Aboda Zara, ga, which
puts the Temple under Persian dominion for only thirty-two years,
the Rabbis shared with their Neo-Persian masters, who mixed
up the first Darab (Darius) with the last, who was conquered by
Alexander. The notions about medicine, which Abbaye, a Chief
Rabbi of the fifth Babylonian generation, holds and teaches, are very
crude; and the philology of the Babylonians is wild and vile; but
hardly worse than that of Plato in his Kratylos, or, considering
the times, than that of Noah Webster in the dictionary as he wrote
it. Astrology is gotten rid of by the maxim l7NlB,,l7 StD |% "The
constellations have no power over Israel." T. B. Shabbath, 156b.
T. B. Berachoth, 58b, and T. J. on Samuel, ch. 9, § 3. He made
this claim, because the Patriarch at Tiberias pretended to have
some secret knowledge of astronomy, enabling him alone to regu
late the calendar; though he admitted that the orbit of comets
was beyond his powers. His wisest saying is: All the prophets
have prophesied only as far as the Messianic age; but the future
world "'no eye has seen, O God, but thine'' (Isa. 64: 4); i. e., the
world beyond the grave transcends human conception (T. B.
Berachoth, 346).
*T. B. Sanhedrin, 986, 99a.
8T. B. Baba Metzia, 590, and T. B. Pesahim, 87; see also T. B.
Jebamoth, 62 and 63, as to the forlorn condition of the wifeless
man. °T. B. Sanhedrin, 28a, where a criminal was sentenced to have
his eyes put out, and ib., 25a, where we are told that a Cohen's
daughter was burnt for adultery.
10T. B. Sanhedrin, 99, 1000. What is the use of the Rabbis?
They cannot forbid pigeons, nor permit us to eat ravens.
"The Calla is best known from the prayer |pT3 Dip1! in
which the chiefs of the assembly are blessed. Most notices
about it come in post-Talmudic times. In Succa, 260, we read of
a large crowd on the banks of the Sura River, to attend the dis
course on the Sabbath of the Feast itself.
"T. B. Pesahim, 56.
13Both Biblical Aramaic and that of the Bab. T. are nearer than
Syriac to the Hebrew conjugations; they contain many Assyro-
Babylonian elements, both in roots and flexions, do not suppress
letters as freely as Syriac, etc. and, of course, they lack Greek, and
contain Persian elements.
"Jost, in Geschichte des Judenthums, declares that everything as to
time, place, and names of this branch of the Masora (textual tradi-

380 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
tion) is unknown. He points out that the "Treatise of Scribes" is
still silent on vowels; but no one knows when that book was
written. Graetz and more modern writers know no more. The
discovery of the over-line vowelling system has contributed noth
ing to solve the mystery. The identity of one vowel name with the
Syriac (Patah and Pethokho) and the aspiration or lack of aspira
tion in fVSJ TJ3 in analogy to the 'tom 'KtrVlp in Syriac, are
the only solid starting points, and these only to the place of
the invention, not to the time. The history of the accents, in a later
century, is as obscure as that of the vowels.
"These treatises are generally printed in editions of the Talmud
at the end of the fourth Order. For most of what follows in this
chapter we refer to the ordinary histories of the Jews, especially
that of Graetz {History of the Jews. H. Graetz. 6 vols. Am. Ed.
Jewish Publication Society of America. Philadelphia, 1898). The
codes and literary works named prove themselves.
"Some modern prayer books of the German ritual, e. g., that of
the "Rabbi of Lissa," put over every benediction the number of
words contained, excluding everything which was not numbered
in the eleventh or twelfth century; e. g., in the Geulla of the
morning service the line "Rock of Israel, arise, etc." Other books
simply put it in brackets. The motive may have been superstitious,
the benedictions being looked on rather as charms and enchant
ments than as an outpouring of the soul; but the result was good.
In this way Cabbalistic interpolations were kept out of the more
important parts of the service.
"See article on Rosh in the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

CHAPTER IV
midrash and aggadta
(Pp. 44-49)
'Beside the works which bear this title, among which that upon
Genesis, ch. 1-44, is the oldest, the Targum, or Aramaic paraphrase,
ascribed to Jonathan ben Uzziel, upon the books of the Prophets,
and the very late Pseudo-Jonathan on the Pentateuch, deserve men
tion, and the fragmentary Targum of Jerusalem is a treasure house
of "Midrash."
2The derivation of this word from the verb TJil, to tell, has been
lately denied, but it seems is clearly right. The learned W. Bacher,
in the Jewish Quarterly Review for April, 1892, shows that this verb

NOTES 381
in tlie Mishna is predicated of a clause in Scripture which gives or
"tells" something not obvious at first sight. Hence the noun iTUD.
The last three pages of the T. B. on treatise Berachoth are made
up of such interpretations. Sometimes two on the same verse are
frankly connected by the words ITIX "m (another idea), words so
common in the Midrash as to be abbreviated N"1.
'Jadaim, ch. 3, § 4.
°The personification of the heavenly bodies in the benediction
"ON nxr is not Aggadta; for the Psalms make Sun, Moon, and
Stars, and the Firmament, too, praise God (Ps. 19 and 148).
6T. B. Rosh Hashana, 80 and 8b.
'Rosh Hashana, ch. 1, § 2. On this day all creatures pass before
God [110 *12D. like "sons of sheep (?);" the word occurs no
where else. The phrase is copied into the best known of all the
''poetries" for the Festivals. The Mishna proceeds: "and on the
Feast (Tabernacles) the world is judged as to rain."
"One bullock is sacrificed on this day, seventy bullocks are
offered on the seven preceding days; the latter represent the seventy
nations, the former Israel, whose time will come on that day; see
T. B. Succa, 556. In T. B. Rosh Hashana, no, opinions are
divided, whether the final redemption will take place in Nisan or
in Tishri. The latter idea was the more popular, as is shown by
the song in the service for the Joy of the Law: "The Scion will
come on the Joy of the Law," i. e., the double of this eighth day.
"Tfee passage in the Day of Atonement service about the "ten
martyrs," flVj^O 'Jlin 7VMt/y, or a dirge in the Sefardic ser
vice for the Ninth of Ab on the same subject, is probably the
oldest version of the story; for the death of four of the ten is not
mentioned in the Talmud.
10Bereshith Rabba, ch. 38.
UT. B. Berachoth, 6a.
12T. B. Menahoth, 35b.
"From the Hymn of Glory by Samuel ben Kalonymos, written
about 1200.
"T. J. on Pesahim, ch. 10, § 1. The other reasons are: Pharaoh's
cups are mentioned four times in the account of the cup-bearer's
dream; the four kingdoms, i. e., the Babylonian, Medo-Persian,
Babylonian, Roman; four times in the Bible the enemies of Israel
are threatened with an evil cup; four times a cup of joy or salvation
is mentioned.
"Will be shown in the chapter on the Passover Night Service.
18 Jtsm, TJD : these are the "nouns of agent" of the verbs to
which EniD and ITUn are the nouns of action. Many a Maggid

382 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
has earned a reputation all over Poland and Hungary by his dis
courses. Those of the "Dubnoer Maggid" are in print, and much
sought after by old-style preachers who cannot rely on their own
resources. 17 onip'SS, as remarked in the preceding chapter, means an
infidel; hence the later Jews have formed the noun niDilp'SX
to mean apostasy or unbelief.
"Jehuda Hallevi, in the Cuzari, pt. 3, § 73, puts the Aggadta in its
true light, of an expression of truths felt by the writers in bold
and too graphic language. The undisguised contradictions, with
none to reconcile opposite views, or to judge between them, were
well known to the Talmudic student; but were not so well known
to our mothers or grandmothers, who on every Sabbath used to
read the week's lesson in "the Deitsch Chumesh," a paraphrase in
jargon, full of the most grotesque specimens of Aggadta. This
work, bearing also the high-sounding Hebrew name nj'XIl nj'NS
(Go ye out and see!) must be mentioned here, because its perusal
has for nearly two hundred years supplied with many thousands of
women in Germany and in Eastern Europe the place of the
preacher. "The word is SlDOU. An example of how the Talmud took the
bold narrative of Scripture, is found T. B. Rosh Hashana, 176,
concerning Ex. 34: 5, etc. Here God is represented as if he was
a leader in prayer in his robes coming down on Mt. Sinai to teach
Moses how to recite the thirteen qualities of mercy: "If the Tora
had not said so, we would not have dared it." The thirteen quali
ties play a great part in the Atonement and Fast Day Service, and
the leader has to chant them. Or see T. B. Megilla, 21a, on
Deut. 5: 28, where God says to Moses, "and thou stand with me
here," as if it were possible to think that God stands; and T. B.
Baba Bathra, 170, on God's remark to Satan in the first chapter of
Job: "Thou hast persuaded me, etc."

CHAPTER V
SECRET LORE, OR CABBALA
(Pp. 50-56)
1 njlWi POD , a word found in philosophic as well as in mystic
works. 2The writer heard this thought about the choice of the word nv
in Job 38: 6, from his father S"3ft.

NOTES 383
* piffSO h'hy . Those who personify wisdom find their authority
in Prov. 8: 21, etc.
4So in the phrase, JTruOBn H'Olp KTrv1?. The word T\Y3V> is
never thus personified, either in the Mishna or in the old Prayer
Book. BT. B. Sanhedrin, 386. The Greek fierdftpovtis, "behind the
throne," is a plausible explanation. The late Dr. Goldammer,
of Cincinnati, tried to derive the word from a Coptic compound,
met-at-ran, "endlessness;" and there are many other guesses; such
as /isTazupavvus and Metator.
"Rashi, following older comments, on Gen. 18: 2, "ins "-jhSd |'K
nirriay TW r\W\y (one angel never goes on two missions). For
namelessness, see Gen. 32: 29; Jud. 13: 6.
'But only Michael, the special protector of Israel, and Gabriel
are named. Many more names appear in the Talmud; none in the
Mishna. Michael, Gabriel, and five others are in the later Cabbala,
coupled with the seven days of the week and the seven planets.
"Hagiga, ch. 2, § 1 : "They should not discourse on the work of
creation to two (at a time); nor on the chariot to even one, unless
he is well prepared in wisdom." Maimonides ad locum believes that
by rnj-iD TWyo proof of the existence of God, his attributes, the
nature of the angels, the soul, and future life are meant. Bartenoro,
it seems more correctly, says a learning was meant which would
enable the adept to "make use of the crown," i. e., work miracles
by the mention of divine names ( mot-V ).
°T. B. Hagiga, 14&. The context shows that mystic lore is
meant by the D"H3 , not Greek philosophy, as some moderns
maintain. "Treatise Megilla, last section.
UT. B., 606, commenting on Ps. 56: 10.
"Taken from 1 Chron. 29: n ("Thine, O Lord, is the greatness,
etc."). They are: 1. Ton (nSnj); 2. rnuj. 3. m-xan ; 4. nsj ;
5. Tin; 6. tio' (nanx); 7. nuSo.
"(1) noun; 2. r\Y2; 3- njn(--iru). See Prov. 3: 19, 20. In the
later Cabbala, the chain of Sephiroth depends from the ^lD j'N, or
Endless. "The Saxon poem by Caedmon, written in the ninth century,
proves this.
"Zunz puts the date of the book at about 700 C. E., Laz. Gold-
schmidt, in the days of the Maccabees. Saadia inferred from the
double pronunciation assigned to the letters rr"i30 TJ3 , that the
book was written in Galilee; and this consideration induces the

384 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
writer to assign the age of R. Akiba to it, Galilee having then be
come the center of Jewish life.
"Sepher Jetzira, ch. 1, § 5. The Sephiroth here bear the predicate
nD'ba, empty space, nothing, from Job 26: 7.
"(1) It/21 (self); (2) nn (breath, spirit) ; (3) rrn (the living prin
ciple); (4) notyj (soul); (5) mTT(the only one).
"Forty-nine stages of progress ( J'JTI ) upward, but the fiftieth
has not been reached; hence the J (so) is missing in the alphabet of
Psalm 145. The seventy-two names are formed from Ex. 14: 19.
20, 21.
"The niSa'n are repeatedly quoted in Abudraham, where their
influence can be traced, but mainly in compositions not now in use.
20Thus, Jl1? is used where the Targum has pn1?, and the Talmud
Babli has in1?. But the attempt to write in the dialect of Galilee is
not fully carried out; often (e. g., in opening upon Ex. 3: 1) R.
Simeon speaks in the Hebrew dialect of the Mishna. Occasion
ally a word like XJWN, plain Spanish for synagogue, tells the
tale. Edom and Ishmael are brought forward as great aggregates
in commenting on the verse in Deuteronomy, "ye are the fewest
among the nations." The Zohar is divided into weekly portions,
though Simeon ben Johai as a Palestinian only knew the three-years
cycle. The sages of the Mishna counted either by the Era of Se
leucus or by the years of the Emperor; Jadaim, ch. 4, sub Ane; Gittin,
ch. 8, § S, where an era from the building and one from the destruc
tion of the Temple are also named as possible, but no Anno
Mundi. And see for documentary proof of the fraud committed by
R. Moses de Leon, Dr. A. Neubauer's articles in the Jewish Quar
terly Review, April and July, 1892.
21It is |'DV p'r-ij? and KD81 JON. The xmntsn in comments on
Ex. 14 comes dangerously near the Virgin Mary. The frequent
mention of, and great stress laid on faith ( •SWIUDTID ) also
smack of Christianity. In Comments on Gen. 17, we find "the
anointed king ( Nn't-yo JO70), who is called by God's name!"
22Such are the ohyi tmo and the XJD'no X'jn (The Secret
Research and The Faithful Shepherd), which serve as a supple
ment to the Zohar, and are published with it; also the 'Jlpn
rrWU (Expositions of "In the Beginning"), seventy fantastic com
ments on the first word of the Bible.
23The prayer n'Dt-y y*U will be given in full in its proper place.
24S. Schechter's sketch of the life and work of R. Israel "Besht,"
is the first in a volume of essays and reviews by him, issued by the
Jewish Publication Society (S. Schechter. Studies in Judaism.
Philadelphia, 1896).

N(7TES 385
25The use made by Tholuck and Jewish apostates in Germany to
lure men of Cabbalistic tendency over to Christianity has served
to expose the poison lurking in the mystic lore.
"Some reference to these innovations will be made hereafter.
Isaac Luria gave the Halacha a spiritual content. Lev. n: 33, pro
vides that an earthen vessel, when defiled, must be broken to pieces;
these are then clean, and so is a new vessel made of them. The
Talmud (T. B. Baba Metzia, 596) discusses the ''oven of Achnai,"
easily broken into separate tiles; when these are joined again by
mortar, there is a clean oven. But there remains the question, is
such new oven "capable of-uncleanness." R. Eliezer says yes, the
others, no. The Talmud tells how R. Eliezer worked miracles to
sustain his position; but the others told him coolly that miracles
prove nothing, that only the majority can interpret the Law in
disputed cases. The story is well known, and the sentiment of the
majority highly approved without regard to the question involved.
But Luria takes up the question: the earthen vessel is man; he
sins and becomes unclean; he is broken into pieces by death, and
thus cleansed; the fragments are put together at the resurrection.
Is the new man capable of sinning? Luria says no, like the majority
which holds that the reconstructed oven is not nXOlO 73pD.
^Moed Katan, ch. 3, § 9. T. B. Rosh Hashana, 190, speaks
of the fast of the seventh month (n,l71J DIS) as "words of Cab
bala," because it was established by Jeremiah, and is mentioned
by the later Prophets. So also Soferim, ch. 18, § 13. Some old
prayers quote verses of the Prophets as "Cabbala."

CHAPTER VI
THE CALENDAR
(Pp. 57-63)
'Rosh Hashana, chs. 1, 2; esp. ch. 2, § 9. The principle that the
day proclaimed by the ruling authority is the true Feast is drawn
from Lev. 23: 4: "These are the set times of the Lord, etc., which
ye shall proclaim, etc."
2Hilchoth Kiddush Hahodesh, chs. 6, 7, 8, 9. The length of the
"mean" month can be learned by a glance at two successive times
of Molad in a Jewish almanac. That for Tishri 5658 is September
25, 1897, at 7 h. p.m. 50 m. 8 pts. (i. e., 50 m. 26 § s). It is easy hence
to get that of any other month of earlier or later date, by multiply-
25

386 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
ing 29 d. 12 h. 793 pts. by the number of intervening months, and
adding the result to or subtracting it from the time named.
"The mean length of the tropical year is now thought to be
365 d. s h. 48 m. 46V2 s., or of 19 years, 6939 d. 14 h. 26 m. 43V2 s.
The Persians had a solar cycle of 33 years, including 8 leap years,
which is much nearer correctness; but a lunar cycle would have
to be much longer to agree better than the Metonic with the true
solar year. While the Mishna is full of rules for fixing the new
moon, where the question of only one day could be involved, it
is silent as to how the Sanhedrin determined upon the' necessity of
a thirteenth month. It was long an open secret. There is a story
(T. B. Sanhedrin, 180) that a month was once intercalated upon
the talk of three cowherds on crops and weather, but it is said there
that the sages used this testimony only to confirm their calcula
tion. The rule about the equinox (HDlpn) is, however, spoken of
among the earlier Rabbis: T. B. Rosh Hashana, 210. And ib.
250 the mean length of the synodical month is said to have been
known to Gamaliel the Elder in the days of the Temple (29% days
§¦ hours 73 pts.) ; and it was used to check the testimony of wit
nesses. The distinction between a "birth," or astronomic new
moon, before and one after noontide is noticed ib. 206.
4Rosh Hashana, ch. 1, § 1. There are four kinds of New Year.
Thus New Year 5658 was Monday, September 27, 1897. Before
the fixed calendar, while the new moon was proclaimed upon sight,
there could be no postponement; hence Purim might be on any
day of the week (Megilla, ch. 1, § 1), and the Ninth of Ab hap
pened on a Friday (T. B. Erubin, 410).
"New moon played in Bible times a great part; see 1 Sam. 20: 24;
2 Kings 4: 23; Isa. 1: 14. The double new moon days are nowhere
distinctly mentioned in the Talmud. On the contrary, in the
Temple the additional offering for the new moon could not be
prepared until the moon had been proclaimed. Rosh Hashana,
ch. 1, §4.
'The Fasts are enumerated and explained T. B. Rosh Hashana,
18&. "T. B., on Betza, ch. 2, § 1, is full of the distinction between the
two days of New Year, which are likened to "one long day," and
the "two holidays of exile" in the other Feasts.
"See Note 20 to preceding chapter as to eras and modes of dating
in earlier use.
"Dr. H. Barnstein's pamphlet already cited. The writer has
seen a Yemen tombstone with the nnBiff T\YS at the British
Museum.

NOTES 387

CHAPTER VII
THE SYNAGOGUE AND ITS FUNCTIONARIES
(Pp. 64-71)
'The Code of R. Joseph Karo (see Orah Hayim, §§150-155) does
not expressly require the placing of the platform in the middle.
The custom on certain days of carrying the scrolls around it seems
to presuppose such a situation. Maimonides (Hilchoth Tefilla,
ch. 9, § 1) speaks of the leader in the services as standing in the
middle of the people, all of whom sit. This is according to the
Sefardic custom by which the services as well as the lessons are
read from the platform.
2See the chapters on the Pentateuch Lessons.
"See the chapters on Prayer, or Amida. The Sefardim justify their
custom of reading the prayers from the reading desk by calling it
Teba. 4Jadaim, ch. 4, § ;; only books thus written are holy. The
Assyrian ('"llBrX) or square letter is that now in use; the Hebrew
(""12;') character, much like the Samaritan, Phoenician, and oldest
Greek, is found on Jewish coins and old inscriptions, while the
Other was as yet used only for sacred writings. The "Assyrian"
forms were worked out to the smallest detail; the "tittle of a jot,"
spoken of in the Gospel of Matthew, is a slight down stroke on
the left side of the 7, neglected in printed type, but carefully made
in the Scrolls. The opinion of some of the old Sages that the
Assyrian letter was as old as Moses, that it was then disused, but
was restored by Ezra, is untenable. The "Hebrew" is clearly the
oldest form. See the discussion, T. B. Sanhedrin, 21a; T. J., on
Megilla, ch. 1, § 5.
'See in Megilla, ch. 4, § 3, distinct words for the responsive read
ing, and for "going down before the Ark." Cmp. Note 1 above, as
to Sefardic custom.
"The separate placing of the women dates back to the D'twn pr\ty
(gallery of women) in the Temple Yard; its dimensions are stated,
Middoth, ch. 2, § 5.
T . J., on Megilla, ch. 3, § 1. See Bk. IV, ch. I.
"They also say prayers in the House of Study. The Talmud
deems it a more sacred place than the Synagogue itself. T. B.
Berachoth, 30; Pea, ch. I, § 1, and' see the decided position taken
in Hilchoth Tefilla, ch. 11, § 14.
"Megilla, ch. 4, § 3, and T. B. thereon. See also T. B. Berachoth,

388 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
21b. The "Treatise of Scribes" (Soferim, ch. io, § 7) speaks of a
custom, which at its date prevailed in Palestine, of holding services
with only seven men present.
"The analogy of two men and a small boy beginning grace after
meal responsively is found, T. B. Berachoth, 480. Orah Hayim,
§ 54 and § 4, says the best casuists ( D'pDlfl ) are opposed, but R.
Moses Isserles .thinks it might be done in an emergency. Of
course, it is always an emergency. The first discussion of the nine
men and one child is found in T. J., on Berachoth, ch. 7, § 2.
"Three, or by another opinion, five ordained sages (Sanhedrin,
ch. 1, § 3) were needed to ordain by laying on hands. An ordained
elder, when solving a religious scruple, took the sin upon himself
alone; but only when he interpreted the law contrary to the
Halacha. Where he denies or falsifies the plain written law (as
where he says there is no Sabbath, or five instead of four para
graphs go into the phylacteries), he is not punishable for the
false decision (Horaioth, ch. 1, §§ 3, 4), for every Israelite is sup
posed to know the plain letter of the written law, and has no
business to listen to its denial by any Rabbi or Sanhedrin. Ordi
nation was valid only in the Holy Land. Its substitute, the written
certificate, known as Hattarath Horaa, is rather modern.
"Maimonides, Hilchoth Tefilla, ch. 8, § 11, insists that the
"Messenger of the congregation" should be the foremost in "learn
ing and works," but adds he should have a pleasant voice.
"Orah Hayim, § 55, sub. 12; but "sinners" may be counted; even
it seems those who openly (X"Dni33) profane the Sabbath; though
the Talmud says of these, that their wine is deemed that of idola
trous drink offering, and their meat the same as pork.
"The [in appears to have been one of the learned class, but of
a lower degree than the Scribes, and these were below the Sages;
see Sota, ch. 9, app. to last section.
"T. B. Megilla, 220: "One who does it without pay." Orah
Hayim, § 53, sub. 22, prefers a paid leader to an amateur.
"Soferim, ch. 14, § 14. This usage runs back to Nehemiah 8.
The Gabbai is still Treasurer or Financial Secretary in most old-
fashioned congregations.

.VO TES 389

BOOK II
THE DEVOTIONS OF THE SYNAGOGUE
CHAPTER I
OUTLINE OF THE LITURGY
(Pp. 75-81)
'The treatise Berachoth of the Mishna speaks throughout of the
devotions as of a daily duty; of public worship as of a privilege to
be prized when it can be had (because public prayer is always
heard and answered. T. B. on same, 6a). Only as to the "addi
tional," or Musaf prayer, the opinion is expressed by some, that
it need be spoken only T^' "onD, "in town society," i. e., where
people meet for public worship. Ibid., ch. 4, § 7.
The standards, old and new, know no other name than nSsri.
The word Amida seems to be drawn from a stray remark, T. B.
Berachoth, 266: "Amida (standing) means prayer."
"Berachoth, ch. 1, § S; see the chapter on the service for the
Passover night. As to Rabbi, see T. B. Berachoth, 13&, where later
teachers assent to the position that the first verse satisfies the Law.
4Berachoth, ch. 4, § 3: . "Why does it say, when thou liest down,
when thou risest; it means when men generally lie down, or gener
ally rise." Ibid., ch. 4, § 1, gives the limits for the evening reading,
and here Rabban Gamaliel remarks, that the Shema may really be
read till the morning dawns, and that midnight was only named
as a precaution to keep man from sin; § 2 gives the limits for the
morning: "When you can distinguish between the blue and white
threads, till 9 a. m. ('three hours') ; for at that time princes get up."
The ancients had sun dials, which would show 9 a.m. at the same
figure the year around; but the accepted interpretation of "three
hours" is the first quarter of the day, which on a long summer day
is earlier, on a winter day, later than 9 a.m.
"If one "reads" after 9 a.m., he "loses nothing;" ib., § 2, which
T. B. Berachoth, 106, explains as in text. And at the Synagogue
the evening service may be read within 1% hours before night-fall.
The exception of the Saturday night service is natural; it is unlaw
ful to shorten the Sabbath.

390 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
"On the Sabbath it is made up of seven benedictions; on work
days, of nineteen, formerly eighteen.
'Jer. T., on Berachoth, ch. 4, § 1, relying on Deut. 11: 13, fol
lowed by Maimonides and later codifiers.
"Abudraham, in the chapter on work-day morning service, T. B.
Megilla, 17b, 180. A very widely known Midrash, T. B. Bera
choth, 6b, ascribes the morning Prayer to Abraham, the afternoon
Prayer to Isaac, the night Prayer to Jacob.
"See Dan. 6: 10, where Daniel braves the decree of Darius, which
threatens death to him who prays. In T. B. Berachoth, 260 and
26b, it is held that one who by accident or forgetfulness has missed
one Prayer should recite the next one twice.
"In T. B., ib., 276, we read of a violent dispute between R.
Gamaliel and R. Joshua, in the second century, over the question:
Is the evening Prayer obligatory or optional? The Babylonian
teachers of the fourth century are not yet agreed who was in the
right. Bartenoro, in commenting on ch. 4, § 1, of the Mishna
concludes, that in the dispute those holding it to be optional were
right, but that later generations have assumed the evening Prayer
as a duty.
"R. Gamaliel and his contemporaries discuss this about the year
100 at Jabneh; see T. B. Rosh Hashana, 34b, 350, the usage being
then fully established.
'The name j'SDlDn nSflfi is used in the treatise Berachoth; in
Rosh Hashana, the person who leads in the morning Prayer is
simply called "the first," he who leads in Musaf, "the second."
"Abraham and Moses always "rose early" to fulfill a divine com
mand; hence the rule. In one passage, T. B. Berachoth, 286, it
is suggested that nothing should be eaten before Musaf, but this
view has not prevailed.
"Taanith, ch. 4, § 1.
"T. B. Berachoth, 30&.
"Ib., 46. The Psalm tells of God's care for his creatures ('Thou
openest thy hand and satisfiest the desire of all that live"), and
is moreover alphabetic.
"Ib., same page.
"Abudraham, pp. 81 and 83 of the Warsaw edition.
"For the distinction between niTDjra and fasts for rain, see
Taanith, ch. 4, § 1. A volume of Selihoth was printed in Jerusalem
A. M. 5656 (1895-6) containing among others those for fasts on
account of drought, which indicates that in Palestine these fasts
must have been kept within living memory.

NOTES 391

CHAPTER II
SOURCE AND STYLE
(Pp. 82-88)
'Exceptions are found in the prayer on going to bed and a few
other passages which are never read aloud.
The "Omnipresent" has been suggested, and will do by way of
translation, but it is not the true meaning. Another idea is that
Dlpan, meaning a consecrated place, was transferred to the Divinity
worshipped in that place.
'DTTi'/X pm^X n^Sx DDXX "In the name of God, the merciful,
the loving!" T. B. Berachoth, 40a, XJom is expressly recognized
as a name of God, fulfilling the need of a benediction for such a
name. 4Joma, ch. 4, § 2; Sota, ch. 7, § 6; T. B., ib., 390. It is intimated
here that after Simeon the Just died, the priests no longer blessed
"with the Name" in the country; the High Priest used it ten
times on the great Fast. Sanhedrin, ch. 10, § 1, denounces the
"thinking" of the Name.
"Berachoth, ch. 9, § 4.
T. B. Berachoth, 40&, 46a, 490; T. B. Pesahim, 104.
'Great numbers of these short blessings are found in the Mishna
treatise Berachoth, ch. 9, and more in the Talmud upon that
chapter. "T. B. Berachoth, 330.
"One will be found in the evening service; one in the earliest part
of the morning service.
"Generally a petition that the performance of some ceremonial
duty may have its full effect.
"Several prayers for the Day of Atonement are thus indicated,
T. B. Joma, 876. The composition now known as rrotyj, or part
of it, is spoken of in Pesahim, ch. 10, § 7, as TB-'n roi3 (Benedic
tion of the Song), and T. B. Berachoth, 59J, it is denoted by words
now in the middle, which then may have been at its beginning.
"Will be given hereafter among the benedictions at rising.

392 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

CHAPTER III
THE SHEMA IN THE EVENING
(Pp. 89-94)
'Berachoth, ch. 1, § 4.
"Abudraham protests against these words as out of place at the
close of the benediction; they are, however, found in the Seder R.
Amram, as printed.
"Joma, ch. 3, § 8, and ch. 4, § 1, after hearing the Name. It was
inserted after "Hear, O Israel," according to T. B. Pesahim, 560, in
honor of the patriarch Jacob.
'We are told, T. B. Berachoth, 146, that in Talmudic times
many in the West (Palestine) said only the first and last verses of
this section in the evening; but, for over 1,400 years, all who read
the Shema have recited the whole third section in the evening as
well as in the morning.
To run the last words, "The Lord your God," together with
"True" in the benediction is an old custom, attested by the
Talmud (ibid., 14&), and resting on none but devotional grounds.
But that the leader should finish the section, and then give out
the three words, is a late invention of the Cabbalists, or at least of
those believing in the power of numbers. The three sections, with
the second line (Blessed be, etc.) added, contain 245 words; three
are added to make 248, the number of bones in the human body
or of the affirmative commands in the Pentateuch. Hence, for
private worship, the three words |OXJ "J^D '/X (God, faithful King)
are placed before the first verse to make up the desired number.
Abudraham reproves the use of these words on two grounds:
first, we must not say anything that interrupts the reading of the
Shema; secondly, a name of God cannot be used simply to fill out
a number of words.
° jn3J(requires payment), D'O J (wonders), min (liberty) — all from
Hebrew roots.
'T. B. Berachoth, 146, and see notes to next chapter.
T. B. Berachoth, 4b, gives the opening word IJTUB'n i (Let us
lie down). The distinction made in the close of the benediction
between work-days and Sabbath is mentioned in Seder R. Amram
ad locum as not fully established; but the Gaon decides for the
special wording on the Sabbath.

NOTES 393

CHAPTER IV
THE SHEMA IN THE MORNING
(Pp. 95-104)
'Zunz, in his Gottcsdienstliche Vortr'dge, working on suggestions of
Rapoport of Prague, is the authority for the proposition that these
forty-five words are the nucleus of the benediction.
"Succa, ch. 5, § 4.
The frequent use of the name Epikuros in the Mishna to desig
nate an infidel proves that the Jewish Sages were well aware of
another danger to Judaism besides idol worship. Josephus tries to
identify the Sadducees with the Epicurean school.
T. J. on Berachoth, ch. 5, § 4.
"A visible effort to keep apart the days of the Messiah and the
future world; see the great maxim of Samuel, T. B. Berachoth,
34*. The language of this is drawn in great part from T. B. Hagiga,
130. In the later poetry of Eleazar Kalir, the "Chariot" and the
Holy Beasts are much more fully described upon the same
authority. 'R. Moses Isserles speaks of this piece (Orah Hayim, § 282) as
one of the hymns (Zemiroth) of Sabbath, which the leader cannot
be allowed to omit. It has on late and unreliable authority been
ascribed to the Gaon R. Natronai (ninth century). Abudraham
and the Mahzor Vitry give all the insertions for Sabbath as undis
puted. The opening words n3T n^nx are mentioned in T. B. Bera
choth, 11b, where, however, the majority prefer D*71^ mnx, which
we now say in the evening; it is indicated by Jer. 31: 3. The
Talmud, in speaking of the initial words, probably meant compo
sitions already in vogue beginning with these words. There is
hardly any but intrinsic evidence for determining how much of the
form now in use (say the German form, as the shorter of the two)
is the oldest kernel.
"See Note 8 to Ch. Ill; also for the opening words, Berachoth, ch.
2, § 2; as to the propriety (not necessity) of mentioning the plague
of the first-born and the parting of the sea in this benediction, see
Shemoth Rabba, ch. 22. "To the living and everlasting King,"
see T. B. Hagiga, 13a. "He has redeemed Israel," is given in
T. B. Pesahim, 1176, as the proper close of the Geulla; especially
for a benediction on Passover night.

394 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
"See rebuke for piling up attributes, T. B. Berachoth, 336.
"See David Kaufmann's account of the London Prayer Book of
1287, in Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 4, p. 20, and compare end of
Bk. I. ch. III.

CHAPTER V
RESPONSES — THE KADDISH
(Pp. 105-111)
'Berachoth, ch. 8, § 8.
2Ib., ch. 9, § 9, and T. J. on same.
"Sifre on Deut. 32: 3.
4Megilla, ch. 4, § 3.
This form is given in Berachoth, ch. 7, § 4.
"Aboth, ch. 3, § 6, quoting, "God stands in the Congregation,
etc., from Ps. 82: 1, and more distinctly, T. B. Berachoth, 60.
T. B. Berachoth, 30 and 216; Succa, 390; Shabbath, ugb. In
the last-named passage some Rabbis, noted for their bold homi-
letics, promise to those who respond, "Amen, be the great name"
heartily, that any hard sentence against them will be torn up,
though there be a taint of idolatry on them, and through a pun on
Isa. 26: 2, that the gates of Paradise will be opened to them: Do
not read tniDX nnit-y (who keep faith), but D'JON nDWt-7 (they who
say Amen). It is still a far way from those who make this re
sponse to the parents of him who calls for it. But at least the first
two sentences of the Kaddish are very old.
The Seder R. Amram and the Mahzor Vitry contain all the
forms of the Kaddish, but as neither as now printed is anything
like its original draft, the former containing additions younger by
three or four hundred years, the latter, dated in 1208, quoting from
the Zohar, published about 1275, but little historical light is thrown
on the time when the Mourners' Kaddish (i. e., the aggregate of
paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 5) was first used. Moreover, the Mahzor even in
its enlarged edition is quite guiltless of the modern effort to multiply
opportunities for ''saying Kaddish." Thus in its account of the even
ing service, the leader right after the Amida says the full Kaddish,
whereupon "the people go home in peace." Maimonides, in Hil
choth Tefilla, ch. 9, §§ 12-14, goes through the service for week
days, Sabbaths, etc., stating where a Kaddish comes in, but leaves
out all those now allotted to mourners. R. Moses Isserles, in his
note on Jore De'a, § 376 (Rules of Mourning), speaks of the habit
of mourners to recite a Kaddish, but reproves it, unless they are

NOTES 395
little children; otherwise, if they want to honor their dead parents,
let them read the service or at least a part of it.
"Mahzor Vitry, p. 74: "The lad, etc.;" p. 112, the legend. This
is also printed in the devotional books Menorath Hammaor and
Or Zarua, and is credited by these to two older works, Midrash
Tanhuma and the Treatise Calla, which do not contain it. N. B. — ¦
The writer fully agrees with Dr. K. Kohler {Jewish Quarterly
Review, VII, p. 606) in the belief, that the Kaddish is thoroughly
Jewish and not borrowed; but is not so sure, that its needless repe
tition by mourners, beyond the J'tynp in the old liturgy, is a home
grown institution.

CHAPTER VI
THE CONSTANT PARTS OF THE TEFILLA
(Pp. 112-120)
The names of I, II, III and of V, VI, VII, as given in this
chapter, together with the intervening IV for Sabbaths and Festi
vals, are found in Rosh Hashana, ch. 4, § 5.
"So Abudraham, who takes the verb as covering all tenses: he
brought us a redeemer from Egypt; he delivers us now, and will
send us a redeemer hereafter.
"So Abudraham and other commentators. Israel, he says, is
commanded: Be ye holy.
There is a very improbable story, that the two extra responses,
which are the beginning and end of the Shema, were introduced
during a persecution of the Jews, when they were forbidden to
recite the Shema in public.
DFrom Abudraham's comparison of this "IAD with the language
of the book Hechaloth, there can be no doubt of its Cabbalistic
origin and purpose.
"Rashi on T. B. Berachoth, 116, doubts whether the benediction
when said in the Temple after the daily sacrifice closed with these
words, or: "Who receivest the service of his people Israel with
favor." At all events, the conclusion must have included the word
Aboda, or its verbal root.
T. B., Rosh Hashana 310 and 316, gives the ten migrations of
the Sanhedrin from that chamber till it rested at Tiberias, where it
reached its lowest point,- that is, less jurisdiction than ever before;
and gives this as a parallel to the receding of the Shechina.
"As the servant acknowledging his master should not rely on a

396 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
messenger to carry his message, a Modim has been drawn up by
many Rabbis, hence called JJ3T1 (T. B. Sota, 40, also T. J. on
Berachoth, ch. 1, § 8), which the people read silently, while the
leader proceeds to repeat the benediction: "We acknowledge to
thee, that thou, O Lord, art our God and the God of our fathers,
God of all flesh, our Maker, the Maker in the beginning. Blessings
and thanks to thy great and holy name, for that thou hast kept us
alive and in health; thus keep us further alive and in health, and
gather our exiles to thy holy court-yards, to observe thy ordi
nances and to do thy will and tp serve thee with a full heart. For
all which we thank thee; blessed be the God of Thanks."
"flSI 'n1 p, not Amen; the latter response is made only when
the priests give the blessing. Qu. Is not this response the origin
of the Masonic "So mote it be?"
"The West Germans use the longer form on Sabbath afternoons
in the repetition by the leader, not, however, in the silent Prayer.
The Hasidim have it generally for Minha, but not in the night
service. "T. B. Megilla, 180, derives the fuller form (literally, "Put Peace")
from the verse, "They shall put my name, etc.," which follows the
priestly blessing; the shorter form is nowhere found in the Talmud.
'The High Priest recited V and VI on the Day of Atonement;
Joma, ch. 7, § 1; the second in the priesthood (njlDDn) caused
V and VII to be recited every morning; Tamid, ch. 5, § 1; VII was
always preceded by the priestly blessing itself.
'T. B. Berachoth, 46.
"Mahzor Vitry and Abudraham both give this verse, at which
the worshipper is to "separate his feet" and step back, as the
Talmud intimates a man does after prayer.

CHAPTER VII
MODIFICATIONS OF THE CONSTANT PARTS
(Pp. 121-127)
The "Holy King" on these days is deemed indispensable, T. B.
Berachoth, 126. The insertions in I, II, VI, and VII all ask God
to remember or inscribe. The first mention of "remembrances"
in the "first three and last three" is found in Treatise Soferim, ch.
I9> § 8 (say seventh century), where the lawfulness of the inser
tions is grudgingly granted for the Days of Memorial and Atone
ment. Maimonides speaks of them as in use in his time. Abudra-

NOTES

397

ham, while giving them as in use, still protests against one praying
for his needs in these benedictions (ib., 34b). This restriction was
never respected by the French and German Jews. Mahzor Vitry, p.
366, gives U"Oi, and comments on it.
"See Mahzor Vitry, p. 394.
"According to a response of R. Hai, the last Gaon, Sha'are
Teshuba, No. 297, the paragraphs pal were written by Rab, the
author of many parts of the New Year's Prayer, and there should
be no more than three of them. However, in the repetition of
Musaf on New Year and of all the Atonement Prayers, the
leader adds in the German Minhag another before these three, viz.:
"And then be thy name, O Lord our God, hallowed upon Israel
thy people, and Jerusalem thy city, and Zion the dwelling of thy
glory, and upon the Kingdom of the House of David thy anointed,
and upon thy place, and on thy Temple."
4Perhaps this should have been treated as one _of the late
"poetries." "Berachoth, ch. 5, § 2, gives "the place in the Prayer; Taanith, ch.
I, § I, the day to begin and the very words. The solemn words
on the first day of rain or dew are later than the Talmud and
different in the two rituals.
"Betza, 170 (a Baraitha), decides in favor of "Service" as the
proper place in which to insert; so does Tosifta to Berachoth, ch.
3, and Shabbath, 240. The words are not given in either place.
'See T. J. on Berachoth, ch. 7, § 5 (4), and comp. with same on
same, § 6 (5).
"In Palestine daily blessings are still in use. T. B. Sota, 396,
has the following prayer for the priest after the blessing: "Be it
thy will, etc., that this blessing with which thou hast commanded us
to bless thy people Israel, be a perfect blessing, free from every
stumbling block or iniquity, from now and for evermore."
Maimonides inserts it, Hilchoth Tefilla, ch. 15.

CHAPTER VIII
THE WORK-DAY BENEDICTIONS
(Pp. 128-139)
Taanith, ch. 2, § 2; Berachoth, ch. 4, § 3. Among the reasons
for the number eighteen, the best known are these: The two
Psalms known as first and second being really one, the verse, "May
the words of. my mouth, etc.," asking for the acceptance of prayer,

398 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
and the next Psalm, which in its opening line promises the granting
of prayer, are thus put after eighteen Psalms, to which the eighteen
benedictions correspond. This number is also that of the "Names"
in Psalm 29. The "voice of the Lord" occurs in it seven times;
hence the seven benedictions on the Sabbath and on Festi
vals. These are not so much reasons as means of impressing
these numbers on the memory, and fixing them as unalterable. In
T. B. Megilla, 176, 180, the order of the nineteen benedictions,
including that about heretics, is given in full with the reasons for
the order in which they follow each other. Astonishment is ex
pressed at the conflict between the tradition, that the eighteen
benedictions came from the Men of the Great Synod, and the late
authorship of the details, spoken of hereinafter.
T. B. Berachoth, 290; ib., 330. Two reasons are given for
choosing this benediction: first, that to distinguish holy and pro
fane is an act of intelligence; secondly, that the arrival of the work
day should be announced in the first benediction peculiar to that
day. "Berachoth, ch. 5, § 2, and Taanith, ch. 1, §1, which distinguish
between mentioning rain and praying for it. Taanith, ch. I, § 3,
makes the third or the seventh of Marheshvan the first day to
pray for rain in Palestine. The sixtieth day after the fall equinox
is named in T. B. on this section for those in exile, that is, in the
main, for Babylonia.
T. B. Berachoth, 286, 290.
This matter is fully discussed in Manasseh ben Israel's letters to
the English Commonwealth, and by numberless Jewish apologists
and scholars ever since. In the English Prayer Book of 1287, the
first word is not, "For the Slanderers," but for the perverts,
mnitra1?, a later word, while D'lDlD, denoting those lapsed into
paganism, was probably in the first draft, and the thing to be
uprooted is the kingdom of haughtiness. Here "the DTD" are
to perish in a moment. Angevin England had no censor for
Hebrew books. The MSS. of the Mahzor Vitry are to the same
effect; but the printed edition leaves blanks for the objectionable
words, so that the volume may be allowed to enter Russia.
T. J. on Berachoth, ch. 4, § 3.
T. J. on Berachoth, ch. 2, § 3 (4), in giving an abstract of the
work-day benedictions, given in its present form leaves out XII,
but as copied in the Mahzor Vitry this abstract has the words,
"May the throne of David be established." T. J. on Rosh Hashana,
ch. 4, § 7, quotes a Rabbi who speaks of "Rock of David and
Builder of Jerusalem" as the close of one benediction; but this

NOTES

399

seems from the context to be quoted only as an opinion on such a
subject, running counter to the plain usage. Bemidbar Rabba,
ch. 18, takes am in its numerical value, which is seventeen, as an
emblem of the Prayer, counting out XII and IX.
"Some of the foremost scholars, like Zunz, have reached the
opposite conclusion. Dr. M. Duschak, in a work on the liturgy
published in 1866, suggests this solution: Our XII is old as a
separate benediction, but when Gamaliel introduced our IX, XI
and XII were united, so that the number should remain eighteen,
and so the usage remained in Palestine, till the new unit was again
broken into its original parts, resulting in nineteen benedictions.
Taanith, ch. 2, § 4.
"T. B. Berachoth, 29a; T. J. on same, ch. 2, § 3 (4). The
Mahzor Vitry has in both forms iBlflt-v, "may judge," instead of
Itjsty, "may be judged," and such is the reading of Alfassi, and
this is followed in the text.

CHAPTER IX
THE MIDDLE BENEDICTION ON DAYS OF REST
(Pp. I4<M47)
T. J. on Berachoth, ch. 4, § 3; T. B. ib., 290.
T. B. Shabbath, 119&, recommends him who recites "Then were
finished" on Friday evening; for he makes himself, so to say, a part
ner with God in the work of creation. Yet Tosifta to Berachoth, ch.
3, followed by an evidently genuine passage in the Seder R.
Amram, gives for Friday night a form which does not contain it:
"From thy love, O Lord, wherewith thou hast loved thy people
Israel, and thy compassion, etc., thou hast given us this great and
holy seventh day, in love, for greatness, strength, and holiness,
etc." This form coincides somewhat with that for the Festivals and
with a special prayer of the Day of Atonement. That the Law was
given on a Sabbath, see T. B. Shabbath, 866.
T. B. Shabbath, 246, speaks of this abstract, remarking that if
the Sabbath is also a Festival, no mention is made of the latter
occasion, but it does not give the form; but about this there seems
to have never been any dispute.
The opening words, "Thou hast chosen us," are mentioned as
such in T. B. Joma, 876, as well known.
"From a discussion at Usha about the middle of the second cen
tury, whether the "Sanctity of the Day" should be coupled in the

400 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
additional Prayer with the Kingdoms or the Remembrances (see
a later chapter), reported in T. B. Rosh Hashana, 326, it seems
that the petition for the Kingdom of Heaven had not yet been
made a part of the "Sanctity of the Day;" but was probably inserted
soon afterward, when the question was finally decided, that it goes
with the Kingdoms.
"Joma, ch. 7, § I, and T. B. ib., 700; see Rashi on this passage.
This form was drawn up by Rab and Samuel (see T. B. Bera
choth, 33b), and met with great approval at the time, being called a
very pearl (Kn'JJID).
"T. B. Betza, 170. Rabbi gives the conclusion, "who hallowest
the Sabbath and Israel and the Festive seasons," in full.

CHAPTER X
THE "ADDITIONAL," OR MUSAF
(Pp. 148-154)
'It is said, T. B. Taanith, 27a, that the forgiveness of sins, which
was promised to Israel by means of sacrifice, they may obtain now
by reading the law of sacrifice; which means the reading from the
scroll as a lesson, not the reference to it in a prayer. The leader in
Musaf is in Rosh Hashana, ch. 4, § 7, called "the second," who
prompts the cornet blowing; the leader in Shaharith, "the first,"
who gives out Hallel.
"See Abudraham, ad locum; he had a truer copy of R. Amram
than that now in print, but it agrees with the latter.
The twenty-two letters are followed by the five having a different
shape at the end of words ("|"3SJD).
T. B. Rosh Hashana, 35a, where a later teacher says on the
authority of Rab: If one has said, "in thy Law it is written thus,"
no more is necessary. It is not unlikely that Rab gave that
opinion after he had himself drawn up this prayer, along with
the special benedictions for the Musaf of New Year to be found
in the next chapter. The last verse of the sacrifices of the Day of
Memorial begins: "Beside the burnt-offering for the month, etc."
This is the only mention of New Moon on the Day of Memorial.
It is not to be treated as a New Moon; T. B. Erubin, 406.
"Found in Seder R. Amram. There is no trace of it in the
Talmud, but the purity of the Hebrew makes the authorship of
Rab not unlikely.
The Mishna speaks plainly of a Musaf service on New Moons as

NOTES 401
on Middle Days (..Megilla, ch. 4, § 2). Perhaps it embraced at first
no more than the closing part, in which a happy month is prayed
for. The part about the sacrificial goat seems to be borrowed from
the form for festivals; its worse Hebrew indicates a later date.
'H. Edelmann, in his annotated Prayer Book (Konigsberg,
1845), maintains that the Sabbath and New Moon benediction is the
older and the source of that for the Festivals. The contrary
seems more probable. The Seder R. Amram gives it substantially
as it stands now in the Sefardic Ritual.

CHAPTER XI
THE DAY OF MEMORIAL
(Pp. 155-164)
'Rosh Hashana, ch. 4, § 5. Among the six extra benedictions in
the Prayer for public fasts were the Remembrances and Shofars;
Taanith, ch. 2, § 3.
"Ibid., § 6; T. B. on same, 326.
These pieces are called "the hornblowings of Rab;" T.J. on Rosh
Hashana, ch. 1, § 5; T. J. on Aboda Zara, ch. 1, § 2. In T. B.
Rosh Hashana, 27a, the sentence is quoted, "this day is the begin
ning of thy works," a memorial of the first day, with the remark
that according to the Mishna the benedictions for the Jubilee were
the same as those for the New Year; showing that a benediction for
the latter, containing this sentence, must have been written after the
Mishna was completed.
'But the Mishna already says .(Rosh Hashana, ch. 1, § 2) : "At
four seasons the world is judged, etc.; on Rosh Hashana all that
come into the world pass before him like lambs." Hence, the
judgment day may have been referred to in the benediction before
it took its permanent shape.
T. J. on Rosh Hashana, near end of ch. 4, quoted in Mahzor
Vitry, p. 352; so also in the Seder R. Amram. R. Gamaliel excuses
those "in the fields" also, that is, those who have no leader to listen
to, from the nine benedictions. But as to those in the Synagogue
his opinions were accepted by his contemporaries. However, the
Orah Hayim, § 58, insists that everybody, even in silent devotion in
the Synagogue, should say nine benedictions, because copies of the
Mahzor are plentiful.
"Notwithstanding the many late additions in the printed Seder
26

402 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
R. Amram, this is not found; but its identity in both rituals indi
cates an early origin.
'Based on an Aggadta, T. B. Rosh Hashana, 270, that Adam
was born on Tishri first. This is found in the Seder R. Amram.
T. B. Taanith, 2$b, R. Akiba said,' Our Father, etc., we have
no King beside thee; Our Father, etc., show us mercy for thy
own sake; and rain came. See Orah Hayim, § 602 (R. M. Isserles),
and § 622 (R. Joseph Karo).

CHAPTER XII
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
(Pp. 165-179)
T. B. Joma, 87b. However, there are reasons to suppose that
the alphabetic lesser confession is very old. The last word liynyn
is an idiomatic Hebrew formation, which would have hardly been
ventured on after the language was no longer spoken.
"Maimonides, in his "Order of Prayer for the Year," indicates
a single alphabet. In the Mahzor Vitry most letters are doubled,
and the alphabetic order is not very strictly kept. The London
MS. of 1287 has two lines for each letter, but twelve differ greatly
from those now in use.
"Joma, ch. 8, last sec: "The sin and certain guilt-offerings
atone (the faults for which they are prescribed); death and the Day
of Atonement with repentance atone." Both Talmuds on this
point quote the opinion of R. Judah, the Patriarch, that death and
the Day atone, even without repentance, all but apostasy. The
phrase, "death atones iniquity," is quite current. See this in the
form of prayer, T. B. Berachoth, 600.
4R. Akiba in T. J on Joma, ch. 8, end, expresses the opinion that
particular sins ought not to be mentioned, though, of course, they
should be thought of and repented.
"It is indicated by Samuel (T. B. Joma, 87b) by the initial words,
"What are we, what our life, etc." This page of the Talmud indi
cates in like manner many parts of the present order of confession,
and some pieces now forgotten, one drawn up, or at least recom
mended, by Samuel, beginning, "From the depths of the heart."
Here is a confession also by R. Hemnuna, now put at the end of
the silent Prayer, but not repeated by the leader:
My God! before I was formed, I was worthless, and now since I
am formed, I am no better; I am dust while alive, how much more

NOTES

4°3

when dead; behold, I am before thee as a vessel full of shame and
reproach. Be it thy will, that I sin no more, and wipe out what I
have sinned by thy abundant mercy, and not by sufferings and hard
sickness. T. B. Rosh Hoshana, 176, discusses the atoning effects of
reciting the thirteen qualities, and shows from Ex. 34 how God
taught Israel to rely on them. The composition, "God, the King,"
dates back to Talmudic times: "He passes by the first, by the
first," is quoted in a Baraitha (T. B. Rosh Hashana, 170).
'No trace of these arrangements of Bible verses (O thou, that
hearest prayer — Remember us — Remember the covenant) can
be found in the Mahzor Vitry, or in older sources. Among the
Selihoth appended to the Seder R. Amram, there are some collec
tions of Bible verses, but altogether different from those in the
text. The divergence between the German and the Polish ritual
shows that the collections were finished after the middle of the four
teenth century.
"By a custom drawn from one of these verses, men go to a flow
ing river on New Year's Day, and pray in these verses and the
same added words, that God may cast our iniquities into the depth
of oblivion. The whole is found in the order of Selihoth for the
Day of Atonement, appended to the Seder R. Amram.
The writer saw such a service at the great German synagogue of
Hamburg as late as August, 1885.
"T. B. Taanith, 15a.
"According to the Seder of R. Amram, his predecessor, the Gaon
Natronai, laid down the rule that "the sprinklings and confessions,"
as he called the atonement service, should be recited in Musaf
only. The sprinklings: "One, one and one, one and two, etc.,
one and seven," as ordered in Lev. 16, gave him half of the name
for the service.
"This "permission" is unknown to the Seder R. Amram, to
the Mahzor Vitry, and to Abudraham, but is recognized in the
Orah Hayim. The ban (or 'IIJ) was always suspended on the
Day of Atonement, but not by announcement in the Synagogue. .
"Nedarim, ch. 3, § 1; though the opinion of a stricter school is
also given, that vows become void only when the former declara
tion is remembered and silently re-affirmed.
"In the Seder R. Amram a formula in Mishnic Hebrew of
similar import is given, with the remark that the two colleges
denounce the whole ceremony of annulling vows on that day as a
mat? jnjo — a foolish custom.
'The release of vows by a self-constituted court of three men

404 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
(still well-known among old-style Jews) is treated in Nedarim,
ch. 9. Some point must always be alleged: "If I had thought of
this, I should not have vowed." Yet Abudraham says, that "from
the last past to this year" should be said, in order to avoid the
punishment for broken vows.
"This solemn closing of the fast is unknown to R. Amram,
who says: "When Neila is ended, the leader goes on at once with
the evening service."
"The writer heard of this usage at Bagdad through Mr. Wm.
Schur, the author of ^XIE-" ni'J, who stopped there on his travels.
"Taanith, ch. 4, last section.

CHAPTER XIII
PSALMS AND BIBLE VERSES IN THE SERVICE
(Pp. 180-192)
' ,niL?)Djn is Aramaic in all but the root; '3 as the suffix for
feminine thee or thy is either Aramaic or very old Hebrew; the
forms nmon and "\Yydl with the old case endings show a late
date, when the feeling for the cases was lost, for both are in the
wrong case.
"Pesahim, ch. 10, § 4, marks the chapter endings by the last
words other than Halleluiah.
T. B. Arachin, 12, the eighteen days (first of Passover, night and
day, counts as one) are enumerated — with double feast days there
are twenty-one.
T. B. Berachoth, 140, distinguishes days on which the indi
vidual completes the Hallel from those on which he does not
complete it; on the former days he may not interrupt the reading,
except on the same terms as that of the Shema; on the other days
he may interrupt it anywhere. Maimonides, Hilchoth Megilla, ch.
3, § 7, deems the reading on the latter days a mere custom, and
that only for public worship, and disapproves a benediction for
"the command." Rashi (see Mahzor Vitry, pt. I, § 226) also
deems Hallel on New Moon, etc., a mere custom, and will not say
the regular benediction, but rather one like that before the morn
ing hymns (see Ch. XV). It seems that the custom to read
Half Hallel and bless before it him who "commanded us to
read" was general in the days of Rashi and Maimonides, though
they objected. The Seder R. Amram has the benediction.
T. B. Succa, 386, where the maxim njljn j/Dlt-y is derived from

NOTES 405
2 Kings 22: 16; King Josiah is said to have read the book, though
he only listened to the reading.
"In a Baraitha, T. B. Shabbath, n8fr, R. Jose says: Be my share
with those who read Hallel every day. The Talmud explains Hallel
here as the songs of praise in the morning hymns; according to
some commentators, Psalms 146-150, or at least 146 and 148. One
of the Psalms read by the Sefardim before the benediction, i. e., 30,
is found in the same place in the fuller German prayer books.
'Orah Hayim, § 131, subs. 4.
The Seder R. Amram speaks of "falling on the face," the usual
name for this part of the service in the later standards. He gives,
under this head, some un-Biblical prayers, also some of the verses
in the text; but makes no mention of a Psalm, cither 6 or 25.
Mishna Tamid, last section. On days when "supplications" arc
read, the Germans add Psalm 83 to that for the day.
"Orah Hayim, § 267, subs. 2, states how early before night-fall
one may receive the Sabbath in the evening Prayer." In the next
subsection the only change for the Sabbath before the Prayer is
noted: namely, in the close of 1J3'JB»n. Not even nnBH is recog
nized, though it is mentioned in the Seder R. Amram as now
printed, and was undoubtedly in use, at least locally, when the
Code was prepared.
"These three verses are traced back by Abudraham to the litur
gies of R. Amram and of Saadia. He also refers to the Geonim
for the position that these verses ("jnpTV) are omitted on days
when Hallel is said.
"This custom is unknown to Abudraham.
"R. Amram and Abudraham have these two verses even on the
Sabbath and Festivals, for which they are now thought ill-fitted,
as suggestive of sin and repentance and of distress.
'These Psalms are not thus employed in Russia; the custom is
of very late rise, and is not mentioned in the Orah Hayim at all.
The object of introducing them seems to be to lay the basis for
another Mourners' Kaddish. Some prayer books give additional
Psalms, one each, for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday nights.

406 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

CHAPTER XIV
STUDY AS PART OF THE LITURGY
(Pp. 193-202)
'Study and teaching are commanded (outside of the two \\ of the
Shema): Ex. 13: 9; Deut. 4: 19; 5: 1, 28, and impliedly Deut.
31: 10.
2Zebahim, ch. 5 (which is the place? JDipo inrx). The Sefar
dic and fuller German Prayer Books bring in also passages from
Ex. 30, as to the basin and as to incense; a Baraitha in T. B.
Kerithuth, 6a, and'T. J. on Joma, ch. 4, § 5, on the composition
of incense, two other passages as to incense; also a Baraitha as to
the daily order of all sacrificial acts in the Temple.
"Beginning of Sifra (oldest commentary on Leviticus). The
duty to study trebly each day: text, Mishna, and further discussion,
is based on a saying in T. B. Berachoth, 116. R. Amram enjoins
the reading of Zebahim, ch. 5, and the piece from Sifra, and of
these alone.
Tosefoth on T. B. Berachoth, lib, says that the French Jews
read these short passages right after the benedictions, following
therein the Jerusalem Talmud, but thinks it unnecessary.
The Germans read only the three verses of blessing. The Sefar
dim in Eastern Europe omit the Talmudic passage. In this
they follow Maimonides.
"Pea, ch. 1, § 1. The Western Sefardim have a shorter form of
the second sentence, which is by some considered a Baraitha,
omitting, among other things, "devotion in prayer." The Mahzor
Vitry says that the Aramaic version of the Thrice-Holy, in
"A redeemer will come," is a remnant of daily studies of the
Prophets with translation.
'T. B. Berachoth, ubi supra, gives these benedictions for study
before Shema; while H3"l n3HX covers all study thereafter. They
are ascribed to Babylonians; no Tanna is named.
"Tamid, ch. 7, § 4, naming 24, 48, 82, 94, 81, 93, and for Saturday
92: "A Psalm or song for the future to come, a day which is all
Sabbath and rest, for eternal life."
T. B. Berachoth, 640, the verses are: Isa. 54: 13; Ps. 119: 165;
122: 6-9; 29: 11. The Seder R. Amram gives these three pieces for
every day in the week.
"Shabbath, ch. 2 ( |'p,l7TD nD3). A section denouncing heav-

NOTES

407

cnly punishment on women for certain shortcomings has lately
given great offence among English Jews of reform tendencies.
"If the date of ch. 6 could be ascertained, it would very nearly
mark the time when the other five chapters came into liturgic use.
The Mahzor Vitry recommends the chapters for winter, not for
summer reading.
13 A number of translations in German, French, and English, with
critical and explanatory notes, of this treatise, have been published.
But the rendering in Leeser's American, or in Singer's English
Prayer Book, are sufficient to give a good idea both of style and
substance. A chapter of Aboth is familiarly referred to as a Perek
(p"!3), simply chapter.
'"Sanhedrin, ch. 10, first part of § I. This sentence seems to be
an interpolation in the Mishna; the section then proceeds to state
what sort of men have no share in the world to come.
"T. B. Maccoth, 230.
'T. B. Megilla, 31a. The Mahzor Vitry gives this passage as
part of the Saturday night service, showing that the "Poles"
herein have the old tradition on their side.

CHAPTER XV
THE LESSER AND THE DOUBTFUL BENEDICTIONS
(Pp. 203-211)
'While the Orah Hayim already treats this transfer to the Syna
gogue, or at least a postponement until after washing and dressing,
as a matter of course, Maimonides (Hilchoth Tefilla, ch. 7, §§ 3, 4, 5,
etc.) still prefers the old way, and insists that any benediction
should be omitted for which the occasion has not arisen for the
individual on that morning.
T. B. Berachoth, 606. As to "My God, the soul," see also
T. J. on Rosh Hashana, ch. 5, § 1. The substitute, "who revivest
the dead," is found in Pesikta de Rab Cahana, ch. 10.
"Abudraham, though living at Sevilla early in the fourteenth cen
tury, hardly more than a hundred years after the expulsion of the
Moors, says: "They recite it — the old benediction — in all Moslem
countries because they are in the habit of putting a turban on the
head; but in these countries they do not, because they do not put on
a turban. They have a wholly different benediction, not named in
the Talmud." The Orah Hayim knows only the old benediction.
Tosifta on Berachoth, ch. 6; see also T. B. Menahoth, 436, a

408 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Baraitha, ascribing the three formulas to R. Meir. The forme.-
has: "who has not made me a'U," the latter, "who has made me an
Israelite;" a much better reading, which was adopted in the Szold-
Jastrow prayer book; for the use of 'IJ as the designation of a single
Gentile is very bad Hebrew. In the Baraitha there is a dispute as
between "bondman" and "in, i. e., thoroughly ignorant man. The
latter version is rejected as not in keeping with the rest.
Tanna de Be Eliah, ist pt., ch. 21. Seder R. Amram, as now
printed, contains it, and the learned editor, Nathan N. Koronel,
quotes the Arba Turim, early in the thirteenth century, for the gen
uineness of this passage. The old sources all omit, "Blessed be the
name, etc.," after Hear, O Israel.
"Nowhere explicitly named in the Talmud, but implied by the
"Benediction of Song" after the morning hymns, as a benediction
before performance of duty is more strongly demanded than one
thereafter. Also implied by the criticism on the conclusion,
"Honored in many praises," as implying less than all; see T- B. Bera
choth, 596. The Seder R. Amram, in its present form, gives,
"Blessed he who spoke," very much as now found in the Sefardic
Prayer Book, as the first piece to be said on entering the Syna
gogue. This is clearly the "Benediction of Song" referred to in Pesa
him, ch. 10, § 7, and in T. B. Berachoth, soft, the latter dealing with
thanks for rain. Among the words of praise, we have translated
D7p7, to adorn. It is probably formed from the Greek **M»c
beauty. A Greek word indicates Palestinian as opposed to Baby
lonian origin; also a date later than the destruction of the Temple;
but the benediction undoubtedly grew from time to time. The
absurd word nj^30 for revealing, in the Sefardic form, coiiied out
of Joseph's Egyptian name, indicates a later time of authorship
than a Greek root would.
There is no trace of this in the Talmud. Maimonides gives, in
his "Order of Prayer for the Year," a few of the verses which pre
cede this benediction, and adds: "Some of the people say this,"
giving the other verses with the benediction, its "sealing" included.
Abudraham thinks it unauthorized.
The command to number days and weeks to reach the Feast of
Weeks is found Lev. 23: 15, and Deut. 16: 9. Before performing
any ceremony commanded by the Law, a benediction in this form
is spoken. Tosifta on Berachoth, ch. 6, states and illustrates by many
examples that a blessing is due on fulfilling any affirmative pre
cept; see also T. B. Megilla, 21b ("All precepts, etc."). The par
ticular benediction is not found in the Talmud; but the duty to

NO TES

409

count both single days and weeks, and to do il in the evening, is
set forth, T. B, Mcnahoth, 66a. In this connection (65b) the
word "Sabbath," in Lev. 23: 15, is determined to be the first of the
Passover, so as to bring Pentecost always to the same day of the
year, the 6th of Sivan. CHAPTER XVI
OTHER PROSE COMPOSITIONS
(Pp. 2T2-22I)
T. B. Berachoth, 16b; Cmp. Jost, Geschichte des Judenthums, pt.
II, p. 152.
2See the "Order of Prayer for the Year" of Maimonides. The
Seder R. Amram gives it in nearly the same words. It is not
traceable to the Talmud, unless it was a part of "Master of all
Worlds." which is highly improbable.
"Unknown as yet to Maimonides. The Mahzor Vitry has both
forms, and wants the leader to recite one and the people to answer
with the other. Abudraham's is the oldest Sefardic authority
for it.
4Abudraham, in giving these petitions for the Sabbath before
New Moon, says "Heaven" instead of "Our Father in Heaven,"
excusing this mode of speech by a passage in Daniel.
"Seder R. Amram gives it without question or comment. All the
medieval authorities speak of it as "Order of Sanctification"
(ntsmp). Thus in the Mahzor Vitry.
'Yet the Seder R. Amram does not contain |p113 Dip'; nor
does Abudraham.
"The Mahzor Vitry combines the two pieces into one, adding
"this congregation, etc.," to those prayed for in the first part. It
answers the objection that it is Aramaic with the remark, that
many "poetries" are in that language; as indeed appears from that
volume to have been the case then, though it is not so now.
"Aboth, ch. 3, § 2.
"To indicate the use 'of this announcement of the New Moon, we
have as guides: Maimonides, in his Code, late in the twelfth cen
tury, knows nothing of it; Mahzor Vitry (1208) does not discuss it
among the usages of the Sabbath, but has it as part of the full text
of Sabbath services, without any preliminary prayer; Abudraham
(1340) gives it in full, with the preliminary prayer. Neither R.
Simha nor Abudraham quotes any older sources.

410 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
"Mahzor Vitry, pp. 309 and 392. It quotes from TOT xnp'DB
ch. 20, that there is help ( Hjpn ) for the dead, and they should be
helped by prayer and charity. On p. 173, after tp"113 D1p1» h a^so
refers to this subject, and indicates a prayer for the dead, especially
for the martyrs, but does not set it out at large. It was probably
meant to be much like that in the text.

CHAPTER XVII
THE LATE " POETRY "— GENERAL PLAN
(Pp. 222-230)
The alphabet may be single; such it is in most cases; that is, only
the first word of each line or stanza or the first changing word
follows its order; sometimes it is double or even treble. Thus,
angels named or denoted by alphabetic order praise in twenty-two
different ways, the verbs of praise being put in alphabetic order.
Generally the alphabet moves directly from Alef to Tav; some
times it runs backward; sometimes both ways, as in a very old
Seliha for Atonement Day (nSj imy T\Uiyr\ bx); that is, the
odd hemistichs progress Alef. Beth, etc.; the even ones, Tav, Shin,
etc., till the last verse is made up of two hemistichs, Kaf-Lamed.
The play on letters by seeking permutations between letters at the
same distance from the end and from the beginning of the alphabet,
was according to T. B. Shabbath, 1040, a favorite amusement of
the school children of early days.
"He runs his name in as El'azar ben Rabbi Kalir (sometimes
Kilir), or simply as El'azar. Abraham Ibn Ezra in Comm. on
Eccl., § 5, criticises his poetry as a maze of riddles, and a mixture
of classic Hebrew with Talmudic words, the former being inflected
in bad grammar. He may have accused him of bad grammar
through a misunderstanding; but if poems are misunderstood by
such a scholar, they are unfit for devotion. The pieces in the
Kedusha for the Musaf of New Year, and for the morning and
Musaf services of Atonement, and those placed in the Kingdoms,
Remembrances, and Shofars, are all from Kalir's pen. Those in the
Kedusha are based on Aggadta that borders on Cabbala; their use
runs counter to what the Mishna says about the "discussion of the
Chariot." "Mahzor Vitry, p. 362, § 225. The Sefardim have pretty much
lived up to the rule. They have even on Atonement Day no
"poetry" in the first and second benedictions; only a few in the

NOTES 411
third, in great part by Jehuda Hallevi, and these lead up naturally
to the Thrice-Holy, dealing only with the honor which angels and
men pay to God; and there are Selihoth in the fourth benediction;
that is, prayers for forgiveness where they belong. The long day
is filled up to a great extent by poetical and other devotions out
side of the Prayer. They have several versions of the Azharoth,
or collections of the 613 precepts, in use in different countries.
The Gallia Judaica, or Dictionnaire Geographique de la France d' aprh
les sources rabbiniques, compiled by Henry Gross and put into
French by Moise Bloch, and printed at Paris in 1897 under the
auspices of the Societe des Etudes juives, contains literary notices
of the Jewish writers in the different towns of France, among
them many authors of Piyutim in the wider sense of the word.
Some of these compositions are found in the modern German
Mahzor, while others have gone out of use; some written at Avig
non or Carpentras for a Sefardic public. The most important name
in this connection is that ofMenahem ben Joseph, Hazan ofTroyes,
the author of the Troyes Ritual ( ^"llD "HD ), put in shape and
published by his disciple, Judah ben Eliezer. The Mahzor Vitry
contains very few of the "poetries" in modern use, and much that
is now obsolete; the development* of the poetic pieces in the Festi
val morning service from "Jotzer" to "Silluk" is unknown to its
author and to his age.

CHAPTER XVIII
SAMPLES OF POST-BIBLICAL POETRY
(Pp. 231-240)
'Many prayer books reprint the thirteen articles of the creed as
Maimonides wrote it, each preceded by the words: I believe with
full faith. They are: (1) Existence of God; (2) His Oneness;
(3) His being incorporeal; (4) His eternity in past time; (5) That
he is the creator of all; (6) His revelation by prophets; (7) Moses
the greatest of the prophets; (8) The truth of the Tora; (9) Its
being unchangeable; (10) God's prescience; (11) The reward of
the righteous and punishment of the wicked: (12*1 The advent of a
future Messiah; (13) The resurrection.
2It is mentioned by its first two words ( obiy ]HX ) in the Eng
lish ritual of 1287, and must then have been well-known. Some
say that Solomon Ibn Gebirol was the author; this is possible.
The two additional lines, which the Sefardim insert as 7 and 8, are:

412 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Without estimate or likening, without change or transmutation;
without joining or division, great in strength, and whose is power."
These recall some of Ibn Gebirol's metaphysical language in the
Song of Unity.
T. B. Baba Kamma, 326. R. Jannai cried out: Come, O
Bride!

CHAPTER XIX
CABBALISTIC INTERPOLATIONS
.(Pp. 241-244)
The Zohar on Exodus recommends this prayer thus: "Says
R. Simeon, when they take out the Book of the Law in public to
read therein, the gates of the heaven of mercy are opened, and
they arouse love above; and a man ought to say thus." Abudra
ham, writing two generations after the date of the .Zohar, as yet
says nothing about the reception of this prayer; nor is it in the
Amsterdam Prayer Book of 1658. It made its way into the
service only slowly after the life-work of Isaac Luria, on behalf of
the Cabbala, had borne full fruit.
The authorized daily Prayer Book of the United Synagogue of
the British Empire (German Ritual) has met the difficulty in its
edition of 1895 in the following way: It gives "meditations" before
the putting on of the fringed shawl, before laying on phylacteries,
at sitting down in the Succa, and before handling the Lulab, as
drawn up by Cabbalists, but with all the Cabbalistic matter (unit
ing God and his Presence, and "with fear and love") and all the
grotesque Midrashic matter left out; and it gets rid of the ugly
petition which goes with the priestly blessing, by omitting that
ceremony altogether and leaving it for the Festival Mahzor, of
which there is as yet no official edition.

NOTES 413

BOOK III

THE DESK AND THE PULPIT

CHAPTER I
THE WEEKLY PENTATEUCH LESSON
(Pp. 247-253)
The present order of lessons is found in every Jewish Almanac,
the division of weekly portions, in every Hebrew Bible. The need
for Vacthhunnan on the Sabbath after the gth of Ab will appear in
the chapter on Prophet Lessons; the seven consolations must be
read between the Fast and New Year.
2 Acts 15: 21; Jos. ag. Apion, 2, 17; T. J. on Megilla, ch. I, § I.
About the court sessions on Monday and Thursday, see Kethuboth,
ch. 1, § 1.
"Of the two passages quoted — T. J. on Shabbath, ch. 16, § 1, and
Soferim, ch. 16, § 9 — the former only speaks of 175 passages in the
Pentateuch which contain precepts; the latter is too late and un
authentic to be a historic authority. When the Treatise of Scribes
was written, the division into 175 Sabbath portions was, by its own
admission, not used anywhere.
T. B. Megilla, 296.
"See Tudela's experience, as given in note 5 to Bk. I, ch. I; also
a MS. with Arabic notes on the three-years cycle — Oxford, Neu-
bauer, f. 22 — of which more will be said in the chapter on Prophet
Lessons. T. B. Megilla, 31&.
'Ib. This rule of reading the beginning of the next portion is in a
Baraitha, and must have applied to the Palestinian three-years cycle,
as well as to the one year. Hence, the opinion there given in favor
of reading straight along on Saturday afternoon, Monday, Thurs
day, and Saturday morning, but overruled, is somewhat strange, as
it would require S1 verses, at the least, for every week; too much
for a three-years cycle. The Tanna who wanted to have it that
way must have favored a cycle of two years.
The absence of a statement to that effect in the book of Nehe
miah is the strongest negative proof.

414 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
T. B. Megilla, 296, 300: Where the portions XBT1 'J and nn«
nisn are named as now by their opening words.
"It appears from a passage in T. J. that the Tora may be finished
on a Sabbath and New Moon, which excludes the last day of the
Feast; there is also proof that Gen. 5 was read during the Passover;
other facts tending this way are collated by Mr. A. Biichler, in his
articles in the Jewish Quarterly Review for July and October, 1893.
1JT. B. Megilla, end of third chapter.

CHAPTER II
LESSONS OUTSIDE OF THE WEEKLY ORDER
(Pp. 254-259)
'All these lessons, along with those for Purim, Ninth of Ab,
Hanucca, and New Moons, are given, T. B. Megilla, 310, b, where
Baraitha and Gemara are easily separated.
Ten verses are otherwise the minimum for a lesson (T. B. Me
gilla, 216) ; but the battle with Amalek is told in nine verses. This
lesson is the only exception to the rule.
The Talmudic treatise on Fasts (Taanith) treats of the special
fasts for drought or other distress, and so still does Abudraham in
the fourteenth century. The Mahzor Vitry gives 7n,l as the lesson
for the afternoon of the Ninth of Ab without quoting authority.
The Talmud, 1. c. says: Read the account of creation at the nno^D,
and "blessings and curses" on the Fasts. The present lesson was
chosen on account of the atoning virtue of the thirteen qualities.
The Talmud says: "And on your New Moons," which is not the
beginning, for it would give only six verses for four men. Some
other lessons are also named by a descriptive verse in the middle.
T. B. Megilla, 296.
"Megilla, ch. 3, §§ 4 and 5, where the four special Sabbaths are
named, and § 6, which speaks also of the conflict between Festivals
and the reading on Saturday afternoon, Monday, and Thursday.
T. B. Taanith, 27b. CHAPTER III
HOW THE LESSON IS DISTRIBUTED
(Pp. 260-264)
'Megilla, ch. 4, §§ 1, 2. At all events the Tora must be read, not
recited by heart; T. J. on Megilla, ch. 2, § 1. Only in the Temple,

NOTES 415
on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest read the small passage
about the day, in Lev. 23, by heart for reasons given.
"Megilla, ch. 4, § 5, as to boys under 13; Baraitha in T. B.
Megilla, 230: "Even a woman.''
"Gittin, ch. 5, § 8: "For the sake of peace they call first a Cohen,
then a Levite, then an Israelite," and T. B. on same, 596. The
deduction is drawn from T. B. Kethuboth, 25b, that a Levite is
called on after a Cohen; if there is no Cohen, a plain Israelite is
called in his place. When there is no Levite, the Cohen first
called reads or blesses again the second subsection "in place of a
Levite." In modern practice, when more than seven are called,
the last may be a Cohen or Levite; see discussion in Mahzor Vitry,
P- 95-
4A professional reader ( XTp ) is mentioned, T. B. Taanith, 276,
who directs those called to the desk, especially school children,
when to stop. The story about R. Akiba is quoted by the Mahzor
Vitry from the "History" of Josippon, the wildest of romancers.
"Megilla, ch. 4, §§ 1, 2.
T. B. Berachoth, lib, gives the first benediction (see Bk. II, Ch.
XIV) ; as to the other, see Soferim, ch. 13, § 8. The form there
given differs somewhat from the present.
'T. J. on Megilla, ch. 3, last section.
T. B. Megilla, 216, sub fine: "now" each blesses, etc., "for those
who come late."
The lawfulness of calling women and small boys is admitted by
all the Codes, including the Orah Hayim, though it is said, that
to call a woman might be a dishonor to the congregation, as prov
ing the lack of men able to read, as already stated in the Talmud.
"T. B. Rosh Hashana, 310, gives the beginning words by initials,
which Rashi, after older sources, explains.
"T. B. Megilla, 230, admitted that the Maftir reads in the Law;
dispute whether he is of the seven or not. The latter notion seems
to prevail.
"Soferim. ch. 17, § 9; T. B. Taanith, 276, sub tine.

CHAPTER IV
THE LESSON FROM THE PROPHETS
(Pp. 265-275)
'Abudraham, where in the Sabbath morning service he first comes
to the Haftara, speaks in general terms of a persecution, during

416 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
which reading from the Law was prohibited. He is unreliable
herein, as he gives a similar explanation of many usages, for in
stance, of ya\B and ri 'JX in the Kedusha of the Additional as a
substitute for the reading of the Shema. However, this view,
though unsupported by the Talmud, has been commonly received.
The statement, i Mace, i : 56, that Antiochus caused the books of
the Law to be burned, lays some foundation for it.
The original scheme was that Isa. 55 and Hos. 14 should be
the two Repentances; each ritual set one of them aside for fast
day afternoon. The Germans found a good substitute in Ezekiel;
the Sefardim read 2 Sam. 18 simply because it is a song, to match
the song, Deut. 33.
sSections XLII and XLIII are then read separatelv. each with
one of the "Punishments."
'In every Hebrew Bible the margin of the eight books marks
where a Haftara for any portion or day, by either ritual, begins
and ends.
"Megilla, ch. 4, § 10; but R. Jehuda (ben Il'a'i) allows it; his
opinion prevailed. The sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel is forbidden
in the same place, as being too rude a denunciation of our "mother"
Zion. T. B. Megilla, 31a and b, sets out all Haftaroth for Feasts, Fast
of Ninth of Ab, and special Sabbaths. That for fast day afternoon
seems to have been evolved later.
Tosefoth on T. B. Megilla, 316, explains the change in practice
from the text by saying: "We go by the Pesikta."
T. B. Megilla, 316, names "Your New Moons, etc.," which is
Isa. 1: 14, to be read when the New Moon of Ab is a Sabbath; also
intimates that nD'X, ib., verse 21, would fit the chapter for a lesson
on the Ninth of Ab.
T. B. Megilla, 236.
"Tr. Soferim, ch. 14, § 2.
"Megilla, ch. 4, § 4, allows skipping, but always forward, and
though not from book to book, yet from one of the Twelve to
another. "All information about this MS. (Neubauer. f. 22) is drawn from
Ad. Buchler's article in the Jewish Quarterly Review, October, 1893,
in which it is copied. The lessons are marked by the first and last
verse; those of two verses each have the words Dp3 rp)D3 (Arabic:
two verses only) appended. He quotes other MS. works, in which
some Haftaroth in the three-years cycle are mentioned, agreeing
with this fragment. T. J. on Megilla, ch. 4, §§ 2, 3, requires three
verses at }east, though there be an interpreter.

NOTES 417
"Megilla, ch. 4, § 10, and a Baraitha under it speak of incidents
(such as that of Amnon and Tamar) to be read, but not trans
lated; indicating lessons not now in use.
"T. B. Megilla, 25ft.

CHAPTER V
THE LITURGY OF THE DESK
(Pp. 276-283)
T. B. Berachoth, 546.
T. J. on Rosh Hashana, ch. 4, § 7, has a form for the third
benediction after the Haftara, "the God of David," now the "Shield
of David." The second in some of the older sources closes,
"builder of Jerusalem," which is at bottom the same as the present
conclusion. The following sections in Tr. Soferim are drawn upon for this
chapter: ch. 8, §§ 9-14; ch. 14, §§ 8, 9 (Hear, O Israel), and follow
ing sections in ch. 14. Maimonides speaks of one benediction
before and four after reading, without giving them in full; but says
the last closes like the "Sanctity of the Day." It is very prob
able that the liturgy of the desk was enlarged from time to time,
to make up for the loss of the interpreter, perhaps also for that of
the preacher. The last benediction after the Haftara, for which
there is no Talmudic evidence, is probably as old as the other
three. The words, "blessed be Thou," recur seven times in the
benedictions before and after; probably meant to represent the
seven men called to read the weekly portion.

CHAPTER VI
THE FIVE SMALL BOOKS
(Pp. 284-287)
'The following sections of the Treatise Soferim (which is not a
part of the Mishna, but later than the Gemara) are drawn on for
this chapter: ch. 14, §§ 5, 6, 18 • ch. 18, § 4.
"Megilla, ch. 2, § 2. The materials needed are the same as for a
scroll of the Law.
The Mishna leaves the making of benediction to local custom;
this is explained in the T. B. Megilla, 216, to refer to the benediction
27

418 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
after reading, as that before reading falls under the general rule of
blessing before the performance of all precepts.
4It seems that at one time the public reading of the book began
here, with the greatness of Mordecai, not with the greatness of
Ahasuerus; at least according to the ruling of some of the Sages;
Megilla, ch. 2, § 3.
T. J. on Megilla, ch. 4, § 1; T. B. Megilla, 216. The latter form
has prevailed. The double closing is to reconcile two traditions as
to the right ending.
T. B. Taanith, 300.
'Megilla, ch. 1, § 1. This is of historic interest, as showing the
importance of the sessions held on Mondays and Thursdays.
The same rule applies to birthdays. A boy born in Adar of a
common year only attains his age in the second Adar, if his thir
teenth birthday happens in an intercalary year; Megilla, ch. I, § 4.

CHAPTER VII
THE INTERPRETER, OR METHURGAMAN
(Pp. 288-292)
The great number of Greek words that have penetrated the Mish
na and the still greater number in the Jerusalem Talmud and in the
Midrash, render this clear. The latter in several passages has
plays on Greek words, which shows that these were well under
stood. At Caesarea, the services at the Synagogue were sometimes
recited in Greek (tXhjvunuv); T. J. on Sota, ch. 7, § 1, comment
ing on the rule, that Hearing of Shema and Prayer may be spoken
in any language that is understood. The duty to interpret the Tora,
when publicly read, is derived by some from the example of Ezra;
T. J. on Megilla, ch. 4, § 1, quoting Neh. 8: 8; though Ezra and
Nehemiah must have been quite unwilling to admit ignorance of
Hebrew on the part of their hearers and to use a foreign tongue.
"Megilla, ch. 4, § 4. "If the three be three paragraphs, he reads
one by one."
"Dr. H. Barnstein, in his pamphlet "Targum of Onkelos to Gene
sis," already cited, draws from a study of the Yemen MSS. the con
clusion that it was written in Palestine in the second century, and
inclines to identify Onkelos with Aquila. Rapoport of Prague,
about 1826, wrote a work on the Targum, which he called IJ 2niX,
Friend of the Convert. Zunz, however, believes that the version of
Akylas (oVpX) was not Aramaic at all, but Greek, and was much

NOTES 419
liked by the Rabbis, because it clung closely to the Hebrew text,
while the Septuagint, gotten up by the Jews in Egypt (and which
is always followed by the New Testament writers), diverges from
it very widely.
T. B. Sota, 496.
"Dr. Barnstein's pamphlet, supra, p. 22 (quoting from Deren-
bourg's Manuel du Lccteur).
"Orah Hayim, § 145, subs. 3.
'Megilla, ch. 2, § 1; T. B. on same (f. 18a) remarks, if it be in
Greek, one must read from a Greek copy; otherwise it would be a
recital by heart, whiGh is unlawful.
The first great objection to Akdamoth is its rich Aramaic vocabu
lary, which makes it a sealed book to all who do not study it up
beforehand; the other is the introduction of the rather wild fancy
about the future fight between Leviathan and Behemoth, and how
the former will be served up for breakfast (Ariston) to the right
eous in Paradise.
"Megilla, ch. 2, § 9. "Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel says: They
did not allow even sacred books to be written, except in Greek."
And see T. B. Megilla, 180.
"Obadia of Bartenoro, in his commentary on Megilla, ch. 2, § 9.

CHAPTER VIII
PREACHING (Pp. 293-296)
'Such ethical rules, given as Halacha, not as in the treatise
Aboth as individual opinion, are found, for instance, in Baba
Metzia, ch. 4, § 2 (the unwritten higher law) ; ib., § 7 (duty of
restoring wrongful gains); ib., § 10 (tenderness in speech); ib., § 11
(high standard of mercantile honesty). Or take in Eduioth, ch. 5,
§ 6, the account of Akabia ben Mahal'el, who spurned the highest
office rather than yield his conviction on any point, preferring to
be thought a fool all his life to seeming wicked for one moment;
and who refused, on his death, to recommend his son to his com
panions, telling him, "thy works may bring thee near to them, thy
works may estrange thee." Or Sota, ch. 9, § 5, where the neglect
or abandonment of our neighbor, when it leads to his death, is
equalled to shedding his blood.
T. B. Megilla, last sentence, a Baraitha.
T. J. on Megilla, ch. 4, §§ 2, 3, which fixes twenty-one verses

420 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
for the Haftara, but holds three verses enough, when interpreted,
shows that a pretty lengthy paraphrase was expected. The Talmud
speaks of great Rabbis acting as interpreters, who would naturally
give their own views in the paraphrase. Soferim. ch. 14, § 2, says
expressly "when interpreted or preached on." Still the sermons in
Talmudic times must have been very short, as we find constant
demands for briefness, for fear of "wearying the assemblage"
(xTan smtj).

BOOK IV
INCIDENTS AND CEREMONIES
CHAPTER I
POSTURE, SOUND, THOUGHT
(Pp. 299-307)
The Psalm verse (84 : 5) : "Happy are they who sit in thy
house," and its introduction into the service are some proof. See
Bk. I, ch. VII, as to chairs and benches. The German Gentiles
called the synagogue "Judenschule," seeing people sitting on
benches and reading books. Hilchoth Tefilla, ch. 9, § 1 : As a rule,
the people sit.
2E. g., the "sitting alarm sounds" on New Year; see hereafter.
Megilla, ch. 4, § 1 : The Book of Esther may be read in sitting
posture. On the Ninth of Ab the reader of Lamentations sits on a
"low stool or step."
"Megilla, ch. 4, § 3: "They raise their hands," means to impart
the blessing.
4Known as anirns; frequent in the German Ritual of the Solemn
Days. This usage has grown up without the notice of the late or of
previous Codes. See Orah Hayim, § 146. The notes, "Magen
David," support the text, showing that Neh. 8: 5: "When he
opened it, all the people stood up," means only that they were
silent. "I Kings 8: 29, 38; also Dan. 6: 11. Mishna Berachoth, ch. 4,
§§ 5, 6: If one cannot turn his face, he should turn at least his

NOTES 421
heart to the Holy of Holies. T. B. Berachoth, 30a; "Feet as one
foot." T. B. Berachoth, 106: "Tears off his feet" (V7J-I fix yy)
ib., 296,
'T. B. Berachoth, 32ft. Ib., 27a.
"Mishna Berachoth, ch. 1, § 3. On the Dav of Atonement, as of
old in the Temple, all rise at the response (VJ) QUI TH3), which
follows. "Dan. 6: 11; T. B. Berachoth, 346. The Mishna does not mention
kneeling in prayer at all.
"Mishna Joma, ch. 6, § 2: "And when the priests and people
who stood in the court heard the plainly spoken Name, as it came
from the mouth of the High Priest, they would kneel and bow
down and fall on their faces and say: Blessed is the name of his
glorious kingdom forever and ever."
"Baraitha in T. B. Berachoth, 34a. See opinions in favor of
kneeling and bending, ib., 286.
" D'3X ly D'73U ; the phrase and custom are known to the
Talmud, T. B. Megilla, 226, though only on public fasts; but see
Orah Hayim, § 131; also Abudraham's older work, which refers to
R. Amram on the question, "whether they fall on their faces" on
Purim. "Cuzari, pt. 2, § 80, repels the reason drawn from the lively
temper of the Jews, and traces the habit to the former necessity
of ten or more men reading from one big book laid before them on
the ground. Abudraham puts it on the Psalm verse. Rashi on
T. B. Berachoth, 62a, speaks of Bible readers from Palestine, who
accompany their chant with the right arm as with a baton.
"Ex. 29: 6, 9; Zech. 3: 5. Always so depicted.
'T. B. Berachoth, 606: "He spreads the kerchief on his head,
and blesses him who crowns Israel with beauty." This is to be
done and said before the fringed shawl or phylacteries are put on.
T. J. on Berachoth, ch. 2, § 3, says of R. Johanan ben Zaccai, that
by reason of his corpulence he wore no turban in summer, and
was otherwise almost naked. The Treatise Soferim puts a person
with uncovered head on a footing with one half-clad (nniS), whose
knees and shoulders are bare. As to covered head and fear of
Heaven, see T. B. Shabbath, 1566.
'This is shown by the unbroken testimony of all antique statues.
T. J. on Berachoth, ch. I. § 3, tells us how the Roman Emperors
required everybody to bare his head as a mark of awe, when an
imperial rescript {izpo<;rayp.a) was read, which to the Asiatics
seemed a hardship.
"1 Cor. 11: 4, 7: Men must pray and preach with uncovered

422 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
heads, while other verses in the same chapter bid women to pray
with covered heads, for reasons not very flattering to the fair sex.
"Historic proof of this position can perhaps not be had; but we
know that many forms of salutation among Christians and Moham
medans are marks of religious recognition; see art. Salutation in
Encyclopaedia Britannica.
"Orah Hayim, § 2 (head to be covered when fringed garment is
worn) ; § 8 (none to walk four cubits distance bare-headed) ; § 91
(hat or cap at prayers); § 151, subs. 6, § 282, subs. 3 (even children,
who may otherwise be uncovered, must cover the head when read
ing the Law). Maimonides, writing in Moslem countries, enjoins
only learned men, as a matter of decency, always to keep their
heads covered. In Hilchoth Tefilla, ch. 4, § 1, he does not reckon
the uncovered head among the positive hindrances to prayer. A MS.
lately discovered at Cambridge (see Jewish Quarterly Review, Octo
ber, 1892, p. 23) of a work by R. Asher ben Shaiil, a French Rabbi
of the thirteenth century, of "Lorid," probably in France, states that
the benediction, "who crowns Israel, etc." was not customary in
the writer's country as in Spain, because many Israelites there
went with uncovered heads. And there is other evidence to show
that for a long time the Jews of France were careless about cover
ing the head, even at prayers. But Abudraham says the same as to
Christian Spain, in 1340, to the extent that they do not say the
blessing, and do not spread the kerchief; not, however, stating that
his contemporaries in Seville say their prayers bare-headed. (See
Bk. II, ch. XIV.)
""Joma, ch. 8, § 1. Taking off the shoes on the Ninth of Ab has
a further reason; it is a badge of mourning.
"'Megilla, ch. 4, § 8, where the same suspicion attaches to insist
ence on white garments. Such are, however, worn in our days on
the Day of Atonement: a long, white, lace-trimmed robe, with
linen cap to suit.
""Such reading in thought ( limn) was practiced by the learned
only when defiled, till cleansed by bath or douche; Berachoth,
ch. 3, § 4-
"Ib., ch. 2, § 3, and T. B. Berachoth, 150 and b, where Ps. 68:
14, is wildly distorted to favor those who read the Shema distinctly.
"T. B. ib., 31a, where 1 Sam. 1: 13, is analyzed. But the Orah
Hayim, § 101, subs. 2, says, he who prays should whisper loud
enough for his own ears.
2"Orah Hayim, § 101, subs. 2, as a D'IDIX Iff' ; an annotator warns
against raising the voice too much even then.
"The response in the Kaddish, "Amen, be his great name, etc.,"

NO TES

423

is the most sacred; T. B. Berachoth, 3a, 21b. For the response,
"Give thanks," see T. B. on Succa, ch. 3, § 9.
"The air of "Yij 73 is too well known to be here reproduced.
As two examples we give here the short quatrain ]V]f '7X in the
dirge for the Ninth of Ab and the tune with which the benedic
tions before and after the Shema on the Memorial and Atonement
days are closed in the evening service.

-**-Fi^-»
EEEEE

:i2=p:

E - li tzi-on v' o re - ho k' mo i - sbo b' tzi - re-bo v'

chi-Vsu-lo ha-gu-ras sak al  ba al u'u re - ho.

I

i=\-

¥

3=3=

-jV-

~3r*-

-*—•—*-

-•-¦&-

«- -Tf

-N 

==t

fc=t

"*¦ .-i "*¦

-=>¦

"Known asiiniU'nn. "Pleasant singing" on Sabbath and Festi
vals is recommended in the German-Polish annotations of the
Orah Hayim, to be applied to the nn'DI, "musical parts," i. e.,
Psalms, Red Sea Song, and the poetic insertions in 71X ixr ; see
X"D1 to § 281. The Sefardic text in § 51, 4, 5, reckons a pleasant
voice among the qualifications of the leader, adding that, if a man
cannot be found with all the qualifications, the most learned and
virtuous in the community be chosen; but R. Moses Isserles, know
ing the weakness of his Polish countrymen for fine singing, holds
that, between an old ignorant man with a fine voice and a boy of
thirteen, without voice, who understands what he says, the latter
should be preferred.
""Orah Hayim, § 53, warns the leader against dwelling long on
words only in order to show his good voice. The gloss, "Magen

424 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Abraham," on § 529 (Rules of Rosh Hashana), warns him against
keeping up the services beyond noon by fine singing. In the
very modern work, DHX "n, §§ 29, 30, the Cantor who sings to
show his voice is called disgraced, and a Biblical rebuke is at
tached to one who spends time on chanting. Girls were, of course,
excluded from the old-fashioned Meshorerim, and are even now in
orthodox congregations not admitted into the choirs singing
modern music; the soprano and contralto parts being sung by the
boys of still unbroken voices. This is not done because woman is
unworthy to take part in public service; for it has been held
that even women and children may be called to the desk to read
the Law, if there are not seven men present able to do, so (Orah
Hayim, § 282), but because 7VC\y nt?K3 7lp, a woman's voice arouses
passion (T. B. Berachoth, 24a). The writer thinks that giving
to a large choir of Jewish girls an opportunity to become ac
quainted at least with the responsive parts of the service would
outweigh this objection; indeed, it has hardly any force, unless
there are solo parts, and these, except for the leader or Cantor,
are wholly foreign to the spirit of Jewish services. Many of the
strictly orthodox object to any trained choir, because it prevents
the worshippers, from joining in the responses. They may, of
course, join in low tones; but they hate to have their voices
drowned by hired singers, often Gentiles, who have no heart
in the words uttered. It is to be regretted that Jewish choral music
took its rise in Catholic Vienna, rather than in Protestant North
Germany, where it might have followed the Lutheran usage of
simple airs, set in only two parts, in which the whole congregation
is trained to join from their earliest schooldays up. Yet with all
its intricacies, the music of Sulzer and of his northern successors,
such as Weintraub and Lewandowski, arouses a religious feeling
in the hearers just as the Lutheran "Gesangbuch" does. The
so-called "musical services" in many American Synagogues, made
up of operatic pieces, Catholic masses, and other nondescript
matter, cannot be criticised at all from a religious standpoint, as it
is usually arranged by some Gentile organist without any view to
religious effect. From the standpoint of art it is bad enough; for
according to Wagner's great rule, all the elements of art perform
ance should go hand in hand; and a Jewish Temple is hardly the
proper background for Lohengrin or for Rossini's Stabat Mater.
""Mishna Berachoth, ch. 2, § 1, as explained in the Talmud,
demands attention to what is read, not intention to fulfill the com
mand. Ibid., § 4: Workmen on a tree or wall may stay there and
read the Shema; "which they may not do with the Prayer." Maimo-

NOTES 425
nides, in the Jad Hahazaka, rules on Reading the Shema, requires
stoppage of work and attention for all of the first paragraph.
"Ib., ch. 4, § 4; ch. 5, § 1; Aboth, ch. 2, § 18. In the Talmud on
the first-named passage there is an opinion that the rule is violated,
if the worshipper does not add requests of his own to the customary
form of words; but this view has never taken root.
""Berachoth, ch. 4, § 1. Morning Prayer till noon; Musaf all
day; Minha till dark; evening Prayer all night.
MA Baraitha in T. B. Berachoth, 34b.
"Mishna Sota, ch. 8, § 1. This has already been treated in the
first book of this work.
*°T. B. Berachoth, 316, in a passage already quoted; based on
Hannah's answer to Eli. Query: Was the strong language of the
Rabbis based on what they heard of heathen orgies, or about the
Agape? '"Mishna, ib., ch. 3, § 5. The Talmud on this section discusses
the matter more fully than modern taste would permit.
"Ib., ch. 9, § 4; T. B., ib., 136.
""Berachoth, ch. 2, §1.
"Tb., ch. 4, § 1.
"Orah Hayim, §§ 66, 102; § 51, subs. 3.
"Ibid., § 146, comp. above Note 5. Unfortunately there are many
interludes in the proceedings, when the matter spoken by the
reader or the leader is not such as to command any one's devout
attention, and here free conversation creeps in.

CHAPTER II
THE TROPE
(Pp. 308-311)
The accents can be found with full explanations of their rank
in every good Hebrew grammar, such as that of Gesenius in its
various editions.
The whole is known as Zarka; it begins, Zarka Segol, and ends,
Jethib Pesik Sof Pasuk.
"The music below for the trope of Parsha and Haftara in the
German Ritual is taken (with omission of the rarer accents and
combinations) from A. Baer's Baal T'fillah, Gothenburg, 1877, Nos.
105 and 106, in each case the first of three variations, which he gives
in parallel lines. The phrases which cannot well follow each other,
but of which one is a substitute or variation of the other, are
marked in the usual way by double heavy bar-lines.

426 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Zar - \o se - gol Mu-
Parsbyoth.

aE*^jBa^fg^^±

Haphtoroth.

nah

m

fe

a  **-

-•—&-

^S.=

¦0—1-

4  R-

-•-*-

3=3=

Mu - nah

-=!— i-

ts-n— 1

£±=&e

¦¦^- — #

Mah-

i

-•-*-

¦*-*-»-

-=l-=— ly-i

K**—* #

•-*

pach pashto Zo-kef ko-ton Zo-kef go - dol Mer-

EEflEESEEEffi

**#-#:

=1  =P=i=H  =P

±=M

IKS
• 7^ »

0— 0~

-1—0—0-1—0-

£g=^=

-A— t-

=&:

:^F

cho Tif-ho Mu - nah es -nah - to

i

:=I==S==P

-*#'— *-

J— rN"^

jtz*±-!±i-

il:

*r*-Jz

¦A--A-

^===rf=^§

R

#t

£3=

2- »— *»¦— L*-f

1-

zer 3

#3>:

=P=-*«-»^»

T' li-sho k' ta noh

»-ft--*\  fr— V

S~j J -S— i*

£¦

— t— I— I— I— u  1-
¦+*-*-$**— 1-

:iSSSt=t

-0'-0—0^--0,—0'-

::^=-TfTT.-

NOTES

427

1—2-

(

I T' li-sho g'do - loh

T-l- Kndmo v' az - lo

fsEg^g

-J — m. *.m  ¦ 

1---0-s-0

Mfe

ttti=*3=-.

n Az-lo ge resh

resh |Gershayim

ill

*— -ILd^nN-if^iF^t1

iZZt

-•-#-*-

Dar

t'vir

£?:

zJ-^i

Ye-

•^

-3=2:

:ES=fcr=fc=fc£l

I

3t=t

:•*=?=

-fr-

3z=^3=M=itz:3

siv P'sik

^^=

Sof po suk.
—0»*  fr  1 

r-t^-0-0-

r^Z*

1

Mer cho tif ' ho sof po - suk.

%-=+-

rt^pfc^

=!*£—*

Jt^Ml

3— -A-

3&&&=j

m

-3-3— iy— IS

>^ °-0-0-

428 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Mr. Baer gives, in connection with the trope of the Germans, in
Nos. 1 17-123 certain passages in the Pentateuch, and under Nos.
124-138 certain passages in the Book of Esther, which have tradi
tionally their peculiar tunes (XJ'J.J.'D).
The following music (Sefardic) for the Haftara and the first
verse of Lamentations is also taken from A. Baer's Baal T'fillah
(Nos. 938 and 940), and credited by him to an older work by O.
Aguilar. The Canto D'Israele, published at Livorno, in its version
of the Sefardic trope, differs materially from that below, but agrees
with it in its general character.

7T "^

— N

- 0-0 £:

:r^?:

=fs

--¦3^*--

=*

---PI-3-:

fr

-0-

L^L_

=fc=

X- * ¦

0

zP 4r

0

-j-j^y.
* — -0* — "

Zar

ka, . . .

Se - gol Mu nah, Ho - lech,

btfeiSSg

s

1— *-

«--+

irt

V— 9-H

=E

E' bi a. Mah pach,

Pash - ta,

Zakef katon.

1

-* — »—=—•- -0-

-I— q::

ll-v-t — b'-Et

f-01— a*J-

=13=

Za-kef Ga - dol
=i=n=4

Mercha.

-A--N-

=Si

0--1-0-*-

0-0-0

7-0-0-P-

Tif ha Mu-nah

*

-»-*— **--*-*-

!  P^W*  1-

25"

Et-nah-ta. Pa - zer. .

T' li-shak'ta-na..

feT

—ra— 1-0-0

:e?issS

£*:

e-2=

—1-1  l_

-h— »—- 1
*E=EJ

T' li-sha g' do -la..

Kad - ma. Veaz - la.

Gersha ¦

I

I

-•^¦^-•bj-h-*-
-r- p ttr

yim  Ge - resh  Dar-ga  Te - bir.

:=)=

15:

Mzz&i

W.

'¦&—:

¦0---1- -0

=13=

-ij-i-

11

%i!±?z

Y' tib P' sik Sof pa - suk, sof pa - suk.

NOTES

429

i^F3! — *z^0~r-f0^'-=^^~y^fmy^0^^^y==^~^q
I  >r)  ha?-*-- — f-hl — "-• — m — ~-0 I-i*-— — >  0—0—1  b—^~l
z^=z-^m-v^±^^^^_z^^^y^-"^- — ^-n-3

E-cha

ya-sh' ba ba-dad ha-ir rab-ba-ti am ha-y'

llzzB

fegz=EE^

-IS-- IS— V

*=t=

:fft

1

ta

k' al-ma - na

rab-ba-ti ba-go-yim sa -

i

=*=?=?=

¦»-— asH

bam-di - not

ha

ta la - mas.

'Professor Petermann wrote for volume 5 of the Zeitschrift der
deutschen morgenldndischen Gesellschaft an account of the old Churcli
music of the Armenians, showing it to have a notation greatly
analogous to that of the trope; that is, not single notes, but larger
or shorter phrases. Prof. Paul Haupt (now of Johns Hopkins) has
also made researches into the origin of the trope.
T. B. Megilla, 32a. The author of the saying, R. Johanan, is of
the first generation of Western Emoraim; that is, an immediate
disciple of R. Judah, the Patriarch. See also T. J. on Megilla, ch.
4, § 1, where it is claimed that the "giving the sense," spoken of in
Neh. 8: 8, was done by reading the Pentateuch with the proper
intonation. /
CHAPTER III "

FRINGES AND PHYLACTERIES
(Pp. 312-317)
'Berachoth, ch. 3, § 3, as to phylacteries. In case of the fringes,
the words of the Law, "ye shall see them," is relied on as showing
that they were not required at night. T. B. Mehahoth, 436.
"Menahoth, ch. 4, § 1, says, the lack of the sky-blue, known as
rhin, does not hinder the use of the white threads; then already
the sky-blue threads were scarce and dear. T. B. Menahoth, 440.
As explained there, one or two threads of those making the fringe
were to be sky-blue. The thread of that color is part of the fringe..
Maimonides, in Hilchoth Tzitzith, speaks of the blue threads as
if they were then in use, though they were not.

430 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
T. B. Menahoth, 420, as to 7'IJ.
T. B. Berachoth, 606. Observing Israelites wear a small four-
cornered cloth, with a hole cut out for the head, at all times.
Before putting this on, the benediction is spoken, in a modified
form. "I. M. Jost, Geschichte des Judenthums, Vol. II, p. 307, is the writer's
authority for the Karaitic custom.
T. B. Berachoth, 47b, and elsewhere.
'Shabbath, ch. 6, § 1: filiJBlD for women's head-bands.
"Maimonides, in Hilchoth Tefillin, 4 chapters, gives these and a
great many more details. The more modern Codes agree with
him almost literally. Among these details is a regular IS and a
four-headed Iff, which are worked into the box of the phylactery
for the head, to show the direction; the former being on the right,
the latter on the left of the wearer, and the strap is put through the
loops accordingly.
"Hilchoth Tefillin, ch. 4, § 10. In the notes to this is found a
discussion between Rabbis of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,
whether phylacteries are to be worn on the Middle Days, as the
Unleavened Bread and the Hut should be sign enough. R. Simha.
author of the Mahzor Vitry, claims they should be worn on the
Middle Days, on the strength of T. J. on Moed Katan, ch. 3, § 4,
where leave was given during such days to write phylacteries for
one who lost them, though only pressing work should be done on
those days. Hence, the German Jews generally lay Tefillin on
Middle Days, while the Sefardim and the Hasidim do not. But
before Musaf on middle days of the Passover and on New Moons
the phylacteries are removed, and on the middle days of the Feast
of Huts, before Hallel. As to Sabbath and true Festivals, see
Shabbath, ch. 6, § 2, and T. B. Menahoth, 366.
'T. B. Menahoth, 426, gives the benedictions; the verses were
chosen long after.
"Maimonides, in Hilchoth Tefillin, ch. 5, § 4, speaks from this
standpoint, when he denounces those who scribble the names of
angels and other Cabbalistic nonsense upon the Mezuza (parchment
strip with the two paragraphs from Deuteronomy for the door
post), thus degrading the highest expression of faith and love
into a imp (Amulet).
'"Megilla, ch. 1, § 8; ch. 4, § 8.
'T. B. Berachoth, 146.
"Cmp. ib., 23a, and following pages.
'T. B. Menahoth, 34-36.
'The Codes of Alfassi, of Maimonides, the Turim (Toledo, thir-

NOTES 431
teenth century), and the Shulhan Aruch, all speak of the Tefillin
as a live custom.
"According to T. B. Menahoth, 34ft, 350, the order is not
material, so long as the two paragraphs that ought to be on the
outside are on the outside, and the other two in the middle.
'T. B. Menahoth, 436, and see the pretty story about the man
whom a glance at his fringes saved from sin, and led thus to the
conversion and reformation of a fair sinner, ib., 440.

CHAPTER IV
CEREMONIES ON YEARLY OCCASIONS
(Pp. 318-326)
'Megilla, ch. 4, § 7; T. B. Berachoth, 326; T. B. Menahoth,
1090. Baraitha, in T. B. Kerithoth, 286, excludes the drunken
man on the ground of Lev. 10: 8. Lack of piety or learning does
not disqualify (Hilchoth Tefilla, ch. 15, § 6), for God blesses
(Num. 6: 27), not the priest.
T. B. Sota, 39, seems not to demand a special washing for the
occasion, but it is so construed by Rashi. Maimonides, in the chap
ter cited, does not demand such washing, nor removal of shoes.
The removal of "sandals" is among the institutions of Rabban
Johanan ben Zaccai; T. B. Sota, 400; but, as is there explained, it
was not intended as a token of respect, but only because the loosen
ing of the straps might lead to disturbance. The washing by
Levites is an invention of the Zohar on Num. 6: 22-27. See Orah
Hayim, § 128, for these and other rules observed; and see T. B.
Berachoth, 556, for prayer after a troubling dream. A prayer by
and for the priests that their blessing may be pure and effective
(T. B. Sota, 40) has been given in Bk. II, ch. vi.
This usage, unknown to the Talmud, seems a survival of the
fasts for rain.
4Rosh Hashana, ch. 4, §§ 5, 6, 7, 9. R. Gamaliel says: The
messenger of the congregation — by blowing the horn — relieves the
others of their duty. Hence, to hear the Shofar is enough; so T. B.
on same, 32a, and the benediction, "to hear the sound, etc.," is
correct. "Seder R. Amram speaks of the "sitting sounds," and distin
guishes by initials Iff and T and "V'ty, between the two single alarms
and the compound alarm, and gives the benedictions in full, not
quoting authority for the latter, but stating that R. Abbahu, at

432 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Ca^sarea, introduced the three modes of alarm. Abudraham, in the
fourteenth century, still quotes the Jer. Talmud for the benediction.
As the copies thereof now in use are but a fragment, they may be,
and probably are, right in their quotations.
"Still unknown to R. Amram, who starts the evening service
right after Neila. Mahzor Vitry: He blows one n>"pn in memory
of the Jubilee.
'In Succa, ch. 3, § 4, R. Ishmael gives the numbers of each kind;
his rule prevails now against R. Akiba's dissent; § 8, the bunch
tied with its own kind; § 9, when to shake it during Hallel; §12, it
was taken in the Temple seven days, in the country only on the
first; at Jabne Johanan ben Zaccai made the rule to take it seven
days everywhere, in remembrance of the Temple. For mode of
shaking, see T. B. Succa, 37b.
"Succa, ch. 4, § 5, tells of the circuits round the altar, one each
on six days of the Feast, seven on the seventh day; willow bunches
were carried in these; § 6, the children ate their citrons; § 9, the
water poured from a golden basin amidst cornet sounds; ch. 5, § 1,
speaks of the 7,l?n, or concerted music of the middle days of the
Feast, known as the music of the Water Fetching House: "who has
not seen this pleasure, never has seen pleasure." Ch. 5, § 4, the
leading pious men dance, carrying torches, and sing; the Levites
play on harps, trumpets, and cymbals; the people glory in their
faithfulness to God; for they look westward to the Holy of Holies,
while their idolatrous fathers looked eastward to the rising sun.
Some slight compensation for the lack of ceremony is made by
reading the Sabbath hymns in the morning (Psalms 19, 34, 90, 91,
135, 136, 33, 92, 93) and reciting the Kedusha in the Additional in
its fuller form. The concerted music was omitted in the Temple
when this day fell on a Sabbath. Succa, ch. 5, § 1. A Yemen MS.,
lately published, speaks of an old custom of moving the Ark for
the day into the middle of the Synagogue, better to represent the
circuits round the altar.
"Abudraham knows nothing of all this merriment; he has only
five men called to read the portion just as on other festivals, but
remarks, that the one who finishes the Tora and he who begins it
again give banquets to their kinsmen and friends. The Mahzor
Vitry already calls those who finish and recommence bridegrooms,
and allots to them the honor of rolling each his scroll and carrying
it in his arm; but the fun of unlimited calls and repeated reading of
the same few verses is still unknown, and so is the procession with
the scrolls and flags. The frolic with the scroll in the evening is
avowedly a triumph of popular tastes over Rabbinic scruples.

NOTES 433
BOOK V
THE JEWISH HOME
CHAPTER I
MINIAN AT THE HOUSE
(Pp. 329-333)
'No authority for the anniversaries can be found in any of the
great standards; the Shulhan Aruch, as far as I can find, does not
mention it at all. Other modern writers have not been more suc
cessful than myself in finding authorities. However, prayer books
with "rules" (D'J'T) like that of ]"'Zi;", the Rabbi of Lissa, not only
mention the Jahrzeit, but recommend fasting on such days. The
eleven months are put by R. Moses Isserles in a note on Jore
De'a, § 621, on the ground that a son should not suppose that his
parent was wicked, so that his soul would be in trouble for twelve
months. T. J. on Moed Katan, ch. 3, § 5; on the basis of the kindred
at whose burial a Cohen may defile himself (Lev. ch. 21). The wife
is implied there by the exclusion of a married sister; and so is the
husband, at least for the purpose of mourning.
'Berachoth, ch. 3, § 1 (before burial, the time known as
flirjX). As to mourners proper (after burial), T. B. Moed Katan,
21a. 4Moed Katan, ch. 3, § 5. The seven days are by the Talmud on
this section derived from Amos 8: 10: "I will turn your feasts into
mourning," the feasts being seven days, and adds: There are
three days for weeping. And by the letter of the Tora there is
only one day of strict mourning, as shown by Aaron's words, Lev.
10: 19: "Should I eat sin-offering to-day?" and so Amos says, in
8: 10, further: "And its end like a bitter day." See T. B. Moed
Katan, 16-19.
"Moed Katan, ch. 3, § 6; so held T. B. on same, 190, in accord
ance with R. Gamaliel's opinion.
T. B. Kethuboth, 8a. Form just as in modern service books.
Although the n:)irD, or written contract, which is read by the
minister after the betrothal and before the seven benedictions is
28

434 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
not an act of worship, its opening sentences may be inserted here
as a curiosity: "At (such a place) on (such a day) said A son of
B to the maiden C daughter of D: Be thou my wife, and I will
serve and honor, feed, care for, and clothe thee, like Jewish men
who serve and honor, feed, care for, and clothe their wives faith
fully, etc." CHAPTER II
WHAT CHILDREN LEARN FIRST
(Pp- 334-338)
'Aboth, ch. 5, § 24. Bartenoro comments hereon, that the letters
have been taught before.
T. B. Succa, 420, a Baraitha with Talmudic additions.
"Berachoth, ch. 6, §§ 1, 2, 3; T. B. on same, 350.
*Berachoth, ch. 9, § 2. "At the sight of pp'*, i. e., comets and
shooting stars, at earthquakes, lightnings and thunder, one says.
"Blessed, of whose power the world is full." T. B. on same, sug
gests "Creator of the work of the beginning" along with the above;
this is now deemed the blessing for the lightning, the former for
the thunder.
T. B. Berachoth, 60b.
T. B. Berachoth, 50.
'Ib., the verse being explained: the first word ITJI, "be trou
bled," that is, set your good impulse at war against the evil one;
speak to your heart, i. e., meditate on the Law, to keep down sinful
thoughts; if necessary, think of silence, i. e., of death.
"See for these responses and their reasons Bk. II, ch. V.
T. B. Shabbath, 216. Shammai taught to begin with eight lights
and come down to one; the opposite rule, now in vogue, is Hillel's.
Those living on the ground floor used to put their lamps before the
front door, those living in an upper story in a window. The date
of the feast, Kislev 25th, is here given; also its origin in the
Maccabean victory by which the Temple was recovered. Nothing
is said about benedictions; but the first one is implied by calling
the lighting a precept (nisn), which makes the rule in Tosifta
on Berachoth, ch. 6, apply.

notes 435

CHAPTER III
THE MEAL
(Pp- 339-347)
'Berachoth, ch. 7, §§ 1, 2, 3. The following section (4) holds it
improper for three, four, or five, or for ten to divide into groups
when saying grace, as they would lose the privilege of the address
and response, or of God's name therein. The Talmud on this chap
ter is full of historic illustrations of the manner and form of the
address, as far back as the time of King Jannasus. The notion of
pronouncing a holier and fuller name of God in the address when
100 or 1,000 men said grace together was dropped through the
opposition of R. Akiba, ch. 7, § 3. The custom that the master of
the house always "breaks the bread," i. e.,says the short grace before
the meal, while a guest blesses after the meal, is mentioned T. B.
Berachoth, 460.
"Berachoth, ch. 6, § 8, speaks of three benedictions, taking it for
granted, that these are spoken after a meal of bread; but discusses
whether three are, or an abstract of three is, recited after figs,
raisins, etc. As to mentioning the exodus, the covenant of our
flesh, and the gift of the Law in the second benediction, along
with "the precious, good, and wide land," and the Kingdom of
David in the third, see T. B. Berachoth, <)8b, and 490, and reasons
there given. The authorship of the first three benedictions is
ascribed to Moses, Joshua, and David; which simply means that
they had been in use too long to remember their origin.
T. B. Berachoth, 486, 490. The refinement about omitting
"King" in the insertion for New Moon and Festivals is suggested
by the saying, T. B. Berachoth, 486: One Kingdom does not
touch the other as much as a hair's breadth.
T. B. Berachoth, 486 (also Taanith, 310, and Baba Bathra,
1210). "On the day that the slain of Bethar were given burial,
etc.;" 3"Dani mian being the benediction over good news. The
threefold mention of God as King is part of the original draft, to
make up for the lack of God's Kingship in the preceding benedic
tion. The petitions beginning "The Merciful" are not mentioned
in the Talmud. Maimonides has three such petitions in the short
form of grace which he puts in his "Order of Prayer" for common
use. The official London Prayer Book has for choice, after the
usual form, one even shorter than that of Maimonides, the first
benediction, however, unabridged, the second with thanks for all

436 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
the things required as above in the Talmud, and "bread in plenty,
the third seeking mercy for "thy people, the Kingdom of the
House of David" and "the glory of thy temple," according to the
traditional requirements. The Seder R. .Amram. at the end of the
original book, has a special grace for the House of Mourning.
The address: "Let us bless the Comforter of Mourners from, etc.
(i) and (2) rather short, but with no reference to mourning. (3)
"Comfort, O Lord our God, those that mourn, the mourners for
Zion and the mourners in this sad case; comfort them after their
grief, gladden them after their sorrow, as it is. said: Like a man
whom his mother comforteth, thus I shall comfort you, and in Zion
ye shall be comforted. Blessed, etc., the comforter of mourners and
builder of Jerusalem. Amen." In (4) is inserted: "The God of
truth, the truthful Judge (the words of the common benediction on
hearing bad news; see Berachoth, ch. 9, § 2), the righteous Judge."
The London Prayer Book is the only one now in general use
which contains for mourners special forms; they are substantially
like those of R. Amram. "Workmen omit the fourth benediction;"
T. B. Berachoth, 460.
T. J. on Berachoth, ch. 7, § 5 (4), and see about short grace for
workmen, ib., 160. That the benediction before, hence also grace
after bread, include all other food, is stated, in T. B. Berachoth, 416.
"Aboth, ch. 3, § 3.
'Berachoth, ch. 6, § 6; T. B. Berachoth, 510, gives all the rrfles
for the "cup of blessing."
T. B. Kethuboth, 7b and 80; see here the modified address at
weddings. The seven benedictions are repeated only when there
is a new face.
T. B. Berachoth, 406.
'"Berachoth, ch. 6, § 8; T. B. thereon (440) gives the form. The
Palestinians closed this grace after the five fruits: "For the land
and its fruits;" the Babylonians could not join them, and said:
"For the land and the fruits," as is the common custom now.

CHAPTER IV
SANCTIFICATION AND SEPARATION
(Pp. 348-355)
'Shabbath, ch. 2, is taken up mainly with the Sabbath light; see
Bk. II, ch. XV, about the reading of this chapter on Friday
evening.

NO TES 437
"Hillel and Shammai were already disputing which benediction to
say first; Berachoth, ch. 8, § I, and as to Passover night, Pesahim,
ch. io, § 2. The order of the thanks for Sabbath and for Festival
was settled by Rabbi Judah the Saint, as in the middle benediction
of the prayer; T. J. on Rosh Hashana, ch. 4, § 7. That the Sab
bath has already been consecrated before Kiddush is made over the
cup, see T. B. Berachoth, 52ft (on ch. 8, § 1).
There was an opinion that the "season" should be thanked for
only on the longer feasts (Passover and Huts) ; but the view pre
vailed that it must be done on all yearly sacred days, including
Pentecost, New Year, and Atonement; and if it is not done over
the cup, anywhere, even on the street. T. B. Erubin, 40b. Cmp.,
this benediction on Day of Atonement, Bk. II, ch. XII. The three
verses from Gen. 2 are recommended T. B. Shabbath, 1196. See
Bk. II, ch. IX, note 2.
'Known by the initials of the five things blessed iTlTp'"*' (i. e.,
wine, sanctification, lamp, separation, season) ; the fourth benedic
tion is analogous to that in the Prayer; see Bk. II, ch. IX. Its
full text is not found in the Talmud; but see T. B. Pesahim, 1026-
105a, where the form of the simple and of the compound Habdala
is discussed; the number of pairs distinguished varying from 3 to 7.
The order of the five benedictions was not settled till the days of
Abbaye and Raba, of the fifth generation of Emoraim. The idea of
separating between Holy and Holy is derived from the vail in the
Temple, which divided between the Holy and the Holy of Holies.
T. B. Berachoth, 33a. Light and spices are named in the
Mishna, ch. 8, § 5, by Hillel, in this order: Light, meal, spices,
separation. It seems that separation in the Prayer was not yet in
use, and the Habdala was intertwined with grace after the Sabbath
afternoon meal.
T. B. Sanhedrin, 410, enjoins the duty, and the benediction is
given, 420. The late treatise Soferim, ch. 19, § 9, adds a number of
verses and phrases, more like incantations than prayers. The
Baraitha commending the duty, ascribed to the "school of R.
Ishmael," is also recited as part of the ceremony; also Psalms 121
("I lift my eyes, etc.") and 67. Soferim, ch. 20, § 1, names Satur
day night as the proper time.
Tosifta on Berachoth, ch. 6.

438 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

CHAPTER V
THE PASSOVER NIGHT
(Pp. 356-367)
'Pesahim, ch. 10 (almost all of it), views not prevailing left out.
T.J. on § 2 derives the four cups from the four verbs in the promise
of delivering, Ex. 6: 6, 7; so does Midrash Rabba on Gen., ch. 88.
Other explanations are given in both places; the above alone is
popularly known.
T. J. on Pesahim, ch. 10, § 4.
"Rashi drew up this programme; see Mahzor Vitry, ad locum.
Older sources call for the usual benediction at the first hand
washing. 4R. Amram has it without comment, but says, "move the table
before the master," not lift the dish; and quotes from T. B. Pesa
him how this is done to arouse the child's curiosity. "If his child
is smart, he will ask; if not, his wife should ask him; if she does
not, he should ask himself."
T. J. on Pesahim, ch. 10, § 4. Here is also the explanation of
the two pieces of roast meat, both on the Passover dish, one to
represent the "lamb," the other the Hagiga, or Feast offering.
T. B. Pesahim, 116a, gives a dispute which of these passages
meets the requirement to begin with reproach and end with praise.
Probably both were already in use.
T. B. Pesahim, 1150. "In memory of the Temple like Hillel."
The Piyut for the second night (nD2 HD! DmnX))is part of those
for the morning service of that day, in the repetition of the Prayer.
Neither this nor any of the other poetic pieces has an acrostic
betraying the author's name.
"So Zunz in his Gottesdienstliche Vortrdge.
'"Abudraham indicates this insertion by its first words, only to
reject it. The writer found it in a publication of a Yemen Haggada,
by Dr. Wm. H. Greenburg, London, 1896. This Haggada is. ac
companied by legendary comment; which is probably used by
fathers in Yemen at the table, in order to render the story more
interesting to their households.

INDEXES

SERVICES FOR THE SABBATH
I. Friday Evening
PAGE
Psalms 95-99, 29  ^8
Song: Lecha Dodi  233
Psalms 92, 93  l88
Mourners' Kaddish ...  107, 109
Address and Response  105
Benedictions before Shema   89
Shema— three paragraphs  . . go
Benedictions after Shema  gi
Verses on Sabbath  -  190
Half Kaddish ...  107
Amida, or Prayer (silent), /. e.
Three Constant Benedictions ...  112
Middle Benediction   141, 140
Three Constant Benedictions  116
Summary of Seven . .  142
Complete Kaddish  . 107
Study: Ch. 2 of Shabbath  196
Baraitha on Peace  196
Alenu (prayer for the Kingdom)  156,214
Mourners' Kaddish  . . 107, 109
II. Saturday Morning
(Including the "Additional")
Yigdal .  . 231
Adon Olam . . .  232
The bed-room Benedictions; Benediction over study and short
sample   203, etc., 194
The Litany . .  . 212
Disputed morning Benediction, with reflection on Omnipotence, 2C6, etc., 212
(440

442 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME
Study: page
Passage from Pentateuch . .  193
Chapter of Mishna  193
Baraitha  193
Benediction before morning hymns  207
Morning hymns, including nine for Sabbath and Feasts . 183, etc.
Benediction of Song   208
Half Kaddish  . . . 107
Address and Response  105
Benediction before Shema  95, 98
Shema — three paragraphs  90
Benediction after Shema  105
Amida, or Prayer (silent), i. e.
Three Constant Benedictions  112
Middle Benediction  141, 140
Three Constant Benedictions ... . . . 116
Repetition of the A7nida :
Thrice-Holy • . .  115
Recital of the Priestly Blessing  ... 118
{Hallel on Middle Days, New Moons, and Hanucca) . . . 180-82
Complete Kaddish . .  109
Verses and lines before and while the scrolls are taken from
the Ark . . . . . . .  279-80
Reading the Lesson from the Pentateuch to seven or more,
with Benedictions  261-4, 2-S°
Half Kaddish . .  107
Hagbaha ( raising the scroll ) .... ... 280
Lesson from the Prophets, with Benedictions  265-75
Prayer for the Sages, the Congregation, the Government 215-18
(Blessing of the Month, on Sabbath before New Moon) 218
Remembrance of the Martyrs  219
Ashre (Ps. 145, etc.) . . .  79, 182
Verses on returning the scroll to the Ark .... . . 282
THE "ADDITIONAL"
Half Kaddish  . . .... . . 107
Amida, or Prayer (silent), i. e.
Three Constant Benedictions   112
Middle Benediction  140, 149
Three Constant Benedictions  ... 116

IN DENES 443
Repetition of the . Imida : page
Thrice-Holy . ... .  115
Recital of the Priestly Blessing  118
Complete Kaddish   109
En Kelohenu . ...  221
Baraitha on Incense, on Daily Psalms, and on Peace . . . 195
Alenu (prayer for the Kingdom)  156,214
Mourners' Kaddish . . . 107, 109
(Song of Unity, Song of Glory, and Mourners' Kaddish), 229, 234
" Psalm for the Day " (92) . . . .... 188
Mourners' Kaddish  107, 109
III. Afternoon Service {Minha)
Ashre . . ....  79, 182
U-Ba le-Tzion (A Redeemer will come)  187,214
Half Kaddish . . 107
Verses on taking out the scroll  189, 278
Reading to three men ... .... 264.
Hagbaha and verses on returning the scroll  280,282
Half Kaddish   107
Amida, or Prayer (silent), i. e.
Three Constant Benedictions  112
Middle Benediction  140, 142
Three Constant Benedictions  116
Repetition of the Amida :
Thrice-Holy .  115
Complete Kaddish  107
Alenu (prayer for the Kingdom)  156,214
Mourners' Kaddish  107, 109

INDEX TO THE. REFERENCES TO THE
SCRIPTURES

(Italics for the page numbers indicate passages quoted in the book, but not neces
sarily from the liturgy ; Roman type indicates those occurring in the liturgy.)

Genesis

i:i:i:
2:
5 8:
14:15:15:17 18:
21 22
27: 28:32:
48:49:49:

1—2:316 . .
31-2:2 1-3 .. .

PAGE
• • 255
• • 97
• • 349
141, 142
• -414

1 19 1 . .
13. H

28, 29 . . .
3, 4 ¦
29 ....
1618 . .
25, 26  191-2

••• 159
... 113
. . 113
• • 361
• • 384
¦ ¦ -383
... 254
... 254
... 191
... 191
. . .383
¦ i92. 336336

Exodus 1 : 14  36a
2:24  113, 159
3:1  384
3: 15  112
6:5  159
6: 6, 7  48, 438
12: 1-20  257
12: 2  59
12: 14-51  254
12: 26  360
12: 27  362
12: 29  364
12: 39  362
13: 1-10  3f4
13: 1-16  ' ¦ • 255
13: 8  357. 360

Exodus (continued)

13:13: 13:
13: 14
14:14: 15
15:15: 15:15:17:19
19: 19:
20 20:20: 22:29:
3030:31:32: 32:32:33:
34 34:34:34: 34:

PAGE
9  406
11-16  314
14  3-6°
17—15: 26  254
 384
19-21  53,384
3°. 31  l84-5
 82
1-18  185
11 . . . 92, 102
18 . . 92, 102, 157, 184, 187
• • • 130, 336

26 8-16

1-25 •
16, 19

11 . . .
18 .
24—23: 19 .
6,9. . .

256254 61
160
254 213 161
- 255
421

11-16 .
16, 17 .
11-1412 . .
13 ¦ •
23 • •

1-26 
1-10  256

• 257
19°. 354
¦ 256
. . 186
. . . 170
, . . 47
.403 255

5 •
6,7

¦ 382 279

Leviticus

2:3 •
10: 19

•375
- 433

(444)

INDENES

445

Levii i i:
1616:
16: iS
21 22 :
22: 23:23: 23:23:23:23:23:23: 26:26: 26;

ricus {continued)
33 • • • •

PAGE 385
54, 25S, 403
21 ... /6y
30 . . . 146, 171, 174, 191
 255
 433
26—23:44  255
29 . . . . . . 180
4  191, 385
5, 6, 10 ... bo-i
15  211, 4.08, 409
16, 24, 27  60-1

3234
40 44

4445

Numbers

6:6: 6:
6: 79:
10:10:10:12: H:14:15:15: 15:
19
22: 23:
28 28:
28: 28: 28:2929
3°

22-2723 •
24-26
27 •

1-1410
35
36 •
11 .
17 •
19
26 .
37-4138

32 21

I-I5
9, 10
11 .
16, 17, 26
: 1, 7, 12

Deuteronomy

• ¦ 57
60-1 322
I91, 354

42  113, 159. 170

. . . 171
160, 171

69. n8, 431
• 3'8
84, 336
¦ • 431
• 256
¦ • 255
161, 191
. . 278
. . 282 170
. . 111 176
176, 177 91
. . 312
. • ¦ • 257
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ 93
157
193. 257, 258
. . 256
• 150, 151
.... 152
. 60
256, 257, 258
... 60
. . . 176

Deuteronomy

4:4 •
4: 19
4: 25-40
4: 29
4: 3i
4=354: 39
5: 1
5:286:4-96:7 6: 20, 2
6: 23
7:7,87: 13-15
8: 7-10
8: 10
9: 27
10: 17
11: 13
11: 13-21
15:615: 19—
16:316: 9
21: 13
22: 12
23: 6
25: 17-1
26:5 26: 13
26: 15
27: 3-6,
28: 10
3°: 3, 4
30:631: 10
31: 11
32:332:43 33 •
33:433:5 33:2934 •
34=8

{continued) PAGE
123, 192
. 406
¦ 256
• 171
¦ 171
. 278
• 157
. 406
382, 406
3H, 335 75
360 362 "3
, 192
339 82
170, 186
- - 113
76, 390
91, 3'4
. . 192
255, 258 76
fo8
¦33i ,312 192
257
356 172
361 192 47
171
171, 172
250, 406
• 250
105, 394
. 219
¦ 255
• 334
• 157
. 192
• 255
331

Joshua

1: 10, 11
3: 24 ¦

192
170

1: 1-21
1:6 .
2: 1-24

270 83
270

446 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Joshua {continued) PAGE
5: 2 — 6: 1 . . . . 271
24  361
Judges 4  268
5  268
11: 1-33 ... ... 270
13: 2-25  270
13:6  383
I Samuel 1: 1 — 2: 10  272
1: 13  303, 422
2:6..  114
11: 14 — 12: 22  270
12: 22  190
14: 45  192
15: i-34  271
18: 14  192
20: 24  386
25: 6 .  192
25: 29  220
II Samuel 1: 23  219
6: 1-7: 17  269
6: 1-19  269
18  416
22  272
22: 51  345
I Kings 1: 1-31 . . . .267
2: 1-12  267
3: 15—4: 1  267
5: 26—6: 13 . . . . 268
7  268
7: 4°-5°  271
8  278
8: 1-21 . . . 268, 272
8: 27  212
8: 29 . .  420
8:35 . . . . . . 66
8: 38 . .  420
8: 54-66  272
8: 57  192
18: 1-39  268
18: 29  77
18: 39  178, 190
18: 46 — 19: 21  270

II Kings PAGE
4: i-37  267
4: 23 . . . . 386
4:42—5: 19  269
7: 3-20  269
12: 4-17  271
22: 16  405
23: r-9, 21-25 ¦ • • . . 271
Isaiah

1: 1-27

... 266
1: 14 •
• .386
1: 18
. 171
1: 26
. 82, 132
2:3 •
... 278
2:5 •
. . . 192
6 . .
... 268
6:3-
. .187
7: 1-6
. . 268
9'- 5, 6
... 268
9:6,7
. . .376
10: 32 — 12: 6
. . . 272
n: 1-5
• • -376
12: 2-6 . .
. . 192
12: 2, 3 . .
• • ¦ 35i
18:3. . .
... 161
25:9.
. 192
26: 2 . .
• 394
26: 4 . . .
... 187
26: 19 . .
. . . 124
27: 6—28: 1;
. . 268
27: 13 . .
131, 161
29: 22, 23.
. 268
33: 6 . . .
. . . 192
35: 10 . .
. . . 192
36: 11 . .
• ¦ '3
37: 16 . .
. 170
40: 1-26
. . 266
40: 27—41: 16
. . . 267
40: 29
. . 205
42: 5—43: 10
. . . 267
42: 5-21 .
. 267
42: 21
187, 192, 196
43: 16
. . 218
43:21—44:23
. . 268
43: 25 - ¦ 146, 171
44: 6  158
44: 22 146, 171, 192
44: 23 ... . . 192
45: 7 •• 96
45: 17  192
47:4
103, 192
INDEXES

447

Isaiah {continued) PACK
49: U—51: 3  266
51: 3 ¦  192
51: 12-52: 12  266
5i: '3  157
54: IIC . ¦ . 266, 267
54: n—55: 5  266
54: 13 .... ... 406
55  4'6
55: 6—56: S  266
55:6, 7  168
55: 12  192
56: 7  171
57: 14— 5S: 14  272
57: 15 • .... 209
57: 19  192
5S:5 ... .301
59= 20  113, 187
59: 21  187
60: 1-22  266
60: 21 .  196
61:1, 2  274
61: 10 — 63: 9  266
62: 8  47
63: 7  113
64: 4  379
64: 7, 11  186
65: 24  138
66  271
66: 23  169
Jeremiah 1: 1 — 2: 3 266, 267
2:2  159
2: 4-28  266
3:4  266
4: 1, 2  266
7: 21 — 8: 3  269
8: 13 — 9: 23 . . 272, 292
9: 22, 23  269
10: 6, 7  170
14: 7  170, 186
16: 19 — 17: 14  269
17: 7  187, 344
17: 14  82, 130
23:7  9i
31: 2-20  272
31:3  83, 393
31: 11  92
31: 12  192
31: J9  J59
32: 6-27  269

Jeremiah {continued) PAGE
33: 11  20, 332, 373
33: 25, 26  268
34: 8-22  268
46: 13-28  268

Joel

Ezekiel

1: 1-28 .

51, 52, 272
3: 12 •
187, 272
16: 60 . .
• ¦ -159
17: 22 — 18:
32
. 266
18: 23, 32 .
. 168
20: 2-20
269
20: 25
¦3ii
22: 1-19 .
269
28: 25 — 29:
21 . .
. 268
33: 11 ¦ •
. 168
36:16-38 .
. 271
36: 23, 24 .
• 1 '3
36:25
• 171
36: 37—37:
14 . .
. 271
37: 1 • •
• 309
37: 15-28 .
. 267
38: 18-39:
16 . .
• 273
38: 23
. 107
39: 1, 6 . .
46
44: 15-31
. 269
45: 16—46:
18. . .
. 271
HOSEA
2: 1-22
2: 21, 22 .
11: 7 — 12:
12: 13—14.
IO . .
. . . 267
14 .
266, 416
14=3 ¦ ¦
• 77
2: 15-27  266
2: 17 '. . . . ... 186
2: 26, 27  192
4: 21  2I9
2: 6—3: 8  267
8: 10  433
9: 7-15  269
Amos
2:6—3::8: 10 .
9: 7-i5
267
433 269
448 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Obadiah PAGE
I  267
1: 20  12
1: 21  158, 185
Jonah 1: 1—4: 11  272
Micah 5:2-4  ; 376
5: 6 — 6: 8  270
. 7: 20  187
Habakkuk 2:3  376
3  272
3:2  186
Haggai 2: 12, 13  21
Zechariah 2:9 . ... 136
2: 14 — 4: 7 .... 270, 271
3:2  336
3:5  421
9: 9  36,376
9: i4. 15  161
14: 1-21  272
14: 9  158, 185, 190
Malachi 1: 1—2: 7  267
3: 4-24  271
Psalms 1:2  83
2  376
3  335
3:9  352
4: 5  337
5:8  170
6  185, 405
8  190
9: 11  187
9: 13  219
10: 16  184
13: 6  183

Psalms {continued)
PAGE
16  330
16:3  114
17  179
18: 31  280
18: 51  344
19  l83, 38c, 432
19: 8, 9  280
19: 15  "9. l62
20  . .187
20: 2  186
20: 10 . . 183, 184, 187, 189, 190
22: 4 . . . . 187, 226
22: 29  157, 185
23 ... . ... -345
24 ... 188, 190, 282, 406
24: 7-io  157
25  179. l85. 4©5
25: 6 . . 111, 170, 183, 186
25: 11  170, 171
28: 9  183
29  188, 190, 282
29: 11 . 47, 118, 192, 278, 344, 406
3°  183
30: 12  . . 192
30: 13  187
3!:6  210, 335, 336
32  179
33  183, 432
33= 1 ¦.  209
33: 9"11  184
33: 20, 21  183
33: 22  183, 186, 190
34  183, 432
34: 4  279
34: 10, 11  344
34: 14  119
35: 10  301
36: 7  189
37: 25  344
40: 12  183, 186
42  183
43  183
44: 27  183
46: 12 . . 183, 187, 190, 352
47  321
47: 6  161
48  188, 406
48: 2  170
49  33°
51 „  179
51: 16  162
51: 17  119

INDEXES

449

Psalms {continued) PAGE
55: 15  170
55: 18  77l78
55: 19  192
56: 10  383
65 .... ... 179
^ 3  137, 169
66: 9  92
f 7  189, 437
68  183
68:5  111
68: 14  422
68: 20  187
68: 35, 36  183
69: 14  188-9
69: 25  363
71: 19  189
72: 18, 19  184, 190
74: 2, 13-17  170
78: 38 . 183, 184, 186, 187, 189
79: 6, 7  363
79: 8  170, 1S6
79= 9  186
79: 10  219
79: J3  19°
81  183, 188, 406
81:4 .... 47, 161, 191, 354
81:5  47, 158, 161, 354
81: 11  183
82  188, 406
82: 1  394
83  405
84: 5  182, 420
84: 13  183, 1S7, 190
85  179
85: 8  183
86  179
86: 5  187
86: 8  278
86: 9, 10 .... 170, 190
89  137
89: 6-10, 12, 14, 15 . . . 170
89: 16  321
89: 53  184, 190
9°  183, 432
9°: 17  191. 335
91  183, 191. 335, 432
92 . . . 180, 183, 188, 406, 432
92: 3  91
93 • ¦ • 183, 188, 406, 432
93: 1  J57
94  188, 406
94: 1, 2  183
29

Psalms {continued) PAGE
94: 4  170
94: i4  184
95  188
95: 1-6  17°
96  188
96: 9  170
97  188
98 .... 179, 184, 188
98: 6  161, 321
99  188
99: 5  170, 183, 279
99: 9 • • 170, 183
100  183
100: 4 . .  170
102  179
102: 14  170
103  179, 183
103: 1  209
103: 10, 14  186
103: 19  184
104 . . 98, 179, 189, 334
104: 24  95
104: 31  184, 190
106  131
106: 2, 4  170
106: 11  102
106: 47 ... 186, 190
106: 48  184, 190
107  183
108: 5  170
108: 7 . . . . ... 120
no: 6, 7  219
m:4, 5  159
113  362
113: 2  in, 184, 190
113: 3, 4  184
114  362
115  363
115: 18  182
116  363
116: n  181
116: 13  352
n7  363
118  180, 363
118: 1  344
118: 25  186
119  65, 189
119: 42  187
119: 142  189
1 19: 165  406
120  189
121 .... 179, 184, 189, 437

450 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Proverbs

Psalms (continued)

121: 4 .
122
122: 6-9
123123: 3
124125126127128 129
130130: 1
13°: 3, 4
131132 . .
132: 4 .
132:7 132: 8, 10
132: 13 .
133134 • •
134: 1, 2
135 • •
135: 4 •
135: 13
136136:6136: 7
136: 25
137 • ¦
137: 7 ¦
138:2 .
144 • •
144: 10
144: 15
145 145: 3 •
145: 13
145: 16
146—150 146: 10
147 . .
147: 2 .
148 . .
150 .

183

182, 183

9S

PAGE
335, 336
184, 189
. ¦ . 406
184, 189
. . . 186
184, 189
. 189
• ¦ 345
. 189
192, 337
. . 189
. . 189
. . 66
. 186
. 189
137, 189
. 204
. . 170
. . 282
. . 184
. . 189
189, 190
. . 170
184, 432
. . 184
. 184
363, 432
. . 204
. . 96
¦ 34o
¦ ¦ 345
. . 170170
. . 189
218
182, 183
• ¦ 79
. 170
. . 278
34i, 344
184, 405
122, 226
¦ • 131
¦ ¦ 135
282, 38/
. . 161

3: 17, 18  282

Proverbs {continued)

8: 21 .
16: 1
19: 21 .
31: 10-31

PAGE
¦383 . l62
. I84
• 349

Job

5:16 9: 10
12: IO
25: 2
26: 7
35=7

 122
 91
. . 170, 2IO
. . . I07, 120
 384
........ 168
38: 6  50,382
38: 36  204

Canticles 3:7,8. .

Lamentations

3: T9, 20
4:2 .

¦383
. 282

3:40 3:665: 21
Esther 2: 22
8: 16
Daniel

336

186
363282

201352

6: 10 . . . .... 390
6: n  420, 421
9: 7, 15-19 . ... 186
9: 18  206

Ezra

3 • • •
3: n . .
Nehemiah

8:15 ¦
9: 6-11
9:32 .
13: 24

• -373
19, 373

373, 388
. . . 66
. . .429
¦323
. . . 184
. . . 113
. . . 13

>

n

tdwH

QQQnQQnQnrinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 5
p-&*^p"B*'p":*jp*'p*'ip*'*p-*p*'*p*'*j £
\p\D *p\Q \& O^CO 00^4 _CN j**A_ONCn Cn-|*j.J>.-^.Jjk4-OOOJOJO)OJ
»a ^W s«» <SS* tCSj ^^ ,^&s X» sO; «Cw 5«V tnNs oO^ ^«
CO G^7^ K) M *J •=°°4^ OJHta4-U» '
Cn 
o\ ¦ ¦ • •

^D Cn 4^. w *

s^: ^Cw cCva coasts ;Oa7©acPaa
J> OO to M O. 4- OJ M

OJ

OJ

OJ ¦£*
^D OJ

nao H
a

OJ OJ
OOvD

0>OJJ>*vOJOJ^OJ4i.^.Jj.4>OJ4J.OJ4J.^j.OJ4J.J>-^-^--^OJ^4>OJ4^0JOJ4>OJ>*£> ^J UWvO^OJMCJOJ-jJ-jJVD to COM to \D to to to tj OJ VO to to \o to CCvn W M CI
¦4> COCn t^H^MOiOi C*T\ c*v 4> OOCn \D OCn^ICnO. to ^o OJ \o A to oj u. \£> to i-i J> p]

nnnnnn
p" p" p- p- p- p-
cn Cn 4^ OJ OJ OJ

co

nnnnnnnnn
&¦ p- !p- p- s- tr sr- cr sr
_co oo;J o<.f. ^ oj oj h
=«* CC« COO COO SCS ^^ -^ ^(^ ^^
<0 M M .0 10 ^ W CO5^0
O

OJ
¦ • vO ON
nnnnn
M -P=* W -
QQD
m On to
On-
j> -p^ 4^ 4*. 4^- 4=-
Oj Oj oj Oj Oj oj
to to to to io to
-P^4^.4^4^0jOJOJOjOJ O to O 10 vO vO M vO M
W M O H h W COWOl
4^ -p* 4* -P> OJ
CO-f^ M CO 10
4^-P- 4*- >
i- OJ OJ ci
Oj 0 On£
z;
O wH
O
nw
cr. H
O
M
>
o 9
Oj
CO CO"**
CO 0Cv£) CI
OD-p-*-. Cq-^ Oj to
,_,
_
to
to to
n
.9 O
W3 VO
to s:
CC M
C
O
y
2
r
<->
-
r
^
w
c/:
CC cc"
4* -_n
452 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Rosh Hashana

Ch. i . .
Ch. i, 3 i
Ch. I, I 2
Ch. i, \ 4
Ch. 2, I 9
Ch. 4, 8 5
Ch.4, 16
Ch.4, 8 7
Ch. 4, \ 9

385
- - -386
• 381, 401
... .386 385
395, 4oi, 431 43i
. 400, 431
. . • - 431

Taanith
Ch. 1, 3 1  397, 398
Ch. 2, \ 2  397
Ch. 2, \ 3  401
Ch. 2, g 4  399
Ch. 2, | 6  401
Ch. 4, \ 1  390
Ch. 4, 8 8  404

Megilla Ch. 1, I
Ch. 1, I
Ch. 1, §
Ch. 2,
Ch. 2,
Ch. 2,
Ch.3,Ch.4, Ch. 4,
Ch.4,Ch.4, Ch.4,Ch.4,Ch. 4,
Ch.4,

Si8 2
«9 33 4,
ii 8a§38 4
2 5
8 7

10

. 386, 418
. 418
¦ ¦ 43°
... 419
372, 417
... 419
• ¦ 414
414, 415, 42o
401, 414, 415
387, 394, 420
. . 416, 418
 415
 43i
• • 422, 43°
383, 416, 417

Moed Katan
Ch.3, Us, 6
Ch. 3, I 9 . .

433 385

Hagiga Ch. 2,
Ch.2,

8 1.

•383¦ 374

Kethuboth
Ch. 1, ?t 1  413
Ch.4, 88 8, 10  378

Nedarim

Ch. 3,
Ch.g

8

Sota

Ch. 7,
Ch. 7,
Ch.S, Ch.g, Ch.g

I
8 i I I

PAGE
¦ 4°3
. 404

• 376
• 391
¦ 425 419

15 (app-)  388

GlTTIN

Ch.5 Ch. 5, 3 8 .
Ch. 9, 8 10

3754i5 376

Baba Metzia

Ch. 4, 8 2 . . • •
Ch.4, 88 7, 10, 11

377, 419
¦ • -419

Sanhedrin

Ch. 1,
Ch. 2,
Ch. 3,
Ch.6,Ch,7,Ch. 8, U
Ch. 10, ?
Ch. 10, 3
Eduioth Ch. 5,. 8
Ch.5, 8
Aboth
Ch. 1, 3i
Ch. 1, ;
Ch. 2, ¦
Ch. 2,
Ch. 3, .
Ch.3,Ch. 3,
Ch.3,Ch.5,

3 •
4 • •
4 • •
3 • •
2 . .
8i-4 81 -
83 ¦

 388
 375
 377
 375
 375
.... 375
375, 377, 39i, 407
¦ ¦ ¦ 376

375, 376
. . . 419

8 1, 2
13
s iS
2 3
6 11
24

Hora'ioth Ch. 1,
Ch.4,

!3. 4

374378
375 425
409 4,6394 377434

388 375

INDEXES

Zebahim Ch.5 • -
Menahoth Ch 4, 8 i
Tamid
Ch. 5, ? i
Ch. 7, 8 4
Middoth
Ch. ,, 8 5
Jadaim Ch. 3, 3 4
Ch.4 . .
Ch. 4, 8 5

PAGE
. 406

429

. . . 396
405, 406

387

375, 381
• ¦ • 375
. . .387

2 8 2

Soferim Ch. 8, 88 9-i4
Ch. 10, 8 7
Ch. 13
Ch. 14,
Ch. 14,
Ch. 14,
Ch. 14,
Ch. 16,
Ch. 17,
Ch. 18,
Ch. 18,
Ch. 19,
Ch. 19,
Ch. 20,

!5,6 H
18
9 ¦
9 •
4 ¦
13

4i

453

TAGE 417 388
¦ 415
6, 420
417 388
4i7413415417 3«5
396437 437

INDEX TO REFERENCES TO THE JERUSALEM
TALMUD

Berachoth
Ch. 1, 3 3
Ch. 1, 3 8
Ch. 2, 3 3
Ch. 2, 3 4
Ch. 4, 3 1
Ch. 4, 2 3
Ch. 5, 3 4
Ch. 7, 3 2
Ch. 7, 2 5
Ch. 7, 2 6
Ch. 9, 3 9
Pesahim Ch. 10, 3 1
Ch. 10, 3 2
Ch. 10, 3 4

Joma Ch.4,
Ch. 8

5-

Rosh Hashana
Ch. 1, 3 5 • •

.... 421
• ¦ 396
398, 399, 42i
• • 374
¦ 39°
398, 399
¦ • 393
. .388
397, 436
• • 397
• • 394

.381 •438
.438

. . . 406
. . . 402

Ch.4

401401

Rosh Hashana {continued) PAGK
Ch. 4, 8 7 • • • 399, 4i7, 437
Ch. 5, 8 1 • • ... 407
Megilla Ch. 1, 3 1 ....
Ch. 1, 3 5
Ch. 2, 3 1 ....
Ch. 3, 3 1 -
Ch. 3, 3 8 . .
Ch. 4, 3 1 ...
Ch. 4, 88 2, 3 ¦ ¦ •
Moed Katan
Ch. 3, 3 4 . .
Ch. 3, 8 5
Sota Ch. 7, 3 1 ....

Aboda Zara
Ch. 1, 3 2

413

387

414

387
415
418
429
41b
419
43°
433
418
. . . 401
454 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

INDEX TO REFERENCES TO THE BABYLO
NIAN TALMUD

Berachoth

3«
4b. 5«6a
6b .
lob .
ublib
13b14a14b .
15a15-41 6a
16b .
21b .
233..26a26b¦27b28b .
29a .
30a
306 .
310 ¦
31* 32b33a330343
34* 35«40a
406 411!'
44«46a 47*
48a 48/3
49a 50351a 52b53*

379, 393,

PAGE
387, 394, 423
390, 392, 396
. .434
381, 389, 394
.390
• • 389, 421
393, 395, 406, 415
... .396
• • 389, 425
... .404
• 392, 43°
 422
. . . 422
• -436
 4°9
387-8, 394, 423
• -43°
 39°
. . .389
• -390
398, 421
398, 399
. . . 421
•39°
395, 422
395, 425
421, 431
398, 437
394, 400
. . .421
421, 425
¦ 434
-391
39i, 436
• -436
•436
435, 436
• -43°

• 435
39i, 435
• -378
• -436
¦ -437
• -376

39i,

397,

39i

Berachoth {continued) PAGK
54*  417
55*  43i
58*  379
59*  39i, 4o8
60a .... . . 402
60b ... . 407, 421, 430, 434
62a  421
64a  . . 406
Shabbath 21*  .434
240  397
24*  399
86*  399
104a  410
1186  405
119*  394, 399, 437
156*  379, 421
Erubin 40*  400, 437
41a  386
Pesahim 47  376
56  379, 392
87£  379
1020 — 105a  437
104  391
"50  43s
116a  438
Joma 79«  400
87*  391. 399, 4°2
Succa 26t!  379
37*  432
38*  404

INDEXES

455

Succa {continued) PAGU
39«  394
42«  434
55*  381
Betza J7a  397, 400
Rosh Hashana
S  381
"a  381
17a • ¦  403
J7*  3S2, 403
i9« • •  385
23«  415
27a  401, 402
3™  395,415
3i*  395
32f  431
320  400
34*  39°
35«  39°, 4oo
Taanith 15a  4°3
255 . . .... 402
27a  400
27* .... 414, 415
30a . .  418
31a  435
326  ... 401
Megilla na  378
17*  39o. 39s
1 8a . 390, 396, 398, 419
2\a . . - . 382
216 408, 414, 415, 417, 418
22a  . 388
22^  421
233  415
23d  4J6
25*  4i4, 4i7
29*  413, 414
30a . . ... 414
31a ¦ • • 407, 414, 416
31*  413, 4H, 416
32a  429
325  419
60b  383

Moed Katan PAGE
16—19  433
21a  433
Hagiga I3«  393
H*  383
Jebamoti-i 62  379
63  379
Kethuboth 7*  436
8a  433, 436
Sota 39  43i
39a  391
39* • • ¦  397
40  396, 43i
406  419
GlTTIN 59*  4i5
Baba Kamma
326  412
83*  375
Baba Metzia
58*  -377
59«  379
59*  385
Baba Bathra
15a  374
17a . . 382
1213  435
Sanhedrin 2ra . .  387
25a  ¦ 379
28a  379

456 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Sanhedrin {continued)

38*
41a 98* 99 993
99*
100a

Maccoth

23
23a 24

Aboda Zara

9a
10a

PAGK¦383 • 437
• 379
• 379
• 379
¦ 378
379

•378• 4°7
¦378

• - - 374
377, 379

Menahoth

34-36  43°
34*  43i
35«  43i
35*  38i
366  43°
42  43°
43*  ¦ 4°7, 429, 43-t
443  429, 431
65*  409
66a  409
109a  43 [

Arachin 12 . .

Kerithuth

6a
2S6

404 406
43i

GENERAL INDEX

Ab, name of tlie fifth month, 58 ;
length of, 59 ; a fast in. 62.
Ab, tlie Fifteenth of, Simeon ben
Gamaliel on, 178.
Ab, the Ninth of, fast on, 62 ; the
Priestly Blessing on,n8, 127; the
twelfth Middle Benediction of
the Amida on, 135-6; the peni
tential Psalm omitted on, 1 85 ;
omission from the services of,
213 ; prayer for martyrs on the
Sabbath before, 219; "poetries"
for, 223, 229, 238 ; lesson on,
256 ; Haftaroth for the three
Sabbaths before, 265, 266 ; Haf
taroth for the seven Sabbaths
following, 265, 266 ; Haftara for,
272, 292 ; Lamentations read on,
284-5, 286 ; Job read on, 286-7 !
shoes removed on, 303 ; the Red
Sea Song omitted on, 330.
Abba Areka (Rab), head of the
school at Sura, 34, 36 ; order of
prayer fixed by, 34, 156; Alenu
composed. by, 214; New Moon
prayer by, 218.
Abbaye, Rabbi, the lessons from
the Law in the days of, 258.
Abib, name of the first month,
58, 257.
Abinu Malkenu, text of, 163-4 ;
history of, 164; on the Day of
Atonement, 178.
Aboda (Service), the, recital of the
Temple Atonement service, 174-
Aboda (" Services "). See Amida,
the, the fifth Benediction of.
Aboth (Fathers), Ethics, a Mish-
nic treatise, when read, 196 ;
introduction to, 196 ; conclu
sion of, 196-7 ; contents of, 197 ;
the chain of tradition in, 197 ;
quotations from, 197, 198-201 ;
sixth chapter of, 201.

A both (" Fathers "). See A mida ,
the, the first Benediction of.
Abraham, patriarch, Midrash on,
47 ; supposed author of a Cab
balistic work, 52 ; in the "poe
tries," 226.
Abraham Ibn Ezra, philosopher
and exegete, 39 ; Pentateuch
commentary by, 40, 41 ; holds
aloof from the Cabbala, 54.
Abudraham (David ben Abu-
Dirhem), commentary by, on
the Prayer Book, 40-1 ; on the
loud recital of the evening
Amida, 80 ; on Kiddush in the
Synagogue, 80; on the Scrip
tural passages in the Prayer
Book, 83 ; on the Kaddish, 109,
1 10 ; on the close of the Amida,
120; on Abinu Malkenu, 164;
on the morning hymns, 183 ; on
the "reception of the Sab
bath," 188 ; on " Master of all
Worlds," 207 ; on Monday and
Thursday prayers, 213; on the
prayer for the government, 217 ;
quoted, 384, 390, 392, 393, 395,
396, 400, 403, 404, 405, 409, 415,
421, 422, 432, 438.
Accents, the, none in the scrolls
of the Law, 66, 261 ; none in the
Prophets formerly, 70 ; charac
ter and names of, 308-9 ; vari
ously read, 309-10 ; in the Law
and the Prophets, 310; where
observed, 310; where and when
invented, 310-11.
Acts, the, the reading of the Law
in, 249 ; quoted, 413.
Adam Kadmon,in the Cabbala^**;.
Adar, name of the twelfth month,
58 ; length of, 59 ; Purim in, 62.
Adar Sheni, name of the thir
teenth month, 58 ; length of, 60 ;
Purim in, 62.

(457)

458 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Addition. See Tosifta, the.
"Additional" (Musaf) Amida,
the, 78, 112; Biblical basis of,
78, 148; time of, 79, 148; the
Kedusha of, 1 15-16 ; the Priestly
Blessing of, 118; number of
Middle Benedictions in, 148;
Sabbath modifications of, 149-
50, 151, 152-4; Festival modifica
tions of, 150-1 ; the three Feast
modifications of, 151 ; the New
Moon modifications of, 151-4;
the New Year modifications of,
155-62.
"Additions." {Tosefoth), to Rashi's
Talmud commentary, 41.
Adiabene, conversions to Judaism
in, 32.
Adon Olam, when sung and
spoken, 232 ; metrical version of,
232-3-
Adonai, pronunciation of the
Tetragrammaton, 84.
Africa, North, the Jews of, Sefar
dim, 12 ; begin their literary
activity, 39.
Afternoon service {Minha), the,
joined with the night service,
76, 79 ; the Amida of, 77 ; the
Amida of, curtailed, 78 ; length
of, 81 ; the Priestly Blessing in,
118; modifications of the A mida
of, 142 ; Bible verses in, 188-9 >
read before a wedding, 332.
Aggadta, meaning of, 44; slight
allusion to, in the early prayers,
45; not authoritative, 45, 48;
groundwork of the sermon, 48 ;
in the New Testament, 49 ; dan
gers of, 49 ; the Amida borrows
from, 142.
See also Midrash.
Agrippa I, happy rule of, 25-6.
Ahaba, a "poetry," 225.
Ahaba, the, second benediction
before the Shema, 89, 100.
Ahriman, protest against, in the
benedictions, 96.
Akdamoth Millin, an Aramaic
poem for Pentecost, 291-2.
Akeda, the binding of Isaac, in
the New Year service, 160.
Akiba, a "holy name," 281.
Akiba, Rabbi, on the opposition

between the Pharisees and the
common people, 27 ; supports
Bar Cochba, 29; attempts to
codify tradition, 30 ; discounten
ances superstitious practices,
30; and mystic science, 52 ; a
Cabbalistic work attributed to,
52 ; legend about, and the
Mourners' Kaddish, 110-11; and
the first Middle Benediction of
the Amida, 128 ; and Abinu
Malkenu, 164 ; and the reading
of the Law, 261 ; the death of,
333 ; a Midrash ascribed to, 361.
Akylas, convert, supposed author
of Targum Onkelos, 289.
Alemmer, the platform in the
Synagogue, 64.
Alenu, in the New Year service;
158, 162 ; in the Atonement Day
service, 174 ; inthe daily liturgy,
214-15.
Alexander, a " holy name," 281.
Alexander the Great, referred to,
21.
Alexander Jannseus, the Saddu
cees under, 25 ; persecutes the
Pharisees, 135 ; referred to,
34°-
Alexandria, Jews in, 32 ; the Jews
of, hold Greek in high esteem,
292.
Alfassi. See Isaac Alfassi.
Aliya (Ascent), " calling up " to
the Law, 262.
Alkabets. See Solomon the Le
vite.
Almembar, the platform in the
Synagogue, 64.
America, the Ark towards the
East in the Synagogues of, 66.
Am ha-aretz, the, the unlearned,
23 ; opposition of, to the Phari
sees, 27-8 ; in the Babylonian
Talmud, 37 ; and the wearing of
fringes, 313 ; the phylacteries
not worn by, 316.
Amida (Prayer; Tefilla; Eigh
teen Benedictions), the, three
times daily, instituted by the
Pharisees, 24 ; position of the
worshipper during, 65, 299 ; posi
tion of the leader during, 66 ; im
portance and names of, 75, 77-8 ;

INDEXES

459

contents of, 77 ; when recited,
77 ; how recited, 78 ; number of,
79; abstract ol',in the evening ser
vice. So; similarity of, in the two
rituals, S7 ; joined to the Geulla,
95; joined to the Kaddish, 107; in
troduction and close of, 119;
pendant to, 119-20; and the
"poetries," 224; to be read in a
whisper, 303 ; frame of mind
during, 305 ; not read during
Shib'a, 330.
See also Amida, the, the Bene
dictions of.
Amida, the " Additional." See
" Additional" Amida, the.
Amida, the, the Benedictions of,
characteristics of, S5 ; number
of, 112, 12S.
Amida, the, the first Benediction
of {Aboth), characteristics of,
85 ; name, text, and analysis of,
112-13 ; modification of, 121 ; de
votion during, 305.
Amida, the, the second Benedic
tion of {Geburoth), opening and
closing of, 85-6 ; name, text, and
analysis of, 114 ; modification of,
121, 123-4.
Amida, the, the third Benediction
of {Kedushath ha-Shem) name,
text, and analysis of, 1 14-16;
modification of, 121, 122-3.
See also Thrice-Holy, the.
Amida, the, the Middle Benedic
tion (or Benedictions) of, on
days of rest (" Sanctity of the
Day"), close of, 140; antiquity
of, 140, 147; on the Sabbath, 140-
3 ; on Festivals, 143-7 i m the
"Additional," 148-54; in the
"Additional" of New Year,
155; in the Atonement Day
services, 165-75.
Amida, the, the thirteen Middle
Benedictions of, for work-days,
text and analysis of, 128-138 ;
abstract of, 138-9.
Amida, the, the fifth Benediction
of {Aboda),. name, text, and
analysis of, 1 16-17, IT9> modifi
cations of, 124-5, 126-7, *44-
Amida, the, the sixth Benediction
of {Hodaid), name and text of,

. 117-18 ; modifications of, 121,
125-6.
Amida, the, the seventh Benedic
tion of (Bircath Cohanim), in
troduction to, 118; various
forms of, 118-19; modifications
of, 12 1-2, 126-7.
See also Priestly Blessing, the.
Amnon of Mainz, liturgical poet,
237-
Amram, the ritual of, 15, 39, 372 ;
Gaon, 39; on the Musaf Amida,
149; on " Master of all Worlds,"
206 ; quoted, 378, 392, 394, 400,
401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 408,
409,421, 43i,432, 436,438.
Amsterdam, a Sefardic colony in,
43"-
"Angel of the Presence," the, in
the Prophets, 51.
Angels, the, in the Bible, Talmud,
and Cabbala, 51.
Anthropomorphisms, protests
against, in the Talmud, 49.
Antigonus, last of the Hasmo
neans, referred to, 22.
Antigonus of Socho, motto of,
22-3 ; disciples of, 23; va. Aboth,
197.
Antioch, the Aramaic of, in the
Jerusalem Talmud, 37.
Antiochus IV, referred to, 22 ; the
reading of the Law under, 249-
5°-
Antipater, the Idumean, rule of,
25-
Apocrypha, the, Synagogue not
mentioned in the older works
of, 65.
Arabia, long continuance of the
Era of Seleucus in, 63.
Arabic, the language of the liter
ary Jews of Spain, 40 ; transla
tions from, 40 ; replaces Greek,
292.
Aragon, Jewish literature in, 40.
Aramaic, the language of the
Zohar, 55, 243 ; less known than
Hebrew in the thirteenth cen
tury, 55 ; in the Kaddish, 109 ; in
the Amida, 129 ; the language of
Col Nidre, 176, 177 ; in the
Yekum Purkan, 215, 216;
names used in the services, 281 ;

460 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

used in Judea, 288 ; versions of
Law and Prophets, 290 ; Akda-
moth Millin in, 291 ; in the
Haggada, 359.
Aramaic elements, inthe Mishna,
31 ; in the Talmuds, 37 ; in the
Psalms, 180; in the Book of
Daniel, 288; in the grace after
meals, 344-5.
Ark {Aran), the, use and position
of, in the Synagogue, 65, 66 ; cur
tain before, 66 ; lines before
opening, 278 ; lines when open,
278-82 ; liturgy of, on the "Joy
of the Law," 278 ; the " thirteen
qualities" sung before, 279;
posture while open, 299.
Aran, Hebrew name of the Ark,
65-
Artaxerxes Longimanus, referred
to, 20.
Asaph, the sons of, in captivity, 20.
"Ascent." See Aliya; Silluk.
Ashe, reduces the Babylonian
Talmud to writing, 36.
Asher (Rosh), a German Rabbi in
Spain, 42.
Ashkenaz, descendants of, 12.
Ashkenazim, the, origin of name
of, 12 ; compared with the Sefar
dim, 12 ; pronunciation of He
brew b.y, 13-15 ; the intoning of
prayers by, 15 ; prayers of, con
cise forms, 16 ; in touch with the
Sefardim, 42 ; acknowledge the
Shulhan Aruch as authorita
tive, 43 ; Mourners' Kaddish, a
custom of, no.
See also Prayer Book, the Ash-
kenazic.
Ashre, Psalm 145 with introduc
tion and conclusion, 182-3 5 cen
ter of the morning hymns, 183,
184; antiquity of, 185; in the
afternoon service, 188 ; while
the scroll is out of the Ark, 281.
Asia, Western, time of the morn
ing service in, 79.
Asiya, 2. Cabbalistic term, 53.
Assyrian characters, the, used in
the scrolls of the Law, 66.
Astronomy, cultivated by Samuel,
34, 36-
Atonement, the Day of, occur

rence of, 60; date of, 61; not
doubled, 61 ; five Amidas on,
79; the Tetragrammaton pro
nounced on, 84, 174 ; the Kedu
sha of, 1 16 ; the Priestly Bles
sing on, 118; modifications of
the Amida on, 121-3, 144, 146,
165-75 j modifications of the Mu
saf Amida on, 151, 162, 174-5;
Abinu Malkenu on, 163-4 ; the
eve of, a day of good cheer, 163 ;
confession of sins on, 165-75 ;
the evening service of, 169-70,
175-8, 191 ; close of the services
of, 178; variously 'celebrated,
178; during the days of the
Temple, 178; Psalms on, 183-4;
the Psalter read on, 192 ; Joma
read on, 202 ; prayers for the
dead on, 219; "poetries" on,
224, 225, 226-7, 228, 229 ; les
son on, 254-5, 258; Haftara
for the Sabbath before and
after, 266 ; Haftaroth for, 272,
275 ; benediction over the Haf
tara on, 277 ; sermon in the
evening of, 294 ; kneeling dur
ing the service of, 301 ; shoes
removed on, 303; devotion on,
303 ; the Shofar on, 322 ; ends
the. Shib'a, 331 ; modifications of
Habdala for, 352.
See also Col Nidre services, the ;
Neila, the.
Atziluth, a Cabbalistic term, 53.
Austria, name of the Synagogue
platform in, 64; time of the
morning service in, 79; the Sho
far blowing in, 320.
'Ayin, pronunciation of, 14.
Ba'al Kore, reader of the lesson
from the Law, 70, 262 ; attended
by lay officers, 71.
Babylonia, Jews in, 31 ; history
of the Jews of, under the Sas-
sanides, 34; the Jews of, un
affected by Christianity, 37 ; the
three-years cycle of the reading
of the Law in, 250-1.
Babylonia, the schools of {Calla;
Methibatha), religious centers,
r9> 33, 45 i studies and teachers
of. 34, 35 i character of the dis-

INDEXES

461

cussions in, 35; half-yearly
meetings at, 37 ; use the Era of
Seleucus, 62 ; and the J 'ckitni
Purkan, 216.
Babylonian, elements in the Mish
na, 31 ; names of the months, 58.
Bagdad, the Khalifs of, and Jew
ish learning, 38; the Day of
Atonement at, 17S.
Bahir, the, a Cabbalistic work,
54 ; a supplication from, in the
Prayer Book, 241.
Balak, a section of the Penta
teuch, 270.
Baraitha, the, tradition not com
piled in the Mishna, 30; less
enlightened than the Mishna,
31 ; preserved in the Babylonian
Talmud, 35, 37 ; in the morning
service,79; on the response inthe
Kaddish, 108; on the ninth of
the Middle Benedictions of the
Amida, 133; on the "Sanctity
of the Day," 140; in the lit
urgy, 194, 195 ; on the cycles of
the reading of the Law, 251;
on the readings for the Ninth
of Ab, 286 ; on the phylacteries,
316; on blessing the moon, 354.
Bar Mitzva, a boy of thirteen
called to the Law, 262 ; uses and
abuses of the celebration, 262-
3, 310; age of the custom, 263.
" Be it thy will." a formula in the
Prayer Book, 87, 243, 279.
Beasts, the, of Ezekiel, 51.
Behar Sinai, a section of the
Pentateuch, 264.
" Benediction of Song," after the
morriing hymns, 185, 208-10 ; be
fore the morning hymns, 207 ;
introduction to, 208-9 j on work
days, 209-10; alphabetic ar
rangement of, 210; sealing of,
210; poetical, 222.
See also Nisn'math.
Benedictions, the, drawn up by
the Emorai'm, free from legen
dary elements, 37 ; in the morn
ing service, 79; Scriptural color
of, 82-3 ; meaning and forms of,
85-6 ; not to be said uselessly,
86, 336 ; Mishnic in origin, 86 ;
peculiarity of the style of, 86-7 ;

antiquity of, 87 ; how referred
to in Mishna and Talmud, 87-8 ;
responses to, 105 ; of the priests,
127; of Hallel, 181, 182, 323; over
the study of the Law, 194-5, 204 ;
on rising, 203-7 ; for the Omer
days, 211 ; over the Law, 261-2 ;
of thanks, over the Law, 276 ;
over the Haftara, 276-7 ; on
those called to the desk, 280-1 ;
over the Shofar, 321; at wed
dings, 332-3 ; taught to children,
334-5 ; on Hanucca over the
candles, 337-8 ; of grace after
meals, 340-7; in Habdala, 351-
2 ; on blessing the moon, 354-5 ;
on bitter herbs, 363.
Benedictions, the, of the Amida.
See under A mida, the.
Benedictions, the, of the Shema.
See under Shema, the.
Ben He-He, Rabbi, saying of,
200-1.
Benjamin the Shepherd, grace
after meals as said by, 346.
Ben Zoma, Rabbi, saying of, 199 ;
in the Haggada, 360.
Beracha. See Benedictions, the.
Bereshith, a section of the Penta
teuch, 248.
Beria, a Cabbalistic term, 53.
Beshallah, a section of the Penta
teuch, 248, 254, 263.
Beth, pronunciation of, 14, 17.
Bethar, fortress in the Bar Cochba
rebellion, 29.
Beth Din, Rabbinical Court, 68.
Beth Hammidrash, house of
Study, 67 ; services in, 67.
Beth ha-Keneseth, House of
Meeting, 65. See Synagogue,
the.
Beth Shearim, seat of the Patri
archs, 32.
Bible, the. See Scriptures, the.
Bima, the platform in the Syna
gogue, 64.
Bircath Cohanim (Priestly Bless
ing). See Amida, the, the sev
enth Benediction of; Priestly
Blessing, the.
Bitter Herbs {Maror), to be men
tioned at the Seder, 357, 362;
benediction over, 363.

462 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Black Death, the, and Abinu
Malkenu, 164.
Blessing, Priestly. See Priestly
Blessing, the.
Blue dye-stuff, on the fringes, 312.
Bodleian Library, the, manuscript
in, on Haftaroth, 274-5.
Boethos, disciple of Antigonus of
Socho, founder of the Saddu
cees, 23.
Bohemia, Ashkenazim in, 13.
Booths, the Feast of (Huts ; Suc-
cothj Tabernacles ; the Feast),
a Midrash concerning, 46 ; date
of, 61 ; modification of the A mida
of, 144 ; Hallel on, 180-1; Psalms
on, 183: "poetries "for, 223, 227,
323-5 ; lessons on, 255, 256, 258 ;
number of scrolls used on, 256-7 ;
Haftaroth for, 272-3 ; Ecclesi
astes read on, 284; the Lulab
on, 322-3 ; Kiddush on, 355.
See also Feasts, the three ; Festi
vals, the.
Booths, the Feast of, the seventh
day of {Hoshana Rabba), can
not occur on a Sabbath, 60 ;
Deuteronomy and the Psalter
read on, 192 ; the lesson on, 254 ;
the Haftara for, 272 ; ceremo
nies connected with, 323-5 ; the
willow bunch on, 324 ; Cabbal
istic meaning of, 324.
Booths, the Feast of, the eighth
day of {Shemini Atzereth), date
of, 61 ; prayer for rain on, 123-4 ;
modifications of the Amida of,
144; prayers for the dead on,
219; lesson on, 255, 258; the Haf
tara for, 272 ; interrupts mourn
ing, 331.
Booths, the Feast of, the ninth
day of. See " Joy of the Law."
Boys under thirteen, and the read
ing of the Law, 260, 263 ; on the
"Joy of the Law," 326.
Bread, Kiddush over, 350.
" Breaking on the Shema." See
under Shema, the.
" Bridegroom of Genesis," 283.
" Bridegroom of the Tora," 283.
Buddhism, and Cabbalistic no
tions, 53.
Bui, name of the eighth month, 58.

Cabbala, the, and the Hasidim,
18, 56; resembles Midrash, 50, 56;
philosophy of, 50-1 ; the Mishna
on, 51-2 ; on the names of God,
52 ; on the archetype of man,
52 ; as expounded in the " Book
of Formation," 52-3 ; works of,
53-5 ; not supported by the
teachers of Arabic Spain, 54;
in the Bahir, 54; in the Zohar,
54-6 ; name of, a usurpation, 56 ;
esoteric, 56 ; in the Prayer Book,
241-4.
Cabbalistic traces in the Prayer
Book, 120, 183, 241-4, 277-8, 279,
336-7, 349, 355! objectionable,
242-3.
Cabbalists, the, use " Be it thy
will," 87 ; and Hoshana Rabba,
323-4-
Caesar, Jews in Rome under, 32.
Cagliari, supposed birthplace of
Eleazar Kalir, 39.
Cairo, various congregations in,
16 ; Maimonides in, 40.
Calendar, the Athenian (Metonic),
adopted by the Jews, 33, 57 ;
as modified by the Jews, 59,
60.
Calendar, the Jewish, elements of,
57 ; the month in, 57 ; depend
ence of, upon the Passover,
58-9; modified by the Sabbatic
year, 59.
Calendar, the Julian, compared
with the Metonic, 59.
Calla, assemblies. See Babylonia,
the schools of.
Candles, benediction over, on
Hanucca, 337-8 ; the lighting of,
on Sabbath, 348 ; in the Hab
dala, 351.
Canticles, the Book of, sacredness
of, disputed, 22, 45 ; text of the
Passover "poetries," 227, 286;
read on Passover, 284, 286.
Cantor, Christian title correspond
ing to Hazan, 69-70.
Capital crimes, treated of in the
Mishna, 30.
Capital punishment, mitigated,
23 ; the Mishna treats of, 30.
Cappadocia, Jews in, 31-2.
Cavvanoth, 306.

INDEXES

4^3

Censorship exercised upon the
Jewish prayers, 132.
Chapter divisions of the Law,
Jews not familiar with, 247.
"Chariot, the, the Work of," 51.
Cherubim, the, 51.
Christian dogmas, in the Zohar,
55 ; in the Cabbala, 243 ; in the
liturgy, 263.
Christianity, the reason for the
rise of, 26 ; does not affect the
Babylonian Jews, 37; protest
against, in the Shema benedic
tions, 103 ; protest against, in the
Amida, 146; protest against,
in Nish'math, 208 ; and the
uncovered head during worship,
302 ; protest against, in the grace
after meals, 342.
Christians, the Jewish, supersti
tious practices of, 30; whether
the same as Minim, 32, 134.
Chronicles, the Book of, date of,
21; no mention of the reading
of the Law in, 64.
Chumash. See Law, the Mosaic.
Church, the Jewish, rise of, 26.
Civil law, meagerly treated in the
Jerusalem Talmud, 33-4.
Claudius, emperor, favors Agrippa
I, 26.
Cohanim (Priests), the, function of,
in the modern Synagogue, 69,
318; pronounce the Tetragram-
maton, 84 ; the first called to the
reading of the Law, 260, 264 ;
liturgy on calling, 280 ; posture
of, 299; debarred from giving
the Priestly Blessing, 318; on
the " Joy of the Law," 325. *
See also Priestly Blessing, the.
Col Bo edition of the Siddur, 223.
Col Nidre service, the, the Seli
hoth of, 169-70 ; the remission of
vows in, 175-7.
" Comforts:" Haftaroth, 265, 266.
Companions. See Pharisees, the.
Confession, the Order of {Vid-
dui), the Tetragrammaton pro
nounced in, 84, 174; in the Atone
ment Day services, 165-75 ; text
of, 165-7, 170-2; alphabetic, 166-7,
173; in the Neila service, 167-8;
in the evening service, 168-9; Se

lihoth added to, 169 : part of, re
cited on the Selihoth-days, 173 ;
close of, 173-4; "poetries" in,
227 ; posture during, 299.
Confirmation. See Bar Mitzva.
Congregations, meaning of, 68 ;
causes for the multiplication of,
68.
Conversions to Judaism in Adia
bene, 32.
Converts, righteous, in the Amida,
'35-
Coptic, Esther translated into, 292.
Cordova, the literary Jews of, 39-40.
Courts, the, under Herod, refuse
to try capital cases, 25.
Cracow, birthplace of Moses
Isserles, 42.
Creation, the Era of. See World
the, the Era of.
Creed, the, formulated by Mai
monides, accepted, 42 ; metrical
version of {Yigdal), 231-2.
" Crown of Kingship " {Kether
Mal'chuth), by Solomon Ibn
Gebirol, 234.
" Cup of blessing," the, drunk
after meals, 345.
Custom {Minhag), variability of,
15-16.
Cuzari, apology of Judaism, 39;
the Era used in, 62.
Cyrenaica, Jews in, 32.
Cyrus, permits the Jews to return,
19.
Daniel, the Book of, arranged by
the Great Synod, 21 ; the lan
guage of, 37 ; the angels in, 51 ;
praying thrice -a day in, 77-8,
300 ; appellative of God in, 84.
Darga, an accent, 309.
Darius, the second Temple fin
ished under, 20.
Darshan, preacher, 48, 293,295.
David, the son of Abu-Dirhem.
See Abudraham.
David Kimhi, grammarian, 40.
Dayanim, judges, 68.
Dayenu, in the Seder, 361-2.
Dead, the, prayers for, 219-20.
Death, services at, 333.
Debarim, a section of the Penta
teuch, when read, 249.

464 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Demiurgos, the, interposed be
tween God and the world, 50.
Derasha, a sermon, 48, 293.
Deuteronomy, the Book of, Mes
sianic promises in, 26 ; read on
Hoshana Rabba, 192 ; divisions
of, 248 ; posture during the last
verses of, 300.
Devotion during worship, 305-7.
Dew, prayer for, in the Amida,
124, 130-1.
Diaconos-Shammash, 71.
Dietary laws, in the Shulhan
Aruch, 42.
Diocletian, referred to, 38.
Dispersion, the, of the Jews, 31-2.
Divorce, view of, in the Babylo
nian Talmud, 36.
Dominus, the Tetragrammaton in
the Vulgate, 84.
" Drosho," sermon, 48, 293.
Easter, the date of, fixed, 59.
Ecclesiastes, the Book of, late date
of , 2 1 ; sacredness of, disputed,
22, 45 ; late Hebrew in, 90 ; read
on Booths, 284; in the "poe
tries " of the Eighth of the Feast,
286.
Ecclesiasticus, Synagogue not
mentioned in, 65.
Edessa, the Aramaic of, in the
Jerusalem Talmud, 37.
" Edom, Prince of," in the Cab
bala, 51.
Egypt, Lower, Jews in, 32.
Eighteen Benedictions, the. See
Amida, the.
Elders, the, in Aboth, 197.
Eleazar, Rabbi, quotation from,
195 ; saying of, 198.
Eleazar ben Azariah, Rabbi, say
ing of, 199
Eleazar Kalir, first author of lit
urgical poetry, 39, 228.
Eliezer, Rabbi, saying of, 198; a
Midrash ascribed to, 361.
Elijah, at the Seder, 358.
Eli Tzion, " poetry " for the
Ninth of Ab, 238.
Elohim, meaning of, 52 ; occa
sionally the pronunciation of
the Tetragrammaton, 84.
Elul, half-yearly meetings of the

schools in, 37 ; name of the
sixth month, 52 ; length of, 59.
Emanations, interposed between
God and the world, 50.
Emorai'm, the, the teachers of the
Talmud, 35. See Talmud, the
Babylonian.
Emperors, the, Era of, used by
the Jews, 62.
England, Angevin, the Jews of,
French, 41.
En Kelohenu, 221.
Epicurean philosophy, Zadok de
votee of, 23 ; condemned in the
Mishna, 36, 49 ; protest against,
in the liturgy, 97.
Epikoma {Ephikomenon, Epikor-
non), meaning of, 357-8.
" Epikuros," in the Mishna and
the Babylonian Talmud, 36.
Episkopos, like Hazan, 69.
Epistle to the Hebrews, the, ex
amples of Midrashic style in, 49.
Equinox, the vernal, full moon
after, determines the date of
Easter, 58-9 ; the fall, in the Era
of Seleucus, 59.
Eras, the, used by the Jews, 62-3.
See Seleucus, the Era of;
World, the, the Era of.
Esther, the Book of {Megilla), ar
ranged by the Great Synod, 2 1 ;
benediction before the reading
of, 24; read on Purim, 284, 285,
287 ; written as a -scroll, 285 ;
benedictions over, 285, 287; man
ner of reading, 285 ; a Mishnic
treatise on, 287 ; in languages
other than Hebrew, 291, 292 ; the
accents of, 310.
Esther, the Feast of. See Purim.
Ethanim, name of the seventh
month, 58.
Ethics, the. See Aboth.
Ethnah{td), an accent, 308.
Ethrog, citron, 322. See Lulab,
the.
Europe, the Jews of, begin their
literary activity, 39 ; the Ark to
wards the East in the Syna
gogues of, 66.
Europe, northern, Ashkenazim in,
13 ; intolerance of the Jews of,
41.

INDEXES

465

Evening service {Ma'arib), the,
time of, 76; the Amida in, 77;
order of, So; abstract of the
Amida read in, 80, 142-3 ; length
of, 8 1 ; the Shema of, 89-94 ;
the Priestly Blessing in, 118-19;
modifications of the Amida in,
141 ; Bible verses in, 189-92.
Excommunication, effect of^ upon
tlie standing in the Congrega
tion, 69.
Exile, the, the Chief of, powers
and character of, 34.
Exodus, the, mention of, in public
worship, 76, 91, 103.
Exodus, the Book of, divisions of,
24S ; Haftaroth corresponding
to the divisions of, 267-8.
Ezekiel, tlie Book of, arranged by
tlie Great Synod, 2 1 ; the celes
tials in, 51.
Ezra, reads the Law, 20, 64, 249,
251 ; founder of the Great Syn
od, 21 ; institutes the reading of
the Law on Monday and Thurs
day, 251.
Ezra, the Book of, the language
of, 37- "
Fasts, the, the services of, modi
fied by persecutions, 43 ; in the
Scriptures, 62 ; public, for
drouth, 81 ; the Amida of, 138 ;
lesson for, 256 ; not on Sabbath,
256. See also, Ab, the Ninth of;
Gedaliah, the Fast of; Tam-
muz, the Seventeenth of; Te-
beth, the Tenth of.
" Fathers" {Aboth). See Amida
the, the first Benediction of.
Fayum, birthplace of Saadia, 39.
Feast, the. See Booths, the Feast
of.
Feasts, the three, Hallel on, 24,
79; fixed by the Usha Sanhe
drin, 29; observance of, dis
cussed in the East, 35 ; observ
ance of, treated of in the Shul-
han Aruch, 42; Midrash and
Aggadta in the services of, 46 ;
doubling of, 61 ; the Priestly
Blessing on, 69, 126; the ser
vices of, on the same plan as
3°

those of work-days, 75 ; four
.Imidas on, 79; length of the
services on, 8 1 ; the Shema
benedictions on, 93-4 ; modifica
tions of the Amida of, 1 15-16,
143-4, 150; the evening ser
vice of, 191; "poetries" for,
224-5 • interrupt mourning, 331 ;
modifications of Kiddush on,
350. See also Booths; Passover;
Pentecost; Festivals, the.
Feasts, the three, the night fol
lowing, time of service in, 76 ;
the first Middle Benediction of
the Amida in, 128.
Festivals, the, the Middle Bene
diction of the Amida on, 143-7 ;
modifications of the Musaf
Amida on, 150-1 ; Psalms for,
183, 184 ; the penitential Psalm
omitted on, 185 ; study in the ser
vice of, 195 ; Nish'math on, 208 ;
" poetries " for, 223, 225-6, 227-8 ;
benedictions over the Haftara
on, 277 ; no sermon on the eve
of, 294; the phylacteries not
. used on, 314; modifications in
the grace after meals for, 342,
343, 345 ; Kiddush for, 350-1 ;
modifications of Habdala for,
352-See also Feasts,the three; Atone
ment, the Day of ; Booths ; New
Year; Passover; Pentecost.
Festivals, Half, the Amida of,
112.
Fez, birthplace of Isaac Alfassi,
39-
First Effect, interposed between
God and the world, 50.
"Forgivenesses." See Selihoth.
" Formation, the Book of," a Cab
balistic work, 52-3 ; commenta
ries on, 53.
France, the Jews of, literary work
of, 41 ; use the Targum Jona
than, 290-1.
Frank, Jacob, encouraged by the
Cabbala, 56.
Friday, the Day of Atonement
cannot occur on, 60 ; New Year
cannot occur on, 60 ; Psalm for,
188.

466 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Fringes, the, on the corners of the
garments {Tzitzith), in the
Shema, 91, 101 ; benediction
over, 204; petition before put
ting on, 242-3 ; when worn, 312 ;
regulations concerning, 312 ; use
of, 312-13 ; in partial disuse, 313 ;
worn by the Pharisees, 313.
Future life, a, the belief in, embod
ied in the prayers, 45.
Gabbai, vice-president of the Syn
agogue, 71.
Galilee, the pronunciation of He
brew in, 13 ; the Ashkenazic
ritual originates in, 15 ; the cen
ter of religious life, 19, 32 ; sys
tem of vowel-signs originated
in, 38, 311 ; the Synagogues of,
mentioned in the Gospels, 65 ;
conversions in, 135 ; the reading
of the Law in, 249, 274 ; the lan
guage of, 288.
Gamaliel I, last President of the
Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, 27 ; in
Aboth, 197 ; on the Seder, 356-7,
362.
Gamaliel II, on the Amida, 128,
133, 134, 137.
Gaon, title of the head of the Sura
school, 38 ; position of, 38-9.
Geburoth ("Pow-ers"). See
Amida, the, the second Bene
diction of.
Gedaliah, the Fast of, date of, 62 ;
Abinu Malkenu on, 164.
Ge-Hinnom, learned and un
learned views of, 28 ; in the
liturgy, 212.
Geiger, Dr. Abraham, on prayers
for rain, 130.
Gemara, the, completion. See
Talmud, the; Talmud, the
Babylonian.
Genesis, the Book of, divisions of,
248; Haftaroth corresponding
to the divisions of, 267.
Geography in the Babylonian
Talmud, 36.
Geresh, an accent, 309.
German, spoken by Jews in Sla
vonic countries, 13.
Germany, the Reform ritual in,
1 1 ; name and place of the

Synagogue platform _ in, 64;
early morning service in, 173.
Germany, the Jews of, literary
work of, 41. See Ashkenazim,
the.
Germany, South, variations of
the liturgy in, 133.
Germany, Western, variations of
the liturgy in, 103, 160,219, 222,
227, 238,279,320.
Geulla, a " poetry," 225.
Geulla, the, the benediction after
the Shema, 89 ; in the evening
service, 91-2, 103, 104 ; short form
of, 92-3 ; connected with the
Amida, 95.
See also under Shema, the, the
morning benedictions of.
Giddol, Rabbi, on Messianic
hopes, 36.
Gnosis, and the Cabbala, 50.
God, examples of Midrash con
cerning, 47-8; names of, 52;
names of, in the Prayer Book,
83-4, 114.
Gospels, the, on the Pharisees
and the common people, 27 ;
mention of the Synagogue in,
65 ; the reading of the Law
in, 249; on the phylacteries,
316.
Government, the prayer for {Han-
nothen Teshua), in the Mishna,
217; Abudraham on, 217; in
Spain, 217 ; in Germany, 218;
text of, 218.
Grace after meals, instituted by
the Pharisees, 24 ; Biblical pas
sages in, 82 ; Scriptural obliga
tion of, 86, 339; number of
benedictions in, 339; import
ance of, 340 ; the text and analy
sis of, 340-7 ; hymn in, 346 ;
modification of, for less than a
meal, 346-7.
Grace before meals, 334, 339.
Graetz, H., historian, predecessor
of, 39 ; on the reaction to Cab-
balism, 56 ; quoted, 380.
Granada, birthplace of Solomon
the Levite, 233.
Great Synod, the, the period of,
20-1; constitution of, 21; work
of, 21; maxims of, 22; author

INDEXES

467

of the Amida, 77, 112, 113; in
Aboth, 197.
Greece, Jews in, 32.
Greek, in tlie transliteration of
Hebrew names, 13 ; elements in
the Mishna, 31; translations
used by the Jews of Egypt, 32 ;
elements in the Jerusalem Tal
mud, 37 ; in die Midrash litera
ture, 45 ; names used in the ser
vices, 281 ; spoken by the Jews,
288; held in high esteem, 292;
decline of, among the Jews,
292.
Habdala (Separation), in the first
Middle Benediction of the
Amida, 128-9; 'n the Saturday
night Amida, 147; for a Festi
val on Saturday night, 351 ; text
and analysis of, 35 1-2 ; hymns
connected with, 352-3 ; in the
Synagogue, 353; antiquity of,
354 ; aim of, 354.
Haberim. See Pharisees, the.
Hacham, the Rabbi of the Sefar
dim, 68.
Had Gadyo, explained, 365-6,
Hadrian, deportation of Jews
under, 13
Haftara {Haftaroth). See Proph
ets, the, the Books of, lessons
from.
Hagbaha, holding the scroll high,
280, 281-2.
Haggada. See Aggadta.
Haggada, the, of the Passover.
See Seder, the.
Hagiga, free-will sacrifice, 358.
Hagiographa, the, Haftaroth
from, 275.
Hai, last of the Geonim, 39; on
Kiddush in the Synagogue, 80.
Hakkafa, circuit with the scrolls
of the Law, 325.
Halacha, the, legal portion of the
Talmud, 44, 48.
Hallel (Psalms of Praise), the,
on Festivals instituted by the
Pharisees, 24 ; benediction be
fore, 24 ; in the morning service,
79; written for Hanucca, 180;
when recited, 180-1,322; bene
dictions for, 181, 182, 323; re

sponses in, 181-2; name of
various Psalms or groups of
Psalms, 182 ; text of "poetries,"
228 ; posture during, 299 ; not
recited during Shib'a, 330; in
the Seder, 357, 362, 363.
Hallel, the Great (Psalm 136), 182,
183 ; at the Seder, 363-4.
Hallel, the, of Egypt. See Hal
lel, the.
Hallel, the Half,when recited, 181.
Hamburg, the beginning of Re
form at, 1 1 ; Portuguese Syna
gogue in, 16; a Sefardic colony
in, 43-
Ham-Makom (the Place), name
of God, 83.
Hananiah ben Akashiah, quota
tion from, 196.
Hanina, Rabbi, quotation from,
195.
Hanina ben Dosa, Rabbi, saying
of, 198-9.
Hanina ben Teradion, Rabbi,
saying of, 198.
Hanucca, Hallel on, 24, 79, 181 ;
date of, 62 ; the Amida on, 125-
6 ; Hallel written for, 180 ;
the penitential Psalm omitted
on, 185 ; omission from the ser
vices of, 213; lesson on, 256;
lesson for, does not displace the
Sabbath lesson, 256 ; number of
scrolls used on, 257 ; Haftaroth
on, 271 ; the lighting of the can
dles on, 337-8; song for, 338;
modification of the grace after
meals on, 345.
Ha-Rahaman, name of God, 83.
Haroseth, at the Seder, 358, 363.
Hashkama, early morning ser
vice, 222.
Hasidim, the (ancient), the Pa
triots, denounce the Hellenists,
24; inthe Amida, 135 ; institute
the Habdala, 354.
Hasidim, the (modern), the Pious,
history and principles of, 17-18 ;
hold the Zohar sacred, 56 ; cause
splits in congregations, 68 ; va
riation in the Kedusha of, n6 ;
the morning hymns of, 183 ; and
the Hosannas, 236 ; Cabbalistic
interpolations in the liturgy of,

468 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

' 243 ; preaching among, 294 ; and
the phylacteries, 314.
Hasmonean kings, the, and the
Pharisees, 25.
Hattarath Horaa, the Rabbinical
degree, 68.
Hayim Vidal, encouraged by the
Cabbala, 56.
Hayoth. See Beasts.
Hazan, the, overseer, functions of,
69-70; German names of, 69;
qualifications of, 70 ; the read
ing of the Law by, 70, 260;
among Ashkenazim and Sefar
dim, 304-5.
See also Leader, the, in prayer.
Hazon, a prophetical section, 266.
Head, the covering of, during
prayer, 301-2.
" Hear, O Israel." See Shema, the.
Hebrew, the language of the ser
vices, 13'; pronunciation of, 13-
15, 18; the language of the
Mishna, 31 ; in the Talmud, 37 ;
translations into, from Arabic,
40 ; the purity of, in the Prayer
Book, 84-5, 212; example of
late, in the Prayer Book, 90 ; in
the Kaddish, 109 ; in the Amida,
119, 129, 140; decline of, 288.
Hechaloth, Cabbalistic works, 54.
Hell. See Ge-Hinnom.
Hellenists, the, in the Prayer
Book, 24.
Herod I, the rule of, 25.
Hezekiah, king, the Jewish Mes
siah, 26, 36.
High Priests, the, learning a
qualification of, 23 ; relation of,
to the Sanhedrin, 24 ; Saddu
cees, 25 ; the Mishna on, 30 ;
pronounce the Tetragramma
ton, 84, 174 ; confession of sins
by, 165, 174-5.
Hillel, descendants of, Patriarchs,
26, 27 ; born in Babylonia, 31 ; in
Aboth, 197 ; sayings of, 197, 198.
Hillel, the school of, rise of, 26 ;
disputes of, with Shammai's
school, 27, 147 ; on the reading
of the Shema, 300.
Hillel the Younger, Patriarch,
adopts the Athenian calendar,
33, 59. on the Messiah, 36.

Hindoo speculations in . Philo's
books, 32.
History, in the Babylonian Tal
mud, 36.
Hiya, teacher at Tiberias, 33 ; in
the Seder, 361.
Hodaia ("Thanks"). See Ami
da, the, the sixth Benediction of.
Hodesh, one of the four distin
guished Sabbaths, 257-8 ; the
Haftara oi,z7i.
Ho Kyrios, the Tetragrammaton
in Greek, 84.
Holem, pronunciation of, 14.
Holy Ghost, the, * and the She-
china, 51.
Holy of Holies, the curtain of, in
the modern Synagogue, 66.
Home services, identical with
Synagogue services, 75.
Horace, on Jewish observances.
32-
Horse-radish, at the Seder, 358,
•359, 362.
Hosannas, " poetries " for the
Feast of Booths, 223, 227, 236 ;
ceremonies connected with, 323-
4,325-
Hosha'na, willow twigs, 324.
Hoshana Rabba. See Booths, the
Feast of, the seventh day of.
Hungary, Ashkenazim in, 13 ;
'Hasidim in, 17 ; time of the
morning service in, 79.
Huts, the Feast of. See Booths,
the Feast of.
Ibn-Ezra, the brothers, poets, 39.
Idumeans, the, converted, 135.
Illustrissimus, title of the Patri
archs at Tiberias, 38.
In Memoriam prayers, 219-20.
Incense, the, the composition of,
in the liturgy, 195.
Intoning, the, of prayers, 15.
Isaac, the binding of. SeeAkeda.
Isaac Alfassi, author of a code
of Talmudic law, 39.
Isaac Luria (il'Calabrese), spreads
the Zohar, 55.
Isaiah, the Book of, the Messianic
prophecies in, revived, 26; the
angels in, 5 1 ; number of Hafta
roth in, 274.

INDEXES

4^9

Ishmael, a sage of the Mishna,
supposed author of Hechaloth,
54 ; the thirteen rules of, in the
liturgy, I94.
Ishmael, one of the late High
Priests, 27.
Israel Ba'al Shem Tob, founder
of the Hasidim, 17, 56.
Isserles. Sec Moses Isserles.
Italian names used in the services,
281.
Italy, the Jews of, Sefardim, 12.
Iyar, name of the second month,
5S; length of, 59; two days of
new moon in, 60.
Jacob, Rabbi, saying of, 199.
Jacob Tam, Rabbenu, on the Col
Nidre service, 177 ; on the phy
lacteries, 317 ; on Shofar blow
ing, 321-
Jahrzeit {Nahala), anniversary of
the death of parents, 329 ; youth
of custom, 329 ; service on,
T 331-2-
Jamma, the center of religious
life, 19, 32 ; a school of the Law
at, 28 ; school of, broken up,
29.
Jannai, Rabbi, saying of, 199.
Jehuda the Pious, holds the Pray
er Book inviolate, 41.
Jehuda Hallevi, poet and philos
opher, 39 ; works of, translated,
40 ; holds aloof from the Cab
bala, 54 : uses the Era of the
World, 62 ; as liturgical poet,
229, 234-5.
Jeremiah, the Book of, read on
the Ninth of Ab, 286.
Jerusalem, the center of religious
life, 19, 32 ; lamentation for, 28-
9 ; the Ark in the direction of,
65-6, 300 ; in the. Prayer Book,
83 ; Purim in, 287.
Jesus, as Maftir, 274 ; as preach
er, 294.
Jesus Sirach. See Joshua ben
Sira.
Jethib, an accent, 309.
Jetzira, a Cabbalistic term, 53.
Jetzira. See " Formation, the
Book of."
Jewish Quarterly Review, The,

quoted, 380, 394, 395, 414,416,
422.
Jews, the, beginning of the dis
persion of, 31-2.
Jishub, settlement, in contradis
tinction to a Congregation, 68.
Jithro, a section of the Penta
teuch, 248.
Job, the Book of, read on the
Ninth of Ab, 286-7 , the accents
of, 308.
Johanan hen Zaccai, founder of
the new Judaism, 27, 28 ; founds
a school at Jamnia, 28; "poet
ries " attributed to, 228.
John Hyrcanus, the Sadducees
under, 25 ; the Idumeans con
verted under, 135.
Joma, Mishnic treatise, read on
Atonement Day, 202.
Jonathan ben Uzziel, a Tanna, 27 ;
a Targum ascribed to, 293.
Jose, the Galilean, a Baraitha
ascribed to, ic8; a Midrash as
cribed to, 361.
Joseph Karo, compiles the Shul-
han Aruch, 42. See Shulhan
Aruch, the.
Josephus, on the period of the
Great Synod, 21; on conver
sions to Judaism, 32 ; on the
reading of the Law, 249.
Joshua, in the Aboth, 197.
Joshua ben Levi, teacher at Ti
berias, 33 ; on the number of
benedictions in the Amida, 128.
Joshua ben Sira (Jesus Sirach),
on medicine, 28.
Jost, I. M., historian, predecessor
of, 39 ; quoted, 375, 379, 409, 430.
Jotzer, a "poetry," 225.
"Joy of the Law" (ninth of
Booths), the section of the Law
for, 248, 252, 255 ; the Haftara
for, 270; the liturgy of the Ark
on, 278, 283 ; ceremonies con
nected with, 325-6.
Joys, Treatise of, date and con
tents of, 38. '
Jubilee, the, the S/iofar blown in
honor of, 322.
Judah (I) the Saint, the Sanhedrin
at Usha under, 29 ; compiler of
the Mishna, 30; disciples of, com-

470 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

pile additions to the Mishna, 30 ;
disciple of, 33 ; the Shema as
recited by, 76 ; on the " Sancti
ty of the Day," 147 ; in Aboth,
197 ; grandson of, 212.
Judah II, Patriarch, litany by,
212.
Judaism, assumes its permanent
form, 27 ; founder of the new,
27.
Judea, pronunciation of Hebrew
in, 13.
Judgment, Day of. See New
Year, the.
Kaddish, the, derivation of, 106 ;
composition of, 106; text of,
107 ; when recited, 107, 187, 191,
215, 221 ; important response in,
107 ; not mentioned in the
Mishna, 108 ; at the open grave,
108; the language of, 109;
Maimonides on, 109 ; Biblical
passages connected with, m ;
conclusion of, 120.
Kaddish, the Half {Kaddish
Le'ella), text of, 107 ; office of,
107 ; when recited, 187, 188, 190,
191, 213, 281.
Kaddish, the Mourners', the text
of, 107 ; not known by the older
authorities, 109; legendary ori
gin of, 109-11 ; place of, 190,
215; posture during, 299.
Kaddish, the, of the Rabbis, text
of, 108; when recited, 108, no,
332-
Kaddish Le'ella. See Kaddish,
the Half.
JCadma, an accent, 309.
Kalir. See Eleazar Kalir.
Kalonymos, a " holy name," 281.
Kametz, pronunciation of, 13,311.
Karaite sect, the, 17 ; the fringes
as worn by, 313; on phylacte
ries, 315 ; on the Lulab, 323.
Karo. See Joseph Karo.
Kedoshim, a section of the Penta
teuch, 248.
Kedusha, the. See Thrice-Holy,
the.
Kedushath ha-Shem {" Sanctifica
tion of the Name "). See Amida,
the, the third Benediction of.

Kepler, Moses Isserles assistant
of, 42.
Keroboth, "poetries, 225-6.
Kether in the third Benediction
of the Amida, 116.
Kether Mal'chuth, by Solomon
Ibn Gebirol, 236.
Kethib, 252.
Kiddush, the, reason for, in the
Synagogue, 80; devotion dur
ing, 306 ; why instituted, 348 ;
text and analysis of, 348-50 ; in
the Synagogue, 353; antiquity
of, 354; in the booth, 355; at
the Seder, 358.
Kiddush, the Great, before break
fast, 354.
Ki lo nae, 364-5.
" Kingdoms,". Scriptural passages
in the New Year service, 155 ;
introduction to, 156-7 ; text of,
157-8.
Kings, the, relation of, to the San
hedrin, 24 ; the Mishna on, 30.
Kinoth, "poetries" for the Ninth
of Ab, 223, 238.
Kislev, name of the ninth month,
58; length of, 59; Hanucca in, 62.
Ki Tissa, a section of the Penta
teuch, 264.
Kneeling, in the Jewish service,
300-1.
Koran, the, God's name in, 84.
K'ri, 252.
Lamentations, the Book of, pas
sages from, in the Prayer Book,
82 ; read on the Ninth of Ab,
284-5 j a Baraitha on, 286 ; the
accents of, 310.
Language, the science of, in the
Babylonian Talmud, 36.
Latin elements in the Mishna, 31 ;
in the Jerusalem Talmud, 37.
Law, the, the scrolls of. See
Scrolls of the Law.
Law, the Mosaic, silent on wor
ship by prayer, 21, 24; literally
interpreted by the Sadducees,
23, 24; as interpreted by the
Pharisees, 24; commentaries on,
contain Baraitha, 30 ; com
mandments of, reduced to their
principles, 33 ; commentaries on,

INDEXES

47 1

40 ; two beginnings of tlie year
in, 59; where read in the Syna
gogue, 66 ; passages from, in the
morning service, 79, 194 ; sacred-
ness of, 247 ; divisions of, 247-
9, 250, 263-4 ; last passage
from, honored, 262 ; translation
of, 289
Law, the Mosaic, the lessons from,
time of, 79 ; in the morning ser
vice, 79 ; number of, 248-9 ; on
feasts, fasts, and distinguished
Sabbaths, 254-8; in the Tal
mud and the Mishna, 258-9;
subdivision of, 260, 263-4 ;
analyzed with the correspond
ing Haftaroth, 267-70; which
of two or more determines the
Haftara, 270-1 ; the interpreter
for, 288-92 ; paraphrase of, for
women, 291.
Law, the Mosaic, the reading of,
cycles of, 16, 250-2; demanded by
Moses, 20 ; by Ezra, 20, 64 ; insti
tuted by the Pharisees, 24 ; the
place for, 64 ; in the Synagogues
of Galilee, 65 ; by a Ba'al Kore,
70 ; lay officers attend, 7 1 ; in
Josephus and the New Testa
ment, 249 ; antiquity of, 249-50;
the seven-years cycle of, 250;
the three-years cycle of, 250-1,
251-2, 274-5 ; the one-year cycle
of, 250, 252 ; Biblical basis of,
252; number engaged in, 260;
classes called to, 260, 262, 264 ;
difficulty of, 260-1 ; the benedic
tions over, 261-2, 280 ; the liturgy
connected with, 278-82; antiquity
of "calling up" to, by name,
282-3 i devotion during, 306 ;
according to the accents, 310;
omitted during Shib'a, 330.
Law, the oral, first germ of, 21 ;
on worship, 21-2; scope of, 28;
reduced to writing, 30; embodied
in the Tosifla, 38.
See also Mishna, the.
Leader {Sheliah Tzibbur), the, in
prayer, position of, 65, 66, 299 ;
qualifications of, 69; repeats
the Amida, 78; liberty of, 87;
address of, before the Shema
benedictions, 105 ; petition of,

on New Year, 162 ; calls to the
reading of the Law, 260 ; carries
the scroll, 279 ; the dress of, 319.
See also Hazan.
Leibnitz, and the Cabbala, 53.
Levites, the, privileges of, 69, 260 ;
duties of, 318; on the "Joy of
the Law," 325.
Levitical cleanness, laws of, not
discussed in the East, 35, 37.
Leviticus, the Book of, designa
tion of the New Year in, 59;
commentary on, 59; divisions
of, 248 ; Haftaroth correspond
ing to the divisions of, 268-9.
Lightning, benediction over, 334-5-
Litany, the, by Judah II, 212.
Liturgical poetry. See " Poetries."
Liturgy, the, growth of, in the
Jerusalem Talmud, 34.
See also Prayer Book, the.
Logos, the, interposed between
God and the world, 50.
London, Portuguese Synagogue
in, 16 ; a Sefardic colony in, 43.
" Lord of the World." See " Mas
ter of all Worlds."
Lord's Prayer, the, in the Jewish
liturgy, 221.
Luke, quoted, 274.
Lulab, the, the festive bunch, Bib
lical law concerning, 322 ; con
stituents of, 322 ; the shaking
of, 322-3 ; the Karaites on, 323.
Ma'amadoth, the. See Watches,
the.
Maccabees, the, the Books of, use
the Era of Seleucus, 62 ; Syna
gogue not mentioned in, 65, 249 ;
quoted, 65.
Maccabees, the, the Feast of. See
Hanucca.
Maftir (leave-giver), the, Penta
teuch portion read by, 264 ; the
lesson from the Prophets read
by, 265 ; benedictions recited by,
276-7 ; on the "Joy of the Law,"
326.
Maggid, preacher, 48, 293, 295.
Mahpach, an accent, 309.
Mahusa, Raba chief of the school
at, 36. See Babylonia, the
schools of.

472 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE. AND HOME

Mahzor, the German Festival
prayer book, 223.
Mahzor Vitry, published, 41-2,
372 ; on the Shema benedictions,
98, 101 ; on the Mourners' Kad-
dish,xio; omits lines from A binu
Malkenu, 164; on prayers for
the dead, 220; the Hosannas in,
227 ; on " calling up " by name,
282-3 ! on Targum Jonathan,
290; on Targum of the Ten
Commandments, 291 ; quoted,
393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 401,
402, 403, 406, 407, 409, 410, 411,
4M, 4i5,430,432,438-
Maimonides, Moses, influence of,
on the Yemen Jews, 17; works
and history of, 40 ; works of,
translated, 40; creed of,accepted,
42 ; holds aloof from the Cab
bala, 54 ; on the Kaddish, 109 ;
on " Master of all Worlds," 207 ;
omits a Monday and Thursday
prayer, 213; on Shofar blow
ing, 321 ; quoted, 372, 387, 388,
396, 397, 402, 404, 4°7, 408, 409,
420, 422,429,430,431,435.
Makkif, an accent, 308.
Malshinim (Slanderers), in the
Amida, 133.
Ma'oz Tzur, song for Hanucca,
338-
Marheshvan, name of the eighth
month, 58 ; length of, 60.
Mark, quoted, 89.
Marriage, the laws of, in the Shul-
han Aruch, 42.
Martyrs, prayer for, 219.
Martyrs, the Ten, the Midrash of,
in the Prayer Book, 47, 227.
Masora, the,* text tradition, para
graphs of the Scriptures accord
ing to, 66.
Mass {Missa), the, derivation of,
265.
" Master of all Worlds," prayer in
the morning, 206-7, 2'2 ; pendant
to, 212-13; in the night prayer
for children, 337.
Mathia, Rabbi, saying of, 199.
Matthew, Gospel of, example of
Midrashic style in, 49.
Meals, the importance of, in Jew
ish home life, 339, 348.

See also Grace after meals.
Mechanician, the, interposed be
tween God and the world, 50.
Media, Little. See Adiabene.
Median, Esther translated into,
. 292.
Medicine, how regarded by the
Rabbis, 28 ; cultivated by Sam
uel, 34.
Megilla, the. See Esther, the
Book of.
Megilloth, the. See Canticles;
Ecclesiastes; Esther; Lamen
tations; Ruth.
Mei'r, attempts to codify tradi
tion, 29-30; wife of, 133; saying
of, 199 ; and the lessons from
the Law, 258.
Meir of Rothenburg, last of the
Tosafists, 41, 42; disciple of,
42.
Mekitze Nirdamim, the, publishes
the Mahzor Vitry, 42.
Memorial, the Day of. See New
Year, the.
" Mercaba," 51.
Mer'cha, an accent, 309.
Merciful, the, name of God, 83.
Mercy, the thirteen qualities of.
See Thirteen qualities.
Meshorerim, the choir, 305.
Mesopotamia, Jews in, 31.
Messiah, the, -hope in the coming
of, strengthened, 26, 29 ; ful
filled in Hezekiah, 26, 36 ; the
Mishna on, 30; discussion on,
in the Babylonian Talmud, 36 ;
hope in, in the prayers, 45 ; and
Gog and Magog, 46; of the
Cabbala, 55 ; in ancient bene
dictions, 87 ; in the Amida,
II3, r37, !39; in the Hosannas,
227.
Metatron, in the Talmud, 51.
Metheg, an accent, 311.
Methibatha. See Babylonia, the
schools of.
Methurgaman, the, interpreter,
why needed in the Synagogue,
288 ; regulations concerning,
288-9; survivals of, 291-2.
Meton, originator of the Athenian
calendar, 57.
See Calendar, the Athenian.

INDEXES

473

Micah, the Messianic prophecies
of, revived, 26.
Middle Days, the, the Aboda of,
124-5, 144; modifications of the
Musaf Amida of, 151 ; Half
Hallel on, 181 ; the penitential
Psalm omitted on, 185 ; omis
sion from the services of, 213 ;
lessons for, 255-6, 25S; modifi
cations in the grace after meals
for, 342.
Midrash, meaning- of, 44-5 ; Pales
tinian in origin, 45 ; not em
bodied in the early prayers, 45 ;
not authoritative, 45 ; examples
of, in the services, 46 ; exam
ples of, concerning God, 47-8 ;
groundwork of the sermon, 48 ;
in the New Testament, 49 ; dan
gers of, 49'; resembles Cabbala,
50 ; on the Psalms, referred to,
100; on the Amida, 137 ; speci
mens of, in the Seder, 361.
See also Aggadta.
Midi-ash Rabba, a homiletic work,
294.
Minha. See Afternoon service,
the.
Minhag, Portuguese and German,
15-16. See Prayer Book.
Minian, requisite number of per
sons for a public service, 69,
106 ; during Shib'a at home,
330; on Jahrzeit, 331.
Minim, Jewish sectaries, 32, 134 ;
none at Nehardea, 37 ; in the
Amida, 133, 134; not appli
cable to the Christians' of to
day, 134.
Miracles, attempt to explain, in
Aboth, 199-200.
Mishna, the, on the variability of
custom, 15 ; date of the compi
lation of, 19; on worship, 22;
teachers of, 22 ; on the High
Priest, 23; compilers 0^29-30;
divisions of, 30; contents of,
30 ; free from superstition, 30-1 ;
high morality of, 31; the lan
guage of, 31 ; Syrian Jews men
tioned in, 31 ; on the Minim,
32 ; discussions on, at Tiberias,
33-4 ; parts of, not discussed in
the East, 35 ; quotations from, in

the Talmud, 37 ; addition to,
38; commentary on, by Mai
monides, 40 ; on mystic sci
ence, 51-2; use of the word
Cabbala in, 56 ; Eras .used in,
62 ; on the Amida, 78; passages
from, in the morning service,
79; on the liturgy of the
Watches, 81 ; on the benedic
tions, 86, 87 ; on the Shema, 89 ;
on the Shema benedictions, 103 ;
on responses to benedictions,
105 ; the Kaddish not mentioned
in, 108; sections of, in the ser
vices, 108; on the prayer for
rain, 124, 128 ; on the number
of benedictions in the Amida,
128 ; on the " abstract of the
Eighteen," 138; on the " Sanctity
of the Day," 140, 146 ; on the
" Kingdom " verses, 156 ; on Col
Nidre, 176; on Hallel, 180;
passages from, in the liturgy,
193, 194, 195, 196, 202 ; on prayer
for the government, 217 ; on the
lessons from the Law, 258 ; on
the number called to the read
ing of the Law, 260, 261 ; on
lessons from the Prophets, 265 ;
on the Book of Esther, 287, 291 ;
on the Methurgaman, 288 ; on
the fitting up of the Synagogue,
299 ; on posture at the Prayer,
300; on the frame of mind during
worship, 305 ; studied in a sing
song, 311 ; on phylacteries, 316 ;
on Shofar blowing, 320 ; on the
period of mourning, 331 ; a
passage from, read on Jahrzeit,
332 ; on the education of chil
dren, 334 ; on grace after meals,
341, 345; on the Seder, 356-7,
360, 362.
See also Sages, the.
Misnagdiyn, opponents of the
Hasidim, 294.
Mohammed, borrows an appella
tion of God, 83.
Molad, beginning of the month,
58. See Months, the Jewish;
New moon.
Monday (and Thursday), reading
of the Law on, 64, 251, 264;
prayers peculiar to, 186-7,213-14,

474 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

240; Psalm for, 188; lessons
for, displaced, 256.
Months, the Jewish, begin with
the new moon, 57 ; length of,
57-8, 59-60; number of, in a
year, 58; names of, 58; celebra
tion of the beginning of, 60.
See also New Moon.
Moon, the, the blessing of, 354-5.
Morality, the, of the Mishna,
31 ; of the Babylonian Talmud,
36-7-
More Nebuchim. See "Teacher
of the Perplexed," the.
Morio, the Tetragrammaton in
Syriac, 84.
Morning service {Shaharith), the,
duration of, 76; the Amida in,
77-8 ; time of, 79 ; composition
of, 79 ; the Shema of, 89, 91, 95-
104 ; the Priestly Blessing in,
118; modifications of the A mida
in, 141 ; the hymns of, 182-5,
207, 208, 242 ; Biblical verses in,
186-8.
Moses, in Aboth, 197.
Moses de Leon, author of the
Zohar, 54, 55.
Moses ben Kalonymos, introduces
Rabbinic learning in Germany,
39-
Moses ben Nahman, philosopher
and mystic, 40, 54 ; Pentateuch
commentary by, 40, 41, 59.
Moses, the son of Maimun. See
Maimonides.
Moses Isserles, annotates the
Shulhan Aruch, 42.
Mourners, await the announce
ment of the Sabbath, 67.
Mourning, rules of, in the Treatise
of Joys, 38 ; for whom kept, 32 9 ;
length of period of, 33 1 ; by
what interrupted, 331.
Munah, an accent, 309.
Musaf, the. See "Additional"
Amida, the.
Music, the, of the Synagogue, n,
12, 304-5.
Mystics, the. See Cabbala, the.
Nabloos, the Samaritans in, 17.
Nachmanides. See Moses ben
Nahman.

Nahala, anniversary of the death
of parents, 329. See Jahr
zeit.
Name, the. See Tetragramma
ton, the.
Names, the, used in the service,
281.
Natronai, a prominent Gaon, 39.
Nebuchadnezzar, referred to, 31,
33, 62, 64. _ _
Nazareth, a synagogue service in,
274.
Negina. See Accents.
Nehardea, Samuel head of the
school at, 34; succeeded by
Pumbeditha, 35 ; free from Min-
i?n, 37 ; seat of a central au
thority, 45.
See also Babylonia, the schools
of.
Nehemiah, governor of the re
turned Jews, 20.
Nehemiah, the Book of, designa
tion of the New Year in, 59.
Nehonia ben Hakkana, the Bahir
ascribed to, 54, 241.
Neila, the fifth service of the Day
of Atonement, 79; the Amida
of, 122, 123; the confession of
sins in, 167-8, 17 1-2 ; the close of,
178 ; the Selihoth of, 239-40.
See also Atonement, the Day of.
Neo-Platonism, and the Cabbala,
50.
New moon, the, beginning of the
Jewish month, 57 ; of Tishri,
60 ; announcement of, 61-2,
218-19.
New Moons, the, fixed by the
Sanhedrin, 29 ; cease to be pro
claimed, 33 ; half holidays, 60 ;
four Amidas on, 79 ; Hallel on,
79, 81 ; length of the services
on, 81 ; the "Additional " Ami
da on, 112, 151-4 ; the Aboda of,
124-5, M4 i the penitential
Psalm omitted on, 185 ; the
evening service of, 189; omis
sion from the services of, 213;
lessons for, 256 ; lessons of, do
not displace the Sabbath lesson,
256 ; number of scrolls used on,
257, 258 ; the Haftaroth con
nected with, 271 ; modifications

INDEXES

475

in the grace after meals for, 342,
343. 345-
New Testament, the, translitera
tion of Hebrew names in, 13 ; on
the dispersion of the Jews, 32 ;
examples of Midrashic style in,
49 ; on the reading of the Law,
249.
New \ear (Day of Memorial),
the, ceases to be proclaimed,
33; a Midrash concerning, 45-6 ;
Biblical designation of, 59 ; oc
currence of, 60 ; date of, 61 ;
two days of, 61; the "Addi
tional" Amida of, 112 ; modifi
cations of the Amida on, 121-3,
140, 144, 145-6, 155 ; modifica
tions of the Musaf Amida on,
150-1, 155-64 ; the day of judg
ment, 158, 160 ; Abinu Malkenu
on, 162-4; Psalm on, 183; the
evening service of, 191 ; the
Psalter read on, 192 ; a Mishnic
treatise read on, 202 ; " poetries "
on, 225, 226, 227 ; Cabbalistic
petitions in the service of,
243 ; lessons on the second
Sabbath before, 251 ; lesson
on, 254, 258; the Haftaroth
for, 272 ; benediction over the
Haftara on, 277 ; kneeling dur
ing the service of, 301 ; devo
tion on, 303 ; the Shofar blow
ing on, 319-22 ; ends the Shib'a,
331 ; modifications of Kiddush
01,350,351.See also " Kingdoms ;" " Re
membrances ;" " Shofaroth."
Nice, Council of, fixes the date of
Easter, 59.
Night prayer for children, 335-7.
Nisan, name of the first month,
58 ; beginning of the year in,
59 ; length of, 59 ; the new moon
of, 60 ; the Passover in, 60, 257 ;
number of scrolls on the New
Moon of, 258.
Nish'?nath, introduction to a
" Benediction of Song," 208 ; at
the Seder, 364.
Noah, a section of the Penta
teuch, 248.
Numbers, the Book of, passages
from, in the Prayer Book, 82 ;

divisions of, 248 ; Haftaroth
corresponding to the divisions
of, 269-70.
Ofan, a "poetry," 225.
Ofnnnim. See Wheels.
Old Testament, Greek. See Sep
tuagint, the.
Om Ani Homa, metrical version
of, 236.
Omer days, the (between Pass
over and Pentecost), in the Cab
bala, 53 ; the Ethics read on
the Sabbaths of, 196; the bene
diction for, 211.
" One Kid !" 365-6.
Onkelos. See Targum Onkelos.
Orah Hayim, a section of the
Shulhan Aruch, 42 ; quoted,
387, 388, 393, 401, 402, 4°3, 405,
4°7, 4i5, 4i9, 420, 421, 422, 423,
424, 425.
Ordination, the, of Rabbis, 68.
Ormuzd, protest against, in the
benedictions, 96.
" Our Father, our King." See
Abinu Malkenu.
Paietan, Jewish liturgical poet,
222.
Palestine, under foreign domina
tion, 2 1 ; the three-years cycle
of the reading of the Law in,
250-1.
Para, one of the four distin
guished Sabbaths, 257-8 ; the
Haftara of, 271.
Parasha, a section of the Mosaic
Law, 247.
Paris, Portuguese Synagogue in,
16.
Parnas, business head of the
Synagogue, 71; paid official
under, 71.
Parsley, at the Seder, 358, 359.
Parthia, the kings of, the Era of,
used by the Jews, 62.
Passover, the Feast of the
{Pesakh), half-yearly meetings
of the scSbols in the month
before, 37 ; sheaf of barley
offered during, 58 ; and the ar
rangement of the calendar, 59 ;
beginning of the year in the

476 JEWISH SER VICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

month of, 59 ; date of, 60 ;. ser
vices of the first day of, 124;
modifications of the Amida of,
143; the Hallel on, 180, 181 ;
Psalms on, 183 ; the penitential
Psalm omitted in the month
before, 185 ; the souls of the
dead remembered on the eighth
of, 219 ; lessons on, 254, 255,
258 ; number of scrolls used on,
256-7 ; the reading of the Law
on, 264; the Haftaroth for,
271-2; Canticles read on, 284,
286.See also Seder, the ; Feasts, the
three; Festivals, the.
Passover lamb {Pesakh), the,
sacrificed by the Samaritans,
17 ; principal dish at the Seder,
356, 357, 358, 362.
"Path of Life." See Orah
Hayim.
Patriarchate, the, hereditary with
Hillel's descendants, 26 ; seat
of, at Tiberias, 33 ; title at
tached to, 38; at Tiberias,
adopts the Metonic calendar,
57-
Patriarchs, the, proclaim the new
moon, 57 ; announce the new
moon, 61-2.
Pashta, an accent, 309.
Patriots, the. See Hasidim, the.
Paul of Tarsus, teacher of, 27 ;
Philo contemporary of, 32 ; in
troduces the covered head dur
ing worship, 302.
Pazer, an accent,. 309.
Penitential days, the, modification
of the Amida on, 121-2 ; Abinu
Malkenu on, 163 ; the order of
confession on, 173; Selihoth
on, 227.
Penitential Psalm, the, when re
cited, 185-6 ; posture during,
301 ; omitted during Shib'a,
331 ; omitted at a wedding,
332-
Pentateuch, the. See Law, the
Mosaic ; Scriptures, the.
Pentecost, date of, 61 ; character
of, 6i ; modification of the
Amida of, 144 ; Hallel on, 180 ;
Psalm on, 183 ; Mishnic pas

sages read on, 202 ; prayer for
martyrs on the Sabbath before,
219; prayers for the dead on
the second of, 219; lesson on
the second Sabbath before,
251; lesson for, 254, 255,' 258;
the Haftaroth for, 272 ; Ruth
read on, 284, 286 ; poem in Ara
maic for, 291-2.
See also Feasts, the three ; Fes
tivals, the.
"People of the land." See Am
ha-aretz, the.
Pericles, the Metonic calendar
introduced in the days of, 57.
Persecutions, slight influence of,
on the services, 43.
Persia, the dualism of, protest
against, in the benedictions, 96.
Persian elements, in the Baby
lonian Talmud, 37 ; in the Book
of Daniel, 51.
Perushim {Perishim). See Phari
sees, the.
Pesik, an accent, 309.
Pesikta, the, the prayers for the
dead traced to, 220 ; on the
Haftaroth, 273.
Pharisees, the, names of, 23 ;
principles of, 23-4 ; interpreta
tion pf the Law by, 24 ; and the
Hasmonean kings, 25 ; opposi
tion of, to the. common people,
27-8 ; in the Babylonian Tal
mud, 37 ; use of the fringes by,
313; the phylacteries worn by,
316 ; and the Kiddush, 354.
Philo, philosophy of, 32.
Phinehas, section in the Penta
teuch, 270.
Phylacteries, the, rules for the
preparation of, 38, 316 ; a Mid
rash on God wearing, 47-8 ;
benediction over, 204 ; when
worn, 312, 314, 316; meaning
of, 313 ; in the Pentateuch, 313-
14 ; construction o'f, 314 ; how
used, 314-15 ; explanation of the
command of, 315-16 ; in the Tal
mud, 316 ; universality of, 317.
Pilate, Pontius, the reading of the
Law under, 249.
Piyut, liturgical poetry of the
Jews, 222. See " Poetries," the.

INDEXES

477

Pizmon, "poetry," 226, 240.
Platonic speculations in Philo's
books, 32.
Poietes, Jewish liturgical poets,
" Poetries," the, dropped in the
modern services, 12, 222 ; in the
Sefardic and the Ashkenazic
prayer books, 16-17, 223-4 ; by
Eleazar Kalir, 39 ; Midrash and
Aggadta in, 46; affect the
Shema benedictions, 93, 103 ;
on Passover and the eighth of
Booths, 124 ; three characteris
tics of, 222-3; in the Mahzor,
223 ; adopted by the Sefardim,
223-4 ; in what parts of the ser
vice introduced, 224-8 ; motif
underlying, 227-8 ; oldest author
of, 228 ; characteristics of, 229-
30 ; specimens of, 231-40 ; at
the Seder, 364-6.
Poland, Ashkenazim in, 13 ; Hasi
dim in, 17 ; permanent officials
in, for the reading of the
Prophets, 70.
Poland, the Jews of. See Ash
kenazim, the.
Poland, Russian, music in the
Synagogues of, 12.
Pompey, referred to, 22. •
Portugal, the Jews of, Sefardim,
12. See Sefardim, the.
Portuguese ritual, Jews of the. See
Sefardim.
Posture, in the Jewish service,
299-301.
"Powers" (Geburoth). See Ami
da, the, the second Benediction
of.
Prayer, the obligation of, not
supported by Scriptures, 24 ;
few forms of, in the Jerusalem
Talmud, 34 ; order of, fixed by
Rab and Samuel, 34 ; forms of,
discussed in the East, 35 ; ma
terial for the history of, in the
Baraitha, 35 ; legend excluded
from, by the Emorai'm, 36-7 ;
in the Synagogues of Galilee, 65.
Prayer, the. See Amida, the.
Prayer Book, the, early elements
of, 19-20; the Hellenists in, 24;
influenced by the Messianic be

lief, 26, 28-9; analyzed by Mai
monides, 40 ; analyzed by Abu
draham, 41 ; held inviolate by
the Rabbis of Germany, 41 ;
Maimonides' creed in, 42 ;
treated of in the Shulhan Ar
uch, 42 ; little modified by per
secutions, 43 ; beliefs and hopes
incorporated in, 45 ; obliga
tory portions of, early, 45 ; ex
amples of Midrash in, 45-6 ;
Cabbalistic interpretation of the
oldest parts of, 52 ; influenced
by Hechaloth, 54 ; influenced by
the Zohar, 55-6 ; most import
ant parts of, 75, 76; persistence
of new elements. in, 80 ; changes
in, in late centuries, 81 ; contains
Scriptural passages, 82-3 ; style
of the un-Scriptural portions of,
83 ; breadth of the spirit of, 83 ; -
the names of God in, 83-4 ;
study as part of, 193-202 ; Cab
balistic influence upon, 241 ; re
cent additions to, of inferior
value, 243-4.
Prayer Book, the Ashkenazic, ori
gin of, 15 ; "poetries " in, 17 ; in
fluenced by the Sefardic Min
hag, 43 ; agreement of, with the
Sefardic, 87, 98 ; example of late
Hebrew in, 90.
Prayer Book, the Polish, peculi
arities of, 176-7, 201, 206, 219,
222, 227, 238, 279, 325.
Prayer Book, the Sefardic, origin
of, 15 ; free from "poetries," 16 ;
adopted by the Yemen Jews, 17 ;
used by the Hasidim, 18; in
troduced in the Orient by Mai
monides, 40 ; influenced by the
Ashkenazic Minhag, 43 ; agree
ment of, with the Ashkenazic,
87, 98 ; omission in the Shema
benedictions in, 98.
Prayer Books, arrangement of the
German and Sefardic, 223-4.
Prayer Books, differences be
tween the Ashkenazic and the
Sefardic, 90, 91, 93-4, 101, 103,
no, 115-16, 118, 119, 122, 123, 124,
13°, '3i, 133, 135, 136, 137, 141,
145, 146, 149, 150, 151, 153-4, 159,
163, 164, 176, 177, 178-9, 181, 183,

478 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

185, 188, 189, 190, 191, 195, 196,
202, 205, 206, 207, 211, 212, 213,
214, 215, 216, 218, 219, 222, 223,
224, 225, 230, 234, 241, 247, 254,
266, 267, 268, 269, 273, 277, 278,
279, 280, 281, 282, 284, 287, 291,
292, 294, 301, 304, 309-!°, 3i3, 3M,
320, 322, 329, 330, 335, 336, 341,
342, 345, 363. 364, 366.
Prayers. See Abinu Malkemi ;
Adon Olam; Akedaj Alenu;
Akdamoth Millin; Amida,
the; "Benediction of Song;"
Benedictions, the; Confession,
Order of; En Kelohenu; Gov
ernment, the prayer for; Hab
dala; Kaddish, the; Kiddush,
the ; Litany, the ; " Master of all
Worlds;" Nish'math; Night
prayer for children ; " Reception
of the Sabbath ;" Selihoth, the ;
Shema, the; U-Ba le-Tzion;
U-nethanne tokef; Vehu Ra-
hum; Yigdal; Yekum Purkan.
Preacher, the, position of, in the
Synagogue, 66, 299 ; usually the
Rabbi, 69.
Preaching, among the Jews, 293 ;
Rabbinic rule concerning, 293-4;
time for, 294-5 ; rare among the
Jews, 294-5 ; needed in the early
part of this century, 295.
Presbyteros, priest, a corruption
of, 69.
Priestly Blessing, the, recital of,
ordained, 20 ; given by a Cohen,
69, 318 ; the Tetragrammaton
pronounced in, 84 ; history of,
126; benediction before, 127;
not read on the Ninth of Ab,
127; Cabbalistic prayers con
nected with, 243 ; when given,
318 ; ceremonies connected with,
318-19.See also A mida, the, the seventh
Benediction of.
Priests. See Cohanim, the.
Property, the laws of, in the Baby
lonian Talmud, 35, 36 ; in the
Shulhan Aruch, 43.
Prophets, the, in Aboth, 197.
Prophets, the, the Books of, Mes
sianic promises in, 26; expounder
of, 27 ; which books so classed,

265 ; the number of Haftaroth
in, 274; translation of, 290.
Prophets, the, the Books of, les
sons from {Haftaroth), in the
Synagogues of Galilee, 65 ;
where read, 66; difficulty and
honor of reading, 70 ; antiquity
of, 265 ; when read, 265 ; by
whom read, 265 ; classes of, 265-
6; for the Sabbath and Festi
vals enumerated and described,
266-73 j accompanying two or
more lessons from the Penta
teuch, 270-1 ; length of, 273-4 ;
accompanying the Palestinian
cycle, 274-5 i in the afternoon
service, 275 ; benedictions over,
276-7, 282, 310; the interpreter
for, 288-92 ; in modern lan
guages, 291 ; the reading of, ac
cording to the accents, 310.
Prophets, the Minor (the Twelve),
the Books of, arranged by the
Great Synod, 21 ; the number
of Haftaroth in, 274.
Proverbs, the Book of, verses
from, in the Prayer Book, 82 ;
the accents of, 308.
Proseuche, house of prayer, in
Maccabees, 65.
Provenee,the Jews of, Sefardim, 12.
Psalm, the penitential. See Peni
tential Psalm, the.
Psalms, the, late date of some of,
21; Messianic promises in, 26 ;
in the morning service, 79 ; in
the Prayer Book, 82, 180-92 ;
the Sabbath, a writer of, 100 ;
read at various times, 192 ; the
accents of, 308 ; for the days of
the week,omitted during Shib' a,
33°-
Psalms of praise (Psalms 1 13-1 18).
See Hallel.
Ptolemies, the, referred to, 21.
Pumbeditha, the discussions at,
form the Babylonian Talmud, 35 ;
regains importance, 38 ; seat of a
central authority, 45, 216, 251.
See also Babylonia, the schools
of.
" Punishments," Haftaroth, 265,
266, 270.
Purim, date of, 62, 287 ; the

INDEXES

479

Amida on, 125; the penitential
Psalm omitted on, 185 ; omis
sion from the services of, 213 ;
lesson for, 256 ; not on Sabbath,
256 ; Esther read on, 284 ;
modification of the grace after
meals on, 345.
Pythagorean, speculations in Phi-
lo's books, 32 ; love for num
bers, 53, 54.
" Questions and Responses," the
decisions of the Geonim, 39.
Rab. See Abba Areka.
Raba, on the treatment of wives,
36.
Rabbi, the, of a Synagogue, lec
tures at the Beth Hammidrash,
67 ; rank and duties of, 68 ; name
of, among the Sefardim, 68 ;
meaning of the title of, 68 ; ordi
nation of, in Palestine, 68 ; has
no part in the services of the
Synagogue, 68.
Rabina, reduces the Babylonian
Talmud to writing, 36.
Rain, prayer for, in the Amida,
123-4, 130-1.
Rapoport, restores the Pesikta,
273-
Rashi. See Solomon ben Isaac.
Rebia, an accent, 309.
"Reception of the Sabbath," 188,
233-4, 244.
" Redeemer, A, will come to Zion."
See U-Ba le-Tzion.
Redemption. See Geulla, the.
Red Sea Song, the, in the liturgy,
82, 92, 103, 185 ; the text of Pass
over " poetries," 228 ; in Beshal-
lah, 248 ; how honored, 262, 300 ;
when omitted, 330.
Reform ritual, the, beginning of,
1 1 ; extent of use of, 11; and
music, 12; causes the multipli
cation of congregations, 68.
"Remembrances," Scriptural
passages in the New Year ser
vice, 155 ; text of, 158-60 ; devel
opment from, 170.
" Repentances," Haftaroth, 265,
266.
Reshe Calla,hea.ds of assembly, 37.

Resh Gclutha. Sec Exile, the,
the Chief of.
Resh Lakish, teacher at Tiberias,
33-
Responses, mark the difference
between public and private wor
ship, 75 ; to benedictions, 105-6,
205 ; importance of, 106; in the
Kaddish, 106, 107 ; Baraitha on,
108; in the Kedusha, 114-15 ; in
the Priestly Blessing, 118, 127;
inthe Amida, 123, 124, 125, 152;
in the confession of sins, 169,
1 7 1-2; in Hallel, 181; posture
during the principal, 299 ; to be
said aloud, 303-4 ; children
trained to make, 337 ; in the
grace after meals, 340.
Resurrection, denied by the Sad
ducees, 23 ; in the second Bene
diction of the Amida, 114; in
the benedictions at rising, 203.
Revelation, the Sinaic, celebrated
on Pentecost, 61.
Rhine, the, Jews deported to, 29.
Ritual. See Prayer Book.
R'mo. See Moses Isserles.
" Rock from whose wealth we have
eaten," 346.
Rome, early presence of Jews in,
32-
Rosh. See Asher.
Rosh Hashana, Mishnic treatise,
read on New Year, 202.
Rosh Hodesh. See New Moons,
the.
Roumania, Ashkenazim in, 13.
Russia, music in the Synagogues
of, 12 ; Ashkenazim in, 13 ; Hasi
dim in, 17.
Ruth, the Book of, read on Pen
tecost, 284, 286.
Saadia, Gaon, 39; activities of,
39 ; on the Shema benedictions,
98 ; on the Musaf Amida, 149.
Sabbath, the, beginning of, 57 ;
reading of the Law on, 64 ; to
be consecrated at the supper
table, 80; a Psalm writer, 100;
reception of, 188; Purim and
the fasts not on, 256 ; the les
sons of, when displaced, 256 ;
no sermon on the eve of, 294 ;

480 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

the phylacteries not used on,
314 ; the Shofar and Lulab not
used on, 322 ; interrupts Shib'a,
331 ; modifications in the grace
after meals for, 342-3, 345.
Sabbath, the, the night follow
ing, time of service in, 76 ; the
first Middle Benediction of the
Amida in, 128; modification of
the Amida in, 147 ; Psalm verses
for, 189, 191.
Sabbath, the, the observance of,
mentioned by Horace, 32 ; dis
cussed in the East, 35 ; treated
of, in the Shulhan Aruch, 42;
determines the occurrence of
the Day of Atonement, etc., 60.
Sabbath services, the, on the
same plan as work -day ser
vices, 75 ; four Amidas in, 79;
length of, 81 ; the Shema bene
dictions of, 93-4, 98-9 ; modi
fications of the A?nida in, 112,
115, 140-3; modifications of the
Musaf Amida in, 149-50, 151,
152-4; omission of Abinu Mal
kenu from, 164 ; Psalms in, 183,
184, 188, 189; the penitential
Psalm omitted from, 185 ; Tal
mudic passages in, 195 ; Nish'-
math in, 208 ; lessons from the
Law in, 251, 264 ; lessons from
the Prophets in, 265-71 ; bene
diction over the Haftara on, 277.
" Sabbath of Repentance," the,
sermon on, 294.
Sabbath, the Great, the Haftara
for, 271 ; sermon on, 294.
Sabbaths, distinguished, " poe
tries " for, 223 ; the origin of,
and lessons for, 257-8 ; the
Haftaroth of, 271.
Sabbatic year, the, influences the
calendar, 59.
Sacrament, the Christian, de
rived from the Kiddush, 348.
Sacrifices, treated of in the Mish
na, 30 ; replaced by the Musaf
service, 148 ; a Mishnic chapter
on, in the liturgy, 193-4; re
placed by lessons from the
Law, 259.
Sadducees, the, the founder and
principles of, 23 ; interpret the

Mosaic law literally, 24 ; history
of, 24-5 ; in the Babylonian
Talmud, 37 ; in the Amida,
133, 134.
Safet, home of Solomon the
Levite, 233.
Sages (Rabbinical teachers), the,
persecuted under the Hasmo
neans, 25 ; favor Agrippa I, 26 ;
of the Mishna and their suc
cessors, 30 ; illustration of the
method of, 45 ; at Tiberias, ex
plain the four cups of wine at
the Seder, 48; on the Amida
of the "Additional," 78; on
preaching, 293 ; on modern lan
guages for prayer, 306.
See also Mishna, the.
Saladin, Maimonides physician
to, 40.
Salome, queen, and the Pharisees,
25, 135, 34°-
Salt, on the first morsel, a Phari
see custom, 24.
Salt-water, at the Seder, 358, 359.
Samaritans, the, sacrifice the
Passover lamb, 17 ; date of the
Pentecost among, 61 ; response
to the benedictions of, 105.
Samuel, head of the school at
Nehardea, 34, 36; order of
prayer fixed by, 34 ; " abstract
of the Eighteen" by, 139.
Samuel the Little, on the Amida,
133, 134-
Samuel ben Kalonymos, supposed
author of " Song of Glory,"
229.
Sanctification, the. See Kiddush,
the.
" Sanctification of the Name "
{Kedushath ha-Shem). See
Amida, the, the third Benedic
tion of.
"Sanctity of the Day." See
Amida, the, the Middle Bene
diction of, on days of rest.
Sanhedrin, the, the supreme body
in the Pharisee state, 24 ; directs
the dismissal of capital cases,
25 ; last president of, at Jeru
salem, 27; of Jamnia broken
up, 29 ; at Usha, 29 ; proclaims
the new moon, 57 ; adds a thir-

n

INDEXES

481

teenth month, 58 ; announces
the new moon, 61-2.
School of the Law, a, established
at Jamnia, 28; at Usha, 29.
See Babylonia, the schools of.
Scribes, Treatise of (Soferim),
date and contents of, 38; on
the morning hymns, 183, 184 ;
on the liturgy of the Ark, 282 ;
on the reading of Canticles and
Ruth, 2S4, 286 ; on the Book of
Esther, 2 86.
Scriptures, the, lessons from, in
the Synagogue, 20 ; quotations
from, in the Talmud, 37 ; fur
nished with vowel-signs, 38;
exegesis of, by Abraham Ibn
Ezra, 39 ; commentary on, by
Rashi, 41 ; Midrashic interpre
tation of, 44, 48 ; the holidays
in, 60-2 ; passages from, in the
Prayer Book, 82-3, 180-92 ; pas
sages from, precede the Kad
dish, 107 ; passages from, in
the confession of sins, 169-70,
172; double readings in, 252-3;
the accents of, 308.
Scroll, the. See Esther, theBook of.
Scrolls of the Law, rules for the
preparation of, 38 ; kept in the
Ark, 65 ; how written, 66 ; how
encased and ornamented, 66 ;
in the prayer for a new month,
219; prayer from the Zohar
when taken out, 241-2 ; sacred-
ness of, 247 ; the number of,
used, 256-7, 258, 259 ; liturgy on
removing, from the Ark, 278 ;
liturgy on " holding high," 280 ;
in Greek, 292 ; circuits with, on
the " Joy of the Law," 325-6.
Seburaim, teachers of the post-
Talmudic period, 38.
Seder, division of the Pentateuch,
250.
Seder, the, explanation of the
four cups of wine at, 48 ; Mid
rash in, 48; Hallel in, 180;
children ask the questions at,
337, 359"6o ; the Kiddush and
the four cups of wine at, 354 ;
the Mishna on, 356-7 ; constitu
ents of, 358; programme for,
358-66 ; the four sons of, 360-1.
31

Sefardim, the, origin of name of,
12; description of, 12 ; pronun
ciation of Hebrew by, 13-15;
the intoning of prayers by, 15 ;
tolerance of, 41 ; in touch with
the Ashkenazim, 42 ; accept the
Shulhan Aruch as authorita
tive, 43 ; colonies of, 43 ; name
of the Rabbi among, 68 ; late
introduction of the Mourners'
Kaddish among, no; originate
the accents, 311.
Sefer Tora. See Scrolls of the
Law.
Segan, the presiding officer at the
desk, 71.
Segol, an accent, 308.
Selah, explanation of, 114.
Seleucidae, the, referred to, 21.
Seleucus, the Era of, beginning of
the year in, 59 ; used in the
Books of Maccabees, etc., 62 ;
used by the Jews of Yemen, 63.
Selihoth, the, poetic compositions,
added to the confession of sins,
169, 223 ; pendant to, 169 ; in
troduction to, in the evening
service, 169-70; Biblical verses
in, 192 ; place of, in the ser
vices, 224-8, 230; characteris
tics of, 230 ; specimens of, 239-
40.
Selihoth-dzys, the order of con
fession on, 173.
Semahoth. See Joys, Treatise
of.
Separation. See Habdala.
Sepharad, identified with Spain,
12.
Sephiroth, the Ten, in the Cab
bala, 52 ; in the oldest prayers,
52 ; in the " Book of Forma
tion," 53.
Septuagint, the, transliteration of
Hebrew names in, 13 ; the Tetra
grammaton in, 84.
Seraphim, the, of Isaiah, 51.
Sermons, in the Synagogue, 11-12;
founded on Midrash and Ag
gadta, 48 ; in the Synagogues of
Galilee, 65 ; time of, 79.
" Service " {Aboda). See Amida,
the, the fifth Benediction of.
Service book. See Prayer Book.

482 JEWISH SER VICES IN SYNA GOG UE AND HOME

Services, the public, beginning
and prevalence of Reform in,
n ; modernized, i i-i 2 ; Hebrew
the language of, 13 ; number of
persons needful for, 67-8 ; iden
tity of, with home services, 75 ;
length of, 81 ; antiquity of. 87-8.
" Set Table," the. See Shulhan
Aruch.
Sevilla, birthplace of Abudraham,
41.
Shabbathai Tzebi, encouraged by
the Cabbala, 55.
Shammai, in Aboth, 197 ; saying
of, 197.
Shammai, the school of, rise of,
26 ; disputes of, with Hillel's
school, 27 ; on the " Sanctity of
the Day," 147 ; on the reading
of the Shema, 300.
Shammash, paid official under the
Parnas, 71, 274.
Shebarim, a Shofar tone, 320.
Shebat, name of the eleventh
month, 58 ; length of, 59.
Shechina, the, a phase of the
Deity, 50; rests on ten men
assembled for the worship of
God, 106 ; in the fifth Benedic
tion of the Amida, 117.
Sheelthoth u-Theshuboth,' the
decisions of the Geonim, 39.
Shekalim, one of the four distin
guished Sabbaths, 257-8; the
Haftara of, 271.
Sheliah Tzibbur, messenger of
the assembly, 69. See Leader,
the.
Shema, the, importance of, 75, 89 ;
Biblical warrant for, 75-6; as
recited by Rabbi Judah, 76 ;
time for reciting, 76, 79 ; bene
dictions before and after, 76, 89-
90; joined to the Amida, 77;
quoted and explained, 90-1 ; ad
dress before the benedictions
of (" breaking on the Shema "),
105-6, no, in, 261; and "poe
tries," 224, 225, 227-8; posture
during, 300; how to be read,
303, 305, 307 ! not read during
Shib'a, 330 ; at death, 333 ; as
taught to children, 335.
Shema, the, the evening benedic

tions of, named and quoted,
89-90, 91-3,, 210-n ; partly used
in the night prayer for chil
dren, 336.
See also Ahaba; Geulla.
Shema, the, the morning bene
dictions of, number of, 95 ; the
text of the first of, 95-6 ; analy
sis of the first of, 96-7 ; the text
-of the second of, ioo-;i ; analy
sis of the second of, 101-2 ; the
text of the third of, 102-3 ; an
alysis of the third of, 103-4 ;
poetical, 222.
Shemini Atzereth. See Booths,
the Feast of, the eighth day of.
Shemone Esre. See Amida, the.
Sheragga, a " holy name," 281.
Sherira, Gaon, historian, 39.
Sheva mobile, pronunciation of,
14, 17.
Shib'a, week of mourning, 329 ;
the services of, 329-31 ; for whom
kept, 330 ; how counted, 330.
Shofar (Cornet), the, the manner
of blowing, 319; the tones of,
319-20, 321 ; the "sitting sounds"
of, 320-1 ; benediction over, 32 1 ;
qualifications of him who blows,
321-2 ; not blown on Sabbath,
322.
" Shofaroth," Scriptural passages
in the New Year service, 155 ;
text of, 160-1 ; solemnity of,
161-2.
Shomer labboker, early morning
service, 173.
Shulhan, desk in the Synagogue,
66.
Shulhan Aruch, the, code, com
piled by Joseph Karo, 42 ; an
notated by Moses Isserles, 42 ;
rigor of, 42 ; contents of, 42-3 ;
authority of, 43 ; on the end of
the Amida, 120 ; on the Middle
Benediction of the Amida, 146 ;
on Abinu Malkenu, 170 ; on the
"reception of the Sabbath,"
188 ; on the reading of the Law,
261 ; on the use of Targum, 290 ;
on singing in the Synagogue,
305; quoted, 394, 431, 433.
See also Orah Hayim.
Shurek, pronunciation of, 14.

INDEXES

483

Siddur, the German prayer book,
223 ; the Col Bo edition of, 223.
Sidra, a section of the Mosaic
Law, 247.
Silluk, an accent, 308.
Silluk, "poetry," 226; on the Day
of Atonement, 229; on the New
Year, 237-8.
Simeon, brother of Judas Macca
beus, referred to, 22.
Simeon, Rabbi, sayings of, 198.
Simeon, the cotton dealer, on the
Amida, 133, 137.
Simeon the Just, date of the death
of , 2 1 ; last member of the Great
Synod, 21, 197 ; saying ascribed
to, 22.
Simeon bar Cochba, the rebellion
of, 29; supported by Jews of
Cyrenaica, 32.
Simeon ben Gamaliel, Patriarch
at Usha, 29 ; on the Day of
Atonement, 178 ; in Aboth, 197.
Simeon ben Johai, pretended au
thor of the Zohar, 54, 55.
Simeon ben Shetah, Pharisee
leader, 25 ; and grace after
meals, 340.
Simha of Vitry, publishes a Mah
zor, 41.
Simlai, teacher at Tiberias, 33.
Sivan, name of the third month,
58 ; length of, 59 ; Pentecost in,
61.
Slanderers {Malshinim), in the
Amida, 132-3.
Soferim. See Scribes, Treatise of.
Sof Pasuk, an accent, 308.
Solemn Days. See Atonement,
the Day of; New Year.
Solomon, prayer of, at the dedica
tion of the Temple, 66.
Solomon the Levite (Alkabets)
poet, 188, 233, 244.
Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), Pen
tateuch commentary by, 40, 41 ;
disciples of, 41, 42 ; an authority
in Spain, 42 ; on the Shema, 90 ;
on the phylacteries, 317; quoted,
383. 395, 404, 438.
Solomon Ibn Gebirol, poet, 39,
229, 234 ; " Song of Unity " by,
229, 234.
" Song of Glory," verse on the

phylacteries in, 48 ; supposed
author of, 229.
Song of Songs. See Canticles.
"Song of Unity," by Solomon
Ibn Gebirol, 229.
" Song of Zion," by Samuel Sul-
zer, 12.
Songs of Zion, by Mrs. Henry
Lucas, quoted, 231-2, 233, 235-6.
Soul, the, in the Cabbala, 53 ; five
names of, 229.
Spain, the Jews of, Sefardim, 12.
See Sefardim, the.
Spanish Age, the, of Jewish
literature, 39-41.
Spanish names used in the ser
vices, 281.
Spanish ritual, Jews of the. See
Sefardim.
Spice-box, at the Habdala, 351.
Study, importance of, 193 ; provis
ions for, in the liturgy, 193-202 ;
of the Law, benedictions over,
194-5-
Sulzer, Samuel, and Synagogue
music, 12.
Sun, the, worshipped by the Is
raelites, 97.
Sunday, the Day of Atonement
cannot occur on, 60 ; New Year
cannot occur on, 60.
Superstition, discountenanced by
the Tannaim, 30-1 ; in the
Babylonian Talmud, 36.
Sura (Mahasia), Abba Areka,
head of the school at, 34 ; the
discussions at, form the Baby
lonian Talmud, 35 ; regains im
portance, 38-9; seat of a cen
tral authority, 45, 216, 251.
See also Babylonia, the schools
of.
Susa, Purim in, 287.
Synagogue, the, beginning of,
64-5 ; name and place of the
platform in, 64 ; meaning of the
word, 65 ; mention of, in the
Gospels, 65 ; the Ark of, 65-6 ;
the scrolls of, 66 ; the desk of,
66 ; place of men and women in,
66-7 ; uses of the ante-room in,
67 ; furnished with benches and
chairs, 67 ; business officials of,
71 ; how fitted up, 299.

484 JEWISH SERVICES IN SYNAGOGUE AND HOME

Synod, the Great. See Great
Synod, the.
Syria, Jews in, 31-2.
Syriac, the Tetragrammaton in,
84.
Tabernacles, the Feast of. See
Booths, the Feast of.
Talith, prayer shawl, when and
by whom worn, 313.
Talmud, the, on the opposition
between the Pharisees and the
common people, 27 ; Baraitha
in, 30, 35 ; Rab and Samuel in,
34 ; code of, by Isaac Alfassi,
39; code of, by Maimonides,
40, 42 ; contents of, 44 ; protests
against anthropomorphisms, 49;
on the names of God, 52 ; the
benedictions in, 87-8 ; short form
of the Geulla in, 92-3 ; on the
introduction and close of the
Amida, 119, 120; on the
Hanucca and Purim insertions
in the Amida, 126; on the
"Kingdom" verses, 156; on
Abinu Malkenu, 164; on the
confession of sins, 166, 167 ; on
" Master of all Worlds," 207 ; on
the " Benediction of Song," 208,
269 ; on the reading of the Law,
249, 251 ; on the benedictions
over the Law, 262 ; on the divis
ions of the Law, 263 ; on the
Haftaroth, 273, 275 ; on the use
of Targum, 290 ; on kneeling,
301 ; on covering the head, 302 ;
studied in a sing-song, 311 ; on
the phylacteries, 316, 317; on
Shofar blowing, 320 ; on the
wedding benedictions, 333 ; on
the night prayer, 335 ; on the
grace after meals, 340, 341 ; on
Habdala, 351 ; on Kiddush, 354.
Talmud, the Babylonian, origin
and date of, 35 ; Baraitha pre
served in, 35, 37 ; the sayings of
Palestinian teachers in, 35 ; by
whom reduced to writing, 36 ;
" Epikuros " in, 36 ; the science
of, 36; liberality and morality
of, 36-7 ; on Pharisees and Sad
ducees, 37 ; language of, 37 ;
importance of, 37 ; commentary

on, by Rashi, 41 ; on the ninth
Middle Benediction of the
Amida, 133; on the "abstract
of the Eighteen," 138-9 ; passage
from, in the Polish liturgy, 201;
on the benedictions at rising,
203-4, 205; on the cycles of the
reading of the Law, 250, 252 ;
on the lessons from the Law,
258 ; on Shofar blowing, 320.
Talmud, the Jerusalem (Palestin
ian), the discussions at Tiberias,
33-4; on the growth of the
liturgy, 34 ; date of the comple
tion of, 35; language of, 37;
Midrash in, 45 ; on the Amida,
78, 137, 139; on the Ofannim,
97 ; on Shofar blowing, 320.
Tam. See Jacob Tam.
Tammuz, name of the fourth
month, 58 ; length of, 59 ; a fast
in, 62.
Tammuz, the Seventeenth of, fast
on, 62 ; Abinu Malkenu on, 164.
Tannaim, the, the period of, 22 ;
the second period of, 25-9 ; dis
countenance superstitious prac
tices, 30; suc'cessors to, 35.
Targum Jonathan, translation of
the Prophets, 290 ; used in the
thirteenth century, 290-1 ; used
by the Sefardim, 292.
Targum Onkelos, translation of
the Law, 289; origin of name,
289 ; peculiarities of, 289 ; regu
lation about the reading of, 289 ;
in Yemen, 290; in the Tal
mud and the Shulhan Aruch,
290.
Tarphon, Rabbi, saying of, 198.
Tav, pronunciation of, 14, 17.
" Teacher of the Perplexed," The,
by Maimonides, 40 ; meets with
opposition, 42.
Teba, Mishnic name of the Ark,
65-
Tebeth, name of the tenth month,
58 ; length of, 59 ; a fast in, 62 ;
number of scrolls used on the
New Moon of, 257.
Tebeth, the Tenth of, fast on, 62.
Tebir, an accent, 309.
Tefilla, the German prayer book,
223.

INDEXES

4«5

Tefilla, the. See Amida, the.
'Teki'a, a Shofar tone, 319, 320.
Teki'a gedola, a Shofar tone, 32 1 .
Telisha, an accent, 309.
Telisha Ketanna, an accent, 309,
Temple, the, of Herod, 25 ; lamen
tation for, 28-9 ; treated of, in
the Mishna, 30 ; fasts in com
memoration of, 62 ; worship of
song and prayer in, 64 ; prayer
towards, 66 ; the Amida recited
in, 78 ; the Tetragrammaton
pronounced in, 84, 174; the re
sponse customary in, 105 ;
Psalms recited in, 188.
Temple, the second, dedication
of, 19 ; finished, 20 ; the Shema
in, 90-1; the Amida in, 119;
the " Water Fetching House,"

the modern, misnamed,

324-5-
Temples, 67.
Ten Commandments, the, text of
Pentecost " poetries," 228 ; in
Jithro and Vaethhannan, 248 ;
the lesson for Pentecost, 254 ;
how honored, 262, 300 ; a Tar
gum of, 291.
Tephillin. See Phylacteries.
Teru'a, a Shofar tone, 320.
Teshuba, meanings of, 129.
Tetragrammaton, the, meaning
of, 52 ; the pronunciation of,
84; when pronounced as writ
ten, 84, 91, 174 ; miracles attrib
uted to, 84 ; in Targum Onkelos,
289 ; kneeling while pronounc
ing, 301.
Teutonic race, the, descent of, 12.
"Thanks" {Hodaia). See Ami
da, the, the sixth Benediction
of.
" Thanksgiving," second benedic
tion of grace after meals, 345.
Thirteen qualities of mercy, the,
in the Order of Confession,
169 ; recited before the Ark,
279.
Thirteen rules of R. Ishmael, in
the liturgy, 194.
Thrice-Holy (Kedusha), the, in
the benedictions of the Shema,
97 ; importance of the responses
in, 106; in the Amida, 1 14-16;

German and Sefardic variations
of, 1 15-16; to be said in com
pany, 188; and "poetries," 224,
225-6, 237.
Thunder, benediction over, 334-5.
Thursday, Psalm for, 188. See
Monday.
Tiberias, the Ashkenazic ritual
originates at, 15 ; seat of the Pa
triarchate, 33, 45 ; teachers of,
33, 35 ; Sages of, on the four
cups of wine at the Seder, 48.
Tifha, an accent, 309.
Tikkun (Arrangement), used on
Pentecost, 202.
Tithes, paid by the Pharisees, 24,
27 ; not discussed in the East,
35, 37-
Tishri, name of the seventh month,
58 ; beginning of the year in, 59 ;
length of, 59 ; occurrence of the
new moon in, 60; feasts in, 61 ;
fast in, 62.
Titus, referred to, 29, 62.
Toledo, Rosh Rabbi at, 42.
Tora, the. See Law, the Mosaic.
" Tosafists," Rashi's disciples and
successors, 41, 42.
Tosefoth, additions to Rashi's
Talmud commentary, 41.
Tosifta, the, contents of, 38.
Totafoth, frontlets, 314.
Tradition. See Law, the oral.
Tradition, the chain of, in Aboth,
197.
Transliteration of Hebrew, by
Greek letters, 13 ; system of,
13, 16.
Trinity, the, of the Cabbala, 55.
Tripoli, Jews in, 32.
Trope. See Accents.
Tsedukiyim. See Sadducees, the.
Tuesday, Psalm for, 188.
Turkey, the Jews of, Sefardim, 12;
Ashkenazim in, 13.
Turkey, the Sefardic Jews of, Cab
balistic interpolations in the
liturgy of, 243.
Tzere, pronunciation of, 14.
Tzitzith. See Fringes.
U-Ba le-Tzion (" A Redeemer will
come to Zion"), 187-8, 191, 214.
U-mippene hataenu, 150.

486 JE WISH SER VICES IN SYNA GOGUE AND HOME

U-nethanne tokefi " poetry " by
Amnon of Mainz, 237-8.
United States, the, the Reform
ritual in, 11.
Unleavened Bread {Matzd) to be
mentioned at the Seder, 357, 362.
Ur of the Chaldeans, Midrashic
interpretation of, 47.
Usha, school and Sanhedrin at,
29 ; a religious center, 32.
Vaethhannan, a division of the
Pentateuch, 248 ; when read,
249.
" Vehu Rahum, long," 186-7, 2I3-
Verse divisions, none in the scrolls
of the Law, 66 ; known to the
Mishna, 308.
Vespasianus, permits the estab
lishment of a school of the Law,
28.
Viddui. See Confession, Order
of.
Vienna, Synagogue music at, 12 ;
Portuguese Synagogue at, 16.
Vitry. See Mahzor Vitry.
Vorbeter, German name of
Hazan, 69.
Vorsanger, German name of
Hazan, 69.
Vowel-signs, the, origin of, 38 ;
none in the scrolls of the Law,
66, 260; none in the Prophets
formerly, 70.
Vows, remission of. See Col
Nidre.
Vulgate, the, and the translitera
tion of Hebrew names, 16 ; the
Tetragrammaton in, 84.
Washing of hands, the, a Phari
see custom, 24, 27 ; benediction
before, 204.
Watches, the, services of, 8i.
Wedding, services at the home,
332-3; supper, a, grace after
meals at, 345-6.
Wednesday, New Year cannot
occur on, 60 ; Psalm for, 188.
"Were our mouth full." See
" Benediction of Song."
Wheels {Ofannim), the, of Eze
kiel, 51 ; in the benedictions of
the Shema, 97.

Willow Day. See Booths, the
Feast of, the seventh day of.
Wine, grace after drinking, 346-7 ;
at the Kiddush, 349 ; at the
Habdala, 350, 35 1 ; at the Seder,
358.
Wisdom, interposed between God
and the world, 50.
Women, position of, in the Tal
mud, 36 ; and the reading of the
Law, 260; the "holy names"
of, 281 ; exempt from certain
observances, 312.
Word, the, interposed between
God and the world, 50.
Word-accent, the, observed by
the Sefardim, 15.
Work-day services, where held,
67 ; plan of, like those of holi
days, 75 ; three Amidas in, 79 ;
length of, 81 ; the Middle Bene
dictions of the Amida of, 128-
39 ; " Benediction of Song " in,
209-10.
World (Creation), the, the Era of,
in the Zohar, 55 ; in the Cuzari,
62-3 ; not known when intro
duced, 63.
"Worms, Rashi dies at, 41.
" Year of deeds." See Seleucus,
the Era of.
Year, the Jewish, two beginnings
of, 59-
Yekum Purkan, language of, 215,
216; objections to, 215 ; text of,
215-17 ; history of, 216.
Yemen, the Jews of, customs and
language of, 17 ; use the Era of
Seleucus, 63; use Targum On
kelos, 290 ; the Seder of, 366.
Yigdal. See Creed, the.
Zachor, one of the four distin
guished Sabbaths, 257-8; the
Haftara of, 271.
Zadok, disciple of Antigonus of
Socho, philosophy of, 23.
Zakef Gadol, an accent, 309.
Zakef Katon, an accent, 308.
Zarka, an accent, 309.
Zechariah, the Messianic prophe
cies of, revived, 26; angel in
the dream of, 51.

INDEXES

487

Zcmiroth, morning hymns, 224.
See Morning service, the.
Zerubbabel, leader of the first re
turn, 19 ; the first of the Chiefs
of tlie Exile, 34.
Zion, in the Prayer Book, 83.
" Zion," elegy by Jehuda Hallevi,
229.
Ziv, name of the second month, 58.
Zohar, the, the leading text-book

of the Cabbala, 54 ; author and
pretended author of, 54-5 ; con
tents and language of, 55 ; doc
trines of, 55; spread of,_ 55-6;
a prayer from, in the liturgy,
241-2, 243, 278.
Zulath, a "poetry," 225.
Zunz, restores the Pesikta, 273 ;
quoted, 372, 383, 393, 399, 418,
438-

PUBLICATIONS

JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA

HISTORY
HISTORY OF THE JEWS.— By Professor II. Graetz. $3.00 per
volume.
Vol. I. From -rnE Earliest Period to the Death of Simon the Mac-
cadee (135 b.c.e.). 553 pp.
Vol. II. From the Reign of Hyrcanus to the Completion of the
Babylonian Talmud (500 c.e.) 656 pp.
Vol. III. From the Completion of the Babylonian Talmud to the
Banishment of the Jews from England (1290 c.e.). 6*75
pp.
Vol. IV. From the Rise of the Kabbala (1270 c.e.) to the Perma
nent Settlement of the Marranos in Holland (1648 c.e.).
743 pp.
Vol. V. From the Chmielnicki Persecution in Poland (1648 c.e.)
to the Present Time. 766 pp.
Vol. VI. Containing a Memoir of the Author by Dr. Philipp Bloch,
an Index of the Five Volumes, Maps, and a Chronological
Table of Jewish History.
"It is a splendid production; one redounding to the benefit of Judaism
in America, and to the great and lasting credit of the Jewish Publication
Society." — " Pdbhus," Jewish Exponent.
OUTLINES OP JEWISH HISTORY. From the Return from
Babylon to the Present Time.— By Lady Magnus. Revised by
M. Fuiedlander. With three Maps, ;i Frontispiece, and Chrono
logical Tables. 388 pp. Library EditioD, $1.00 ; School Edition,
75 cents.
" The entire work is one of great interest ; it is written with moderation,
and yet with a fine enthusiasm for the great race which is set before the
reader's mind." — Atlantic Monthly.

PUBLICATIONS
A SKETCH OF JEWISH HISTORY.— By Gtjstav Karpeles.
109 pp. Boards. 30 cents. (Special Series No. 5.)
" It is written in clear and pleasant style, and gives a wonderfully good
bird's-eye view of the subject. ... I have not read anything with more inter
est myself for a long time, and can assure my public that a treat is in store
for all in its perusal." — " Nickerdown," Chicago Israelite.
JEWISH LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES.— By Israel Abra
hams. 452 pp. $1.75.
" Mr. Abrahams has really done a very good and useful piece of work.
He has taken up one side of mediaeval life, and given us the means of get
ting a thorough understanding of it." — Bookman.
OLD EUROPEAN JEWRIES.— By David Philipson. 281 pp.
$1.25. "Philipson's book is a very valuable historical and ethnographical con
tribution."- — Gustav Karpeles, Allgemeine Zeituvg des Judenthums.

THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS IN RUSSIA. -87 pp.
Paper. 25 cents. (Special Series No. 1.)
"The pamphlet is full of facts, and will inform people very fully in re
gard to tlie basis of the complaints made by the Jews against Russia." —
Public Opinion. ESSAYS AND MISCELLANEOUS WORKS
STUDIES IN JUDAISM.— By S. Schechter. 359 pp. $1.75.
"A mine of fresh information and fresh ideas, conveyed in a style that is
graceful and vivid and frequently witty." — I. Zangwill.
JEWISH LITERATURE AND OTHER ESSAYS.— By Gusta^
Karpeles. 404 pp. $1.25.
" The essays have the charm of an attractive style, combined with a sub
ject of great and varied interest." — Independent.
SABBATH HOURS. Thoughts— By Liebman Adler. 338 pp.
$1.25."Rabbi Adler was a man of strong and fertile mind, and his sermons
are eminently readable." — Sunday School Times.

PUBLICATIONS
SOME JEWISH WOMEN.— By Henry Zirndorp. 270 pp. $1.25.
"The side-lights which this book casts upon rabbinic life and thought will
attract readers." — Critic.

THE TALMUD. — By Arsene Darmesteter. Translated from tfie
French by Henrietta Szold. Boards. 30 cents. (Special Se
ries No. 4.)
"Few persons know what 'The Talmud' signifies. The booklet, with
tliis title  is mnltnm in parvo on this theme. That stupendous library of
rubbnnic lore is here described with a fulness and a clearness not surpassed
in many larger aud more pretentious works." — Dial.

THE TALMUD.— Reprinted from the " Literary Remains " of Eman
uel Deutsch. Boards. 30 cents. (Special Series No. 3.)
" When first published .... made its author, then one of the under-libra-
rians at the British Museum, famous, and still remains an admirable short
study." — Atlantic Monthly.

READINGS AND RECITATIONS. For Jewish Homes and
Schools. — Compiled by Isabel E. Cohen. 294 pp. $1.25.
" This book should be found in every Jewish home ; it should find its
way into every Jewish Sabbath-school ; for none will lay it aside without
feeling that a religion which could intone such songs and inspire such bards
has every claim upon the intelligent reverence of those in its household
born." — Emil G. Hirsch, Reform Advocate.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST CONVENTION OP THE
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN.— New York,
1896. 426 pp. $1.00.
"Among the many speeches recorded, we have found several of much
more than ordinary power." — Public Opinion.

PAPERS OF THE JEWISH WOMEN'S CONGRESS.— Chicago,
1893. 270 pp. $1.00.
"This collection interprets the motive force which actuates the daugh
ters of Israel under all life's circumstances, and it is certainly to the credit
of the Jewish women of America that they should have been able to so effect
ually voice the sentiments and thoughts that pervade their sex." — Jewish
World, London.

PUBLICATIONS
FICTION
DREAMERS OF THE GHETTO.— By I. Zangwill. 537 pp. $1.50.
Sold to Members only.
IN THE PALE. Stories and Legends of the Bussian Jews. — By
Henry Iliowizi. 367 pp. $1.25.
" Henry Iliowizi .... is a master of both humor and pathos, as is shown
in his book of stories and legends entitled ' In the Pale.' " — Sunday-School
Times.
CHILDREN OF THE GHETTO.— By I. Zangwill. 2 vols.
451 pp., 325 pp. $2.50.
"Nowhere else has been given us more realistic pictures of the sbabbi-
ness, the unwholesomeness, the close-packed human misery, the squalor, the
vulgarity, the sharp" struggle in the mean competition of life, in the Enst
Eud of London. . . . [But] there is a world of poetry, of dreams, of imagi
nation, of high calling, of intellectual subtlety even, iu which sordid London,
not Jewish, has no part nor lot." — Charles Dudley Warner, Harper's

RABBI AND PRIEST.— By Milton Goldsmith. 314 pp. $1.00.
"The author has attempted to depict faithfully the customs and prac
tices of the Russian people and government in connection with the Jewish
population of that country. The book is a strong and well-written story." —
Pvtilic Opinion.
THINK AND THANK.— By S. W. Cooper. Illustrated. 120 pp.
50 cents.
" Sir Moses Montefiore is the hero of this story. . . . ' Think and Thank.'
will please boys, and it will be found popular in Sunday-school libraries." —
New York Herald.
VOEGELE'S MARRIAGE AND OTHER TALES.— By Louis
Schnabel. 83 pp. Paper. 25 cents. (Special Series No. 2.)
"'The False Turn ' is a charming little sketch, and the humor of it very
delicate and amusing. ' Voegele's Marriage ' I find also very artistic and
interesting." — Emma Lazarus.

Publications sent from the Society's office post-paid. For sale by the Trade.
Special terms to schools and libraries.
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOGIETY GF AMERICA
1015 Areh Street (P. 0. Box 1164)
PHILADELPHIA. PA.