3 o^-i- ;> ij*>y TEXT-BOOK OP THE JEWISH EELIGION. TEXT-BOOK THE JEWISH RELIGION. M. FRIEDLANDER. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO., LT D 1891. Printed at the expense of the Jacob Franklin Trust Fund for the advancement of Judaism. The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved. PKEPACE. THE Text-Book of the Jewish Religion which is here- with offered to the Jewish public is an outline of a larger work which the author has prepared on the same subject. It is, however, complete in itself, and con- tains as much as we should like our younger children to know of our Holy Religion. Due regard has been paid to the Chief Rabbi's Code, which determined the substance and the form of this volume. A complete index shows how to use it for each standard; but the author did not deem it advisable to restrict the book exclusively to the requirements of the Code. The latter may be modified ; the progress of the Hebrew classes may, and we hope will, in course of time demand a higher standard. It was, therefore, preferred to give a short but complete exposition of the principles and the precepts of our Religion, in such a manner that the book may also be used as a guide for more advanced pupils. The analysis of the Prayer-Book will be found 209361 6 vi PREFACE. useful in teaching and learning the translation of the Prayers. It will facilitate the comprehension of the spirit and object of our Prayers, the general contents of which will thus be easily retained in memory even when the meaning of the single words is forgotten. In expounding the meaning of the various observ- ances in our religious life, it has been the aim of the author to kindle and to keep alive within the hearts of the younger generation feelings of love and respect for that Holy Faith which is the most precious treasure their elders have to offer them. The short form of Prayer prefixed to the Text-Book may serve as a not inappropriate beginning or con- clusion to each religious lesson. In conclusion, I beg to tender my best thanks to the Rev. S. Singer, who kindly placed his valu- able services at my disposal for the revision of this volume. M. FRIEDLANDER. JEWS' COLLEGE, Ileahvan 5650. CONTENTS. PACE SHORT FORM OP COMMANDMENTS, WITH EXPLANATIONS. FOR INFANTS AND FIRST STANDARD i TEN COMMANDMENTS, WITH EXPLANATIONS. FOR STANDARD II. 5 THE FESTIVALS. FOR STANDARD II 10 SABBATH AND FESTIVALS. FOR STANDARDS III., IV., AND V. 13-30 Sabbath and Festivals : General Principles . . . .13 Sabbath 15 The Festivals 17-30 D'KTIJ DVO* , Solemn Days 17-22 New- Year 18 Day of Atonement . . ...... .20 D^r) B6B>, The Three Festivals . , i . 22-30 Passover . . . . . * . . 23 The Seder . . -. . . , * .25 The Counting of the Omer k .-.-. . . .27 Feast of Weeks 28 Tabernacles . . , , . . .28 HISTORICAL FEASTS AND FASTS ...... 30-33 n3-13n, Feast of Dedication . . .'', . . -31 Purim 32 The Four Fasts . 32 TEXTS OF MORAL DUTIES, IN ENGLISH ..... 34 TEXTS OF MORAL DUTIES, IN HEBREW APPENDIX V. -94 THE THIRTEEN PRINCIPLES OF FAITH 37~52 Principles I.-IV. God and His Attributes . . . 37~43 First Principle : God the Creator 38 The Attributes of God 39 viii CONTENTS. PACJK Second Principle : Unity of God 39 Third Principle : Incorporeality of God . . . .40 His Omnipresence 41 Fourth Principle : Eternity of God 41 Fifth Principle : Omnipotence of God . . . . 41 His Kindness and Goodness 42 His Justice ......... 42 His Holiness and Perfection 43 Principles VI.-IX. Revelation and Prophecy . . 43-46 Sixth Principle : Prophets 44 Seventh Principle : Moses and his Prophetic Mission . 44 Eighth Principle : Integrity of the Torah . . -45 Ninth Principle : Immutability of the Divine Law . . 45 Principles X.-XIII. Providence and Justice . . 46-52 Tenth Principle : Omniscience of God . . . .46 Eleventh Principle : God's Justice . . . . -47 Twelfth Principle : Messiah . . . . . .48 Thirteenth Principle : The Immortality of the Soul Future Life ........ 50 DIVINE WORSHIP 53~59 General Principles 53 Prayers at Fixed Times S4~58 The Shema 55 The Amidah, or Eighteen Benedictions . . . .56 Morning Service 57 Musaph, Minchah, and Neilah 58 Evening Prayer ........ 58 Occasional Prayers ........ 58-59 Benedictions 58 Grace, flTBn n?12 59 OUTWARD SIGNS AS REMINDERS OF GOD'S PRESENCE . . 60-63 Mezuzah .......... 60 n^V 61 Tefillin 61 SIGNS OP GOD'S COVENANT 63 MORAL DUTIES 64-75 Duties towards God 64-66 Fear and Love of God 64 CONTENTS. ix PAGE Faith in God . . . . ' . . . . .65 Obedience . 65 Devotion ..... .... 65 Longing for Reconciliation with God . . . -65 Duties to our Fellow-Creatures ..... 66-74 Duties to our Fellow-Men 66-73 (a) General Duties . . . . . . 66-69 Love of our Fellow-Men 66 Honesty ........ 67 Charity . .68 (b) Special Duties . . . . . 69-73 Children towards their Parents . . .69 Friends towards each other . . . . 70 Husband and Wife towards each other . . 70 Citizens towards the State . . . -71 Individuals towards the Community . . .71 Duties towards Members of another Faith . 71 Towards Teachers, Scholars, the Old, the Sove- reign and the Government . . .72 Towards the Memory of Great and Good Men . 72 Kindness to Animals 73 Duties to Ourselves 74 THE DIETARY LAWS 78 TRADITION 81 THE JEWISH CALENDAR 83 APPENDICES. I. The Jewish Calendar 85 II. The Books of the Bible and Apocrypha , , , .88 III. Hebrew Text of the Ten Commandments . . . .92 IV. Hebrew Text of the Thirteen Principles . . . -93 V. Texts of Moral Duties in Hebrew ...... 94 VI. Benedictions Hebrew and English 96 CONTENTS. THE STANDARDS. PAGE Infants. Short Form of Ten Commandments (only the para- graphs printed in Italics) . . . .1-4 Standard I. The same, with Explanations . . . .1-4 II. Commmandments, with Explanations . . . 5-9 Sabbath and Festivals 10-12 Historical Feasts and Fasts (only the paragraphs printed in Italics) 3~33 III. Sabbath and Festivals (the paragraphs printed in Italics) I3-3O Texts of Moral Duties 34~3^ IV. The Thirteen Principles (all except the notes) 37~52 Love and Reverence of God .... 64-66 Sabbath and Festivals ; Historical Feasts and Fasts (all except the notes) . . . I3~33 Divine Worship (all except the notes) . . 53~59 m-1T?p, nW 60-61 Respect for Parents ..... 69-70 Respect for Teachers, and the Aged ... 72 Love of our Neighbour .... 66-68 Honesty and Truthfulness .... 75~76 V. The Calendar 83-84 Observances of each Festival (all, including notes) 13-33 Dietary Laws 78-80 Duties to our Neighbour .... 66-73 Kindness to Animals ..... 73~74 |^QJ^ 61-63 VI. Attributes of God 39-43 Prophecy ....... 43-46 Future Life ....... 50-52 l^DJjl ..,,.... 61-63 Loyalty . . j . , . . 7 1 Messiah , , . , . . 48-50 The Seder 25-27 Tradition ....... 81-83 n:n - -ns nsn^i nnns Lord ! let the words of Thy Law be pleasant in our mouth. May we know Thy Name, and study Thy Law. Unite our hearts in the love and the reverence of Thy Name. Amen. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. SHOKT FORM OF COMMANDMENTS, WITH EXPLANATIONS. (FOR INFANTS AND FIRST STANDARD.) I. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 1 These words were spoken by the Almighty to the Israelites, the same people who had been kept as slaves in Egypt, and who, through the mercy and goodness of the Almighty, were now standing as free men round Mount Sinai. Remembering what God did for our fathers at that time, we Jews ought to love God and obey His commandments. II. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. There is only one God. In our morning and even- ing prayers we say, " Hear, Israel, the Lord is our 1 A house of bondage is a house in which people are forced to work like slaves. A 2 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. God, the Lord is One." It is a great sin to offer up a prayer to any other being or to worship it as God. The things so worshipped are called idols, and those who sin in this way are called idol-worshippers, or idolaters, or heathen people. III. Thou slialt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. God is Holy,, and His name is holy. We must bear this in mind whenever we utter the name of God, whether in prayer, or in reading the Bible, or in our lessons, or on other occasions. The third command- ment tells us that we must not swear falsely, or even unnecessarily. If we pray without devotion, or read the Bible without attention, we sin and take the name of God in vain. IV. Rememler the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days slialt thou labour and do all thy work : but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work. Sabbath is a Hebrew word and means " rest " and " day of rest." From Friday evening, when Sabbath comes in, to Saturday night we must do no manner of work. We must not be lazy or idle, but must devote our time partly to prayer, reading the Bible, and listening to religious instruction, and partly to exercise and amusement. Sabbath is to us a day of holiness and cheerfulness. V. Honour thy father and thy mother. Children ought to find it easy to obey this command- TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 3 ment. They need only think of the goodness of their parents : how much they are loved by their parents ; what amount of care and trouble the parents take to make their children happy. Children who bear this in mind love their parents, try to make them happy by being good and obedient, and thus please the Almighty, who commanded us to honour our parents. VI. Thou shalt not murder. The most precious gift the Almighty has given us is life. To destroy the life of our fellow-man is a shocking thing. We must try our best to preserve and save life ; we must nurse the sick, and save those whom we see in danger. VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery. This commandment tells us that husband and and as a 16 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. sign, JliN, of our faith in God, the Creator of the Universe. " And the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever : for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed" (Exod. xxxi. 16, 17). " And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made" (Gen. ii. 3). The blessing and the holiness of the Sabbath were shown to the Israelites on the occasion of the manna. When this " food from heaven " was provided for them during their journeying from Egypt to Pales- tine, a certain measure, an omer, was collected every day for each person ; but on Fridays there was suffi- cient manna for a double portion, while on Sabbath no manna was found. The Israelites were thus taught to provide during the weekdays for the wants of Sabbath, and they were distinctly told " To-morrow (the seventh day) is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord ; bake that which you. will bake to-day, and seethe that which you will seethe ; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning" (Exod. xvi. 23). "Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day " (Ibid. xxxv. 3). Jeremiah exhorts his brethren as follows : " Thus saith the Lord, Take heed to yourselves and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem ; neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do you TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 17 any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day " (Jer. xvii. 2 I , s<7, meditations on God's Kingdom, Providence, and Revelation. NOTE 2. The preparation for these solemn days begins with the ist of Eli ul. Extra prayers, called JYinvp "prayers for forgiveness," are added to the ordinary service ; in the Spanish Ritual during the whole of Ellul, in the German Ritual during the week preceding New-year. They are continued during the ten penitential days. The shofar is blown in the German syna- gogues daily during the month of Ellul after the service, in the Spanish Synagogues between New-year and the Day of Atone- ment. NOTE 3. In some congregations there is a custom to walk in the afternoon of New-year along the banks of a river or the shore of the sea, in order to reflect on the purifying effect which water has on the body, and to be reminded of the necessity of seeking the means of purifying our soul repentance and God's mercy. An appropriate passage from Micah (vii. 18-20) is recited, and the custom has received its name, ^tyft, from the word ^ vtprjl and thou wilt cast, which occurs in the passage. HDD Ql> Day of Atonement. The tenth day of the seventh month, Tiskri, is the, most important of all the Holy days ; it is the Day of Atonement, on which " God will forgive you, declaring TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 21 you purified; from all your sins before the Lord shall you purify yourselves" (Lev. xvi. 30). It is a day of fasting, praying, and repenting. We confess our sins before the Almighty, and pray to Him for forgiveness. It is the greatest boon which we seek to obtain on this day, reconciliation with our Father in heaven ; but we can only fully obtain it after having honestly sought reconciliation with our fellow-men and with ourselves. The fasting begins on the ptll* of Tishri about sun- set, and lasts till the beginning of night on the follow- ing day. Thus it is said in the Pentateuch : " And this shall be a statute for ever unto you : that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict yourselves" (Lev. xvi. 29). "And it shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict yourselves in the ninth day of the month, at even ; from even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath " (Ibid, xxiii. 32). There are Jive services on the Day of Atonement : i. Evening Service, TnyQ ; 2. Morning Service, ^~]^ ; 3- Additional Service, ^WD ; 4. Afternoon Service, nrUD ; 5 Concluding Service, '"V^- 1 . An essential element in all these services is the Confession, "'H'l We must not merely confess our sins before the Almighty, but also regret that we have sinned, and re- solve to abstain from sinning in future. NOTE i. The confession of sins as contained in the Prayer- book is made by the whole community collectively ; and those who have not themselves committed the sins regret that they were unable to prevent them from being committed by others. 22 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. The form of the confession is therefore in the plural, " We have been guilty." NOTE 2. In the Afternoon Service the Book of Jonah is read in illustration of the effect of sincere repentance. NOTE 3. The Sabbath before the Day of Atonement is called rD-lt? T\3& because the Haphtarah, taken from Hosea (xiv. 2), begins m-tt? " return." ^:n thtf The three Festivals of Rejoicing. The literal meaning of Dl vtf is " three times." o T : T The two words form in the Pentateuch the beginning of the commandment concerning the three festivals. They signify also " three pilgrimages," and refer to the pilgrimages to Jerusalem which were connected with these festivals before the destruction of the Temple. These three festivals are : HDD Passover ; /tfynttf Feast of Weeks ; n^D Feast of Tabernacles. The three festivals have also this in common, that 1. They commemorate important events in our national history : Passover : the deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptian bondage. Feast of Weeks: the Revelation on Mount Sinai. Feast of Tabernacles : the travels of the Israelites through the Arabian desert and the Divine protection they enjoyed. 2. They are connected with the agriculture of Pales- tine : Passover is the feast of the early harvest. Feast of Weeks is the feast of the second harvest Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the ingathering of the fruit. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 23 3. Their celebration is also an expression of our belief in the three fundamental principles of our faith, viz. : Passover : the existence of the Supreme Euler, God. Feast of Weeks : Kevelation. Feast of Tabernacles : Providence. HD3 Passover. Passover is kept eight days, from the i$th of Nisan to the 22nd. It reminds us of the wonderful deliver- ance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. When God sent the last of the ten plagues, the slaying of the first-born, as a punishment over Egypt, there was no Egyptian house ivhere there ivas not a dead person, but the houses of the Israelites were passed over and no death occurred in them. It is also called 'HTH") fl ]V\ " The season of our liberation" When the Israelites left Egypt they went away in such haste that they had no time to prepare leavened bread; they could only take unleavened bread with them. In commemoration of this we are commanded to eat ^%, " unleavened bread" during the festival ; we are not allowed to eat any V-?7> " leavened bread" The festival is therefore called J")i*JBrr 3 n " Feast of unleavened bread" NOTE i. The various names of the festival apply to all the eight days ; but only the first two and the last two days are "holy convocations :" the four middle days are called "WISH ^in "the ordinary days of the festive season." The same is the case with the Feast of Tabernacles. The five middle days are nyten Vin t . NOTE 2. On "IJNSn 7in 7135? of Passover, or on one of the last two days, the Song of Solomon is read in addition to the 24 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. lessons from the Pentateuch, and the Prophets, because the Song of Solomon is interpreted as representing figuratively the history of the Israelites, including their departure from Egypt. In obedience to the commandment, " And there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee, in all thy borders" (Exod. xiii. 7), all leavened bread and everything con- taining any leaven is removed from the house. NOTE i. On the evening between the I3th and the I4th of Nisan, fpn np^2 "searching for the leavened bread" takes place. The house is searched, and all }*pn found is collected and kept in one place till the following day. On the I4th of Nisan, HDS 2^y only one meal of f*pn is taken, and that in the morning ; whatever ^DPI is then left is removed or destroyed, and this act is called }*!Dn "l-iya, "The removal of leavened bread." NOTE 2. The i4th of Nisan is kept by some as D^1D3 JV^F) " The fast of the first-horn," first-born males fasting till mid-day or till the evening. The fast has its origin in the piety and humility of our forefathers, who doubted whether they would be worthy of God's miraculous interference in their behalf, if the country were visited by a plague like "the slaying of the first- born" in Egypt. In commemoration of the deliverance from Egypt the Israelites were commanded to sacrifice a lamb in the afternoon of the 1 4th of Nisan, and to eat the flesh thereof, roasted with fire, in the evening, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Since the destruc- tion of the Temple all sacrifices have ceased ; we have therefore no Paschal lamb, but we eat, before the evening meal commences, unleavened bread (i^E?) and bitter herbs ("lilB). ^ ne latter reminds us of the bitter slavery of our forefathers in Egypt, and the nSO of their wonderful deliverance. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 25 The meal is preceded and followed by prayers, read- ings from tlie Bible and its ancient commentaries (Midrash) on the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, and singing of psalms and hymns. The book which contains this Home-Service is called ^"[^ " re- lating," scil. the history of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt; the whole service is called "HP, " Order," because it is customary to follow a fixed order in the proceedings of the evening, and the two first evenings of Passover are therefore called " Seder-evenings." It is a special duty of Jewish parents to utilise this evening service for the in- struction of the young, and to inculcate into their hearts the belief in God, the Supreme Euler of the universe. NOTE i. The name ""H^n is taken from the words of the commandment, "Thou shalt tell Pnanl. thy son on that day, saying, [I do these things] because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt " (Exod. xiii. 8). NOTE 2. The head of the family, or his substitute, who reads the service, lias before him on the table (i.) Three unleavened cakes (nitfO), two representing the ordi- nary two loaves of bread of Sabbaths and Festivals ; and one representing the "bread of affliction" (^y CD/?) peculiar to the Seder-evening ; this one is therefore broken into halves. (2.) Vegetables (DS~13) and salt-water, in which the vegetables are dipped. (3.) Bitter herbs (I'l'lE) and a sauce (05*110) in which the bitter herbs are dipped ; the former pi" 1 *?) being a symbol of the bitter bondage of the Israelites in Egypt, the rinnn a symbol of the clay and mortar of which the Israelites had to make bricks. (4.) Wine, of which four cups are taken in the course of the evening, as a sign of freedom and rejoicing. One cup is taken after Kiddush, one after the first part of the Hagadah, one afier Grace, and one after the second part of the Hagadah. They are to 26 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. remind us of the fulness of Israel's redemption from Egypt, in reference to which four different expressions are employed iu the Law vm'ini, vfr-vnj, fli?8J1 f 'nnp_!p s> " I will bring forth," " I will deliver," " I will redeem," and' " I will take " (Exod. vi. 6-7), these various terms referring to liberation from bondage, deliverance from service, redemption from all dependence on Egypr, and appointment as "the people of the Lord." An extra cup is poured in and kept ready for any guest that might coine. It is called " cup of Elijah." (5.) A roasted bone and a roasted egg, as a symbol of the Paschal lamb and the festive sacrifice (HD and HVjnV NOTE 3. The order of the Service may be summarised by the following Hebrew words : (i.) Bhg Say Kiddush (p. 14). (2.) Vn Washing. The reader washes his hands. (3.) D3"13 A small quantity of the vegetables dipped in salt water is taken, as was anciently the general custom to do before meals. (4-) TO! Dividing. One of the three fiVVQ is divided into two ; one half is put aside (p. 25, note 21). (5-) T3D Relating. The head of the family, in the paragraph beginning XOrp Nn? invites his guests to join the table ; ques- tions beginning "i3riCp3~rtJD " Why is different," are then put by one of the company, generally the youngest, with regard to the charac- teristics distinguishing the evening's proceedings, and the answer is supplied by the head of the family, who describes the miraculous way in which God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bond- age, and explains the object of HD^, Passover-lamb ; ITVO un- leavened bread ; and "n"ttp bitter herbs. (6.) | " 1 ->rn Washing the hands by the whole of the company. (7.) i"ISD K*U3 Two blessings are said : the ordinary blessing, tOi'isn said before eating bread, and a second one, which refers to the commandment of eating iTSO. Every one then partakes of the nSO (8.) ^1)13 "fnD Bitter herbs are then partaken of in two ways : first by themselves, and then together with rvsfp. (9-) ""D'W iC 1 ;^! U 16 toWe i s l^d. The ordinary meal is taken. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 27 (10.) |-lsy The half ITSO which has been laid aside, is now dis- tributed, so that the meal begins and ends with D-XD. It is called iOlp'BN " dessert." (i I.) TpS Say Grace. (12.) ??n Hallel, of which the first two paragraphs are recited before the meal, is now completed, togetlu-r with other psalms and hymns. (13.) ny"13 Conclusion. Prayer for the restoration of the Temple and the return of the Israelites to Zion. NOTE 4. The songs beginning JTIV 'D "IPItf and KH3 "in have been added, to illustrate in a popular form the doctrine of the Unity of God and the lesson of His Justice. IDtyn JITSD The Counting of the Omer. Passover, being also the feast of an early harvest, an offering of an OMER of the new barley was brought on the second day of Passover. From that day forty-nine days, or seven weeks, were counted, and on the fiftieth day, "the day of first-fruit offering" was celebrated. At pre- sent sacrifices are not offered; but the counting called "IDtyn JTT3D, "the counting of the Omer" is still observed. It begins on the second evening of Passover. The days between Passover and the Feast of Weeks, especially the month of lyar, were days of sore trouble to the Jews in the time of the Roman wars during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, and also at the period of the Crusades. We therefore abstain during the month of lyar from wedding festivities, and the like. The i8th of lyar, the 33rd of Omer p$yj $7) is excepted, because on that day the plague disappeared that had raged among the followers of Rabbi Akiba, a supporter of Barcochba, who was the leader of the Jews against the Romans. 28 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. JltyOlfl Feast of Weeks. T > The Feast of Weeks is kept on the 6th and the Jth days of Sivan. It derives its name from the counting of the seven preceding -weeks. It is called D^TOJirT QV and TiJiin nn ' Day of first-fruit offering " and " Harvest- feast; " it is a day of thanksgiving for the blessings of the harvest. On J"lty ; Q^ we celebrate also the anniversary of the Revelation on Mount Sinai, and the festival is therefore called 'Urni.n }F\^ ]2T, The season of the giving of our Law." On the first day of the festival the account of the Pievelation on Mount Sinai (Exod. xix. and xx.) is read during the Morning Service. On the second day, in addition to the lessons from the Pentateuch and the Prophets, the Book of Ruth is read, and for the follow- ing reasons : first, it contains an account of the harvest and the way in which the poor were formerly allowed to glean in the fields at harvest-time ; secondly, because it relates how Ruth abandoned idolatry and embraced the true faith, saying, " Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God " (Ruth i. 16). NOTE. The three days preceding the festival are called nfc?Vt? iy3an W "the three days of bordering" (see Exod. xix. 12). nlDD Tabernacles. The name j"PDp is used both in a wider and in a narrower sense : in the wider sense it includes the eighth and the ninth days of the festival, and in the narrower sense it applies only to thejirst seven days. The festival begins on the i$th of Tishri. It is called rt3D Tabernacles, because of the commandment : " Ye shall TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 29 dwell in booths seven days ; all that are Israelites ~born shall dwell in booths" (Lev. xxiii. 42). The object of this commandment is stated thus: " That your genera- tions may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt " (Ibid. 43). The booths are to remind us of the travels of the Israelites through the Arabian desert, and the Divine protection which the Israelites enjoyed. In fulfilment of this command we erect booths or tabernacles, and if we cannot make them in every respect our dwelling, we should at least take our meals in them. It is chiefly the covering ("=Pp) that deter- mines the temporary character of the Succah ; it consists generally of leaves, flowers, and branches of trees. The festival is also the feast of ingathering, 3H T^Nn, and we " rejoice before the Lord " with feelings of gratitude for the blessings which He has sent us. " And ye shall take unto you on the first day the fruit of the tree hadar, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of a thick-leaved tree, and willows of the brook : and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days " (Lev. xxiii. 40). In accordance with this commandment we take the four kinds, Q'^Q ~ J ^"?^' viz., citron, ^il-TlN ; palm- branch, 37 ! P ; myrtle, E'Cnr? ; and willows of the brook, J"n3"^ ; say appropriate blessings before taking them, and keep them in our hands during the recital of Hallel. NOTE I. These four species of plants represent the variety of the gifts bestowed upon us by the Almighty : one (the citron) having both a pleasant fragrance and a beautiful form ; another (the palm-branch), beauty of form ; the third (the myrtle), an agreeable fragrance ; and the fourth (the willows of the brook), 30 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. being remarkable neither for its appearance nor its odour. We are thankful to God for what He gives us, although our desires and wishes are not fully satisfied. NOTE 2. In ancient times the worshippers used to walk in procession round the altar with these "four kinds" in their hands. A similar custom is observed now at the end of the Musaf-Amidah. "We walk round the platform (no*3) in the middle of the synagogue, with lulab and e?rog in our hands, while reciting certain prayers called rrbyt^ii"^ because the word fcOl?K>in " help, 1 ' occurs frequently in them. NOTE 3. The seventh day of the festival is called N3T N3i?tt'in because the procession round the platform in the middle of the synagogue is repeated seven times, and additional prayers begin- ning N3]?t?in are offered. It is an old custom to take a few extra branches of the willow-tree on this day and keep them in our hand during these prayers. These branches, when shaken or struck, lose their leaves one after the other ; so do the trees from which the branches have been cut, and so also all other trees. But the rain and heat sent by God in due time gives them fresh life, and they produce new leaves. A similar experience is ours. The struggle for life reduces our strength and weakens our health ; cares and troubles discourage us. But faith in God and trust in His Providence renew our strength, our health improves, our cares and troubles are diminished, and we feel ourselves restored to fresh life. The last two days of the festival are called " the Eighth - day Festival" and Jrrtn " Rejoicing of the Law " (see p. 12). These two days, together with the preceding seven days, form " the season of our rejoicing" 13rinDt? JOf. NOTE. On rgvy WB> or on njfisn ^in r>2E> the Book of Koheleth is read, to remind us of the transient character of our life, and to teach us that the only way to true happiness is the fear of God and the obedience to His commandments. Historical Feasts and Fasts. Besides the festivals commanded in the Tor ah, we TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 31 celebrate also in the course of the year anniversaries of days of joy and days of sorrow. Of the former kind are n3n and D'Hia ; of the latter the gth of Alt and four other fasts. Feast of Dedication. On the 2$th of Kislev we begin to celebrate eight days of nsyn or Dedication, in commemoration of the victories of the Maccabees over Antiochus Epiphanes, Jang of Syria. This king had attempted to force the Jews to idolatry and to make them abandon the worship of the true God. The Jews, led by the Maccabees, resisted; and armed with faith in God they gained the victory over the large armies of the enemy. The Temple, which had been defiled by the heathen soldiers, was again purified, and the service of God re-established. For lighting the continual lamp ("PEn ^P.) pure oil was wanted, that had not been touched by the heathen. Only a small cruse of pure, oil was found, which was believed to be sufficient for one night ; but it sufficed for eight days, by which time a fresh supply could be procured. The Feast of Dedication is celebrated (i.) By lighting nayn lights, one on the first even- ing, and adding one light each successive evening, so that on the eighth evening eight lights are kindled. (2.) By giving expression to our feeling of grati- tude in psalms (^D) and prayers of thanks ( Qjj). NOTE. The na-IJn lights remind us, in the first place, of the reopening of the Temple and the resumption of the regular Temple service. But they are also intended to remind tis of the light of our holy religion, which Antiochus Epiphanes attempted in vain to extinguish ; it again shed forth its light, and shone brighter and brighter every successive day. 32 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. Purim. or p eas i of Lots" is celebrated on the of Adar (the Second Adar in a leap-year), in commemoration of the defeat of Hainan's wicked plans. Haman ivas chief minister to Ahasuerus, king of Persia, and planned to kill all the Jews in the Persian Em- pire, but the Almighty frustrated his designs through the agency of MORDECAI and his cousin ESTHER. The feast is called PURIM, that is, " lots," because Haman had cast lots in order to Jind out the day most favourable to his plans. "We celebrate Purlin 1 I ) By reading the book of Esther, which contains the history of Haman's wicked plans and their frus- tration. (2) By giving presents to our friends, and gifts to the poor (0?ta (3) By a festive meal (bnsa The I 3th of Adar, being the day appointed for the slaughter of the Jews, is now kept as a fast-day, and is called "inDK rw, " the Fast of Esther." The I 5th of Adar is called Shushan-Purim, because the Jews in Shushan continued to fight against the enemy on the I4th, and kept the feast on the iSth. The Four Fasts. There are four days kept as fast-days in commemo- ration of events connected with the fall of Jerusalem. They are called in the Bible (Zech. viii. 19) the fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 33 of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth. These days are the anniversaries of the commencement of the siege of Jerusalem (loth of Tcbeth), of the breach made in the wall (ijthof Tammuz), of the destruction of the Temple (gth of Ab\ and of the murder of Gedaliah ($rd of Tishri). The gth of Ab is kept as a day of fasting and mourning for the, destruction of the, Temple. According to tradition, loth the first and the second Temple were destroyed on the same day. NOTE i. These fasts begin with daybreak, except the fast of the Qth of Ab, which commences with the previous evening and lasts twenty-four hours. During the day the Lamentations of Jeremiah, various elegies called J"li^j? " Lamentations," and the Book of Job are read. NOTE 2. The Sabbath preceding the fast of Ab is called ri3B> flTn and the Sabbath following -1003 J"Gt? because the Haph- taroth on these Sabbaths (ch. i. and ch. xl. of Isaiah) begin respectively with the words pTH and -lErtf ; the one containing rebukes and threats, the other a message of comfort. TEXTS OF MORAL DUTIES. (FOR STANDARD III.) Love of God. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. vi. 5). Love of our fellow-men. " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord" (Lev. xix. 18). (a.) The love shown in our conduct towards those who have wronged or offended us : " Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart : thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy brother and not suffer sin upon him " (Ibid. 1 7). " Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people " (Ibid. 1 8). (5.) In our conduct toward those who are in need of help and sympathy : " Thou shalt not oppress a stranger ; for ye know the heart of a stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt : I am the Lord your God " (Exod. xxiii. 9). " If a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you ; and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt : I am the Lord your God" (Lev. xix. 33-34). 34 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 35 "Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child" (Exod. xxii. 20). " Thou shalt not defraud an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates" (Deut. xxiv. 14). " Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land" (Ibid. xv. 1 1). " If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury" (Exod. xxii. 24). (c.) In oor conduct toward the old : " Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God:- I am the- Lord " (Lev. xix. 32).. Personal Holiness. " Ye shall be holy : for I the Lord your God am holy" (Lev. xix. 2). (a.) Holiness shown in abstaining from acts and words that would degrade and disgrace us, such as dishonesty or slander : " Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another" (Lev. xix. 1 1). "Ye shall" do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard,. in weight, or in measure" (IHd. 35). " If you sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another" {I~bid. xxv. 14). " Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people " (Lev. xix. 1 6). " Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile " (Ps. xxxiv. 14). 36 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. (5.) In seeking to improve and to do what is right and noble : " Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn to do well" (Is. i. 16, 17). " He hath showed thee, man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ? " (Micah vi. 8). THE THIRTEEN PRINCIPLES OF FAITH. (FOR STANDARDS IV. AND VI.) The Thirteen Principles are divided into three groups: 1. The first five speak of God, fcnian ro&ttp 2. The next four speak of Divine Revelation, rnw nwn jo 3. 2%e as /owr spm& o/ Divine Providence and Justice, ' THE FIRST GROUP OF PRINCIPLES. God and His Attributes. The belief in God is the foundation of all religion. Belief in God is the conviction that there exists a Being who is the Creator and Ruler of the whole universe, to whom we are responsible for all our deeds, words, and thoughts. This Being we call God. We do not see Him ; we cannot form any definite notion or image of Him, for He is beyond all human imagi- nation and conception. We know Him from His works and His words. NOTE i. We notice that for everything in existence there is a cause that produced it ; that cause, again, owes its existence to another cause, and so on. There must, therefore, have been a 37 38 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. First Cause God, who is the source of all causes, the Creator of all things. NOTE 2. We look at the grandeur of nature as displayed in high mountains, mighty river?, large seas, the heavenly lumi- naries, &c., and we exclaim, " The heavens tell the glory of God, and the expanse declareth the work of His hand " (Ps. xix. 2) ; " How great are Thy works, Lord ! exceeding deep are Thy plans" (xcii. 6). Comp. Ps. civ. 24. NOTE 3. Not only in these grand things, but even in the smallest creature a wise and omnipotent Creator is recognised. Everywhere in nature we find order and regularity and evidence of the wisdom and the power of the Creator. NOTE 4. In the history of nations as well as of individuals, in the rise and fall of empires, in the good and in the evil fortunes of men, the working may be traced of the mighty though invisible hand of the Supreme Ruler. NOTE 5. In our own hearts there is a certain inborn notion of an invisible force that rules the universe. Such a notion is found among almost all nations of the earth. NOTE 6. The Divine messages communicated to us through His Prophets inform us about God, His existence and His attributes. The First Principle. "I firmly believe that God is the Creator and Eider of all creatures, and that He alone was, is, and will be the Maker of everything." The first lesson which the Bible teaches us is : " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth " (Gen. i. i). There was a time when the earth upon which we live, the heavens with all the suns, moons, and stars, did not exist : all these had a beginning at a cer- tain time, when the Will of God brought them into existence. " He spake, and it was done ; He com- manded, and it stood fast " (Ps. xxxiii. 9). NOTE. It is true we perceive the action of certain natural forces and laws, and connect them with the phenomena noticed by us. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 39 The part that such forces as light, heat, electricity, magnetism, gravitation, and the like play in nature is appointed to them by the Will of the Creator. When we say this or that has been pro- duced by light, heat, &c., we are correct in so far as the direct cause is concerned, but it is God who directs these forces. Or when we notice things, individuals, or species produced and developed according to the law of evolution, this law is dependent on the Divine Will. This principle is expressed in the first creed by the words, " And He alone was, is, and will be the Maker of every- thing." This is the meaning of the words : " He who renews con- stantly every day the work of the Creation" (Daily Prayers, Morning Service). The Attributes of God. The following are the attributes of God expressed in the first group of Principles : Unity, Incorporeality, Eternity, and Omnipotence. The Second Principle The Unity of God. " / firmly believe that the Creator is One ; that there is no Unity like unto His in any way ; and that He alone was, is, and will be our God." The Unity of God is frequently taught in the Bible. We repeat thrice daily : " Hear, Israel : the Lord is our God, the Lord is One " (Deut. vi. 4). It is for this belief that Jews have willingly sacrificed their life; for this belief they have suffered, and are still suffer- ing, martyrdom of all kinds ; this belief distinguishes our faith from that of other nations, but we see it gradually spreading, and hope to see it accepted by all mankind. The words " There is no Unity like unto His " have this meaning : We say of many a thing that it is one ; 40 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. we speak of one man, one house, &c., well knowing that there are other men, other houses, &c. But when we speak of One God, we rigidly exclude the existence of another God. Besides, one man, one house, &c., though being one, form a compound of several ele- ments. This is not the case with God. The words, " And He alone was, is, and will be our God," express our belief that there has never been, and there never will be, any other being with the divine attributes before mentioned, such as, e.g., has been assumed by Christians. TJiird Principle Incorporeality. " I firmly believe that God is Incorporeal, that He has not any corporeal qualities, and that nothing can be compared unto Him." God's Incorporeality is inseparable from His Unity, because a corporeal thing cannot be truly one and simple. Every corporeal thing consists of various elements, has different dimensions, &c. But God is Incorporeal. We cannot ascribe to Him length, breadth, or height ; He has no shape, and is not limited, like a body, by lines or surfaces ; His existence does not depend, like that of bodies, on certain conditions and circumstances, and is, therefore, unlimited in time and space. NOTE. If, nevertheless, in the Bible and in our prayers expres- sions occur like " hand," " foot," " finger," " voice," &c., of God, or " He went," " He descended," &c., expressions which imply a cor- poreal form, we have to understand them in a figurative sense. Such terms are called anthropomorphisms ; that is, terms borrowed from the qualities and the actions of man, and applied figuratively, in a spiritual sense, to God. We are more accustomed to corporeal TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 41 thing?, and \ve understand abstract ideas more easily by compar- ing them to corporeal things and figuratively expressing them in terms proper to the latter. In reality, however, God cannot be compared to His creatures. " To whom then will ye liken God 1 and what likeness will you compare unto Him 1 " (Isa. xl. 18). The Incorporeality of God necessarily implies Omnipresence. God is everywhere, sees and knows everything. " Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him 1 saith the Lord" (Jer. xxiii. 24). "Whither shall I go from thy spirit 1 or whither shall I flee from thy presence 1 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ; if I make my bed in the grave, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, and the light about me shall be night : even the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day : the darkness and the light are both alike to thee " (Ps. cxxxix. 7-14). Fourth Principle Eternity. " I firmly believe that God was the first, and will be the last." " Thy years are throughout all generations ; of old hast Thou laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure : yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment : as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed : but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end " (Ps. cii. 25-28). Fiftli Principle Omnipotence. " I firmly believe that it is God alone to whom we ought to pray, and that no other being ought to be addressed in prayer." 42 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. God is Omnipotent or Almighty : He can do every- thing, whilst any other being can only do as much as he is empowered by the Almighty to do. Nothing can do us good or harm if the Lord has not ordained it. He alone can fulfil our wishes, can save us from danger, can frustrate the schemes of our enemies and give our friends the means of assisting us. He alone, therefore, should be addressed in prayer ; to pray to any other being is useless and senseless. " Are there any among the vanities of the heathen that can cause rain ? or can the heavens give showers ? Art not thou he (that causeth rain, that giveth showers), Lord our God?" (Jer. xiv. 22). To God alone we pray, in Him alone we trust ; for He hath both the power and the will to do us good. NOTE. In addition to the above attributes there are others which frequently occur in the Bible and in the Prayer-book. The most important of them are : Kindness and Goodness, Justice, Holiness, and Perfection. Kindness and Goodness. God is all-kind, all-good. " God is good to all, and His mercy is over all His works" (Ps. cxlv. 9). The ways of God's goodness are manifold, and in our prayers we speak of God's thirteen attri- butes of goodness, nho rnb>JJ vfat? viz., " The Lord, the Lord is mighty, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness and truth ; keeping loving-kindness for thou- sands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation " (Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7). Justice. " The Eock, perfect is his work, for all his ways are just ; a God of faithfulness is he, and of no iniquity, just and right is TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 43 he " (Deut. xxxii. 4). <: God is just in all his ways, and kind in all his works" (Ps. cxlv. 17). If in some instances the divine gifts seem to our judgment to be distributed unjustly, we must bear in mind that our knowledge is imperfect ; we frequently mistake reward for punishment, and punishment for reward, and judge our neighbour more according to appearance than according to his true merits. (See Eleventh Principle.) Holiness and Perfection. We ascribe to God everything good and noble in the highest and most perfect degree. He is holy and His name is holy ; His name excludes everything unholy, common, and base. " For Thou art not a God that delighteth in injustice ; evil doth not dwell with Thee" (Ps. v. 5). " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts : His glory filleth the whole earth " (Isa. vi. 3). THE SECOND GKOUP OF PRINCIPLES. Revelation and Prophecy. A prophet, N^3 is a person who has received a divine communication and the charge to communicate it to his fellow-men. He has no other knowledge of the future but that revealed to him by God. In other things his knowledge is human and natural, such as is accessible to all. The process by which the prophets learn the Will of God is called Inspiration, and the prophet is an inspired man; that is, a man endowed with the Spirit of the Lord. The prophets were also holy men; their mind was filled with pure thoughts, their deeds were noble, and their conduct blameless. They were men of God, or servants of the Lord, because their life was wholly devoted to the service of the Lord. They were trustworthy men, and all their words are true. 44 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. NOTE i. Both, the Hebrew &O23 and the English "prophet" signify originally "speaker" (comp. Exod. vii. i). NOTE 2. Not all inspired men were prophets. Some of them had no message for their fellow-men. But the Spirit of the Lord that filled them impelled them to extraordinary deeds, or guided them in the production of useful and instructive books, or in their judgment upon good and evil, truth and falsehood. Prophets were : e.g., Moses, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, &c. Inspired men : e.g., the Patriarchs, Joshua, the Judges, David, Solomon, Daniel, and the men that fixed the Canon of the Holy Writings, i.e., decided which were the books that were written by Divine authority and contain the message of God to man. The prophets were not all alike ; they had different degrees of prophetic inspiration. As we, who are not prophets, cannot fully understand the real nature and method of prophecy, so we are unable to obtain a clear notion of the differences between one prophet and the other. We only know that Moses was the greatest prophet, and whilst other prophets received Divine mes- sages with regard to, occasional events, the word of God revealed to Moses contained permanent laws, " statutes for ever throughout all generations." The Divine messages of the prophets are con- tained in the Holy Writings. 1 However different the degrees of prophetic inspira- tion were with which the prophets were favoured, one thing was common to all of them ; their words were true, and this is expressed in the sixth principle, as follows : Sixth Principle. " I firmly believe that all the words of the prophets are true" Seventh Principle. " I firmly believe that the prophecy of our Teacher Moses was a prophecy in the truest sense of the word, 1 See Appendix II. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 45 and that he was the chief of all prophets, loth of those 'before him and those after him" The distinction between Moses and other prophets is expressed in the following words addressed by the Almighty to Aaron and Miriam : " If there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I make myself known unto him in a vision, in a dream I speak with him. Not so my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. Mouth to mouth I speak with him, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches, and he beholds the similitude of the Lord" (Num. xii. 68). It is further stated in the Pentateuch : " There did not rise again a prophet like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face " (Deut. xxxiv. 10). Eighth Principle. " / Jirmly believe that the Torah, at present in our hand, is the same that was given to our Teacher Moses, peace lie with him ! " The Torah has not undergone any change. It was anxiously guarded by the nation as a holy treasure. It was not the property of a class or caste, but be- longed to all. Even in periods of corruption and idolatry there were men who remained faithful to the Law, knew it thoroughly, and would have easily de- tected any alteration, if any person had dared to tamper with the Holy Treasure. Ninth Principle. " I Jirmly Relieve that this Law will not be changed, and that no other Law will be revealed ly tJie Creator, blessed be Sis name" 46 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. This principle is the expression of our belief in the immutability of the Torah. God, the Immutable, gave us also an immutable Law. All the prophets exhorted the Israelites to remain faithful to the Law, and the last of the prophets says in the name of God : " Re- member the Law of Moses, my servant " (Mai. iii. 22). NOTE. The belief in the immutability of the divine Law led our forefathers to reject Christianity and Islamism, both of which are based on a pretended revelation contrary to the Law of Moses. The immutability of the divine Law is also a test of the truth- fulness of a prophet : if he teaches anything contrary to the teach- ing of the Law he is a false prophet, in spite of whatever wonder- ful things he might be able to accomplish. "And thou shalt stone him, that he die, because he hath sought to drawthee away from the Lord thy God" (Deut. xiii. u). THE THIRD GROUP OF PRINCIPLES. Providence and Justice. The first five Principles having expressed our belief in God, His Unity, Incorporeality, Eternity, and Omni- potence, and the next four our belief in the fact that the Almighty has made His Will known to mankind through the prophets, the remaining Principles refer to the consequences of man's obedience or disobedience to the Will of his Creator. Tenth Principle. " I firmly believe, that God 'knows all the deeds of the sons of men, and all their thoughts ; as it is said, ' He who hath formed their hearts altogether, He knoweth all their deeds'" (Ps. xxxiii. 15). TEXT-BOOK OF THE JRWISH RELIGION. 47 Some believe that it is beneath the dignity of God to take notice of man's doings. The verse from the Psalms has therefore been added here as an argument, viz., if it was not beneath the dignity of God to create man and to form his heart, it cannot be beneath His dignity to watch him, and to take notice of his actions, his words, and his thoughts. " The great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts is His name ; great in counsel, and mighty in work : whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men " (Jer. xxxii. 1 8, 1 9). Eleventh Principle. " I firmly "believe that God rewards those who keep His commandments, and punishes those who transgress His commandments" Although the mere consciousness that whatsoever we do is seen and noticed by our All-kind, All-wise, and Almighty Father is our best reward and encourage- ment when we do something good, and our severest punishment when we do anything wrong, we are taught by the Word of God that other kinds of reward and punishment await us. The Bible contains many events illustrating this principle, and in fact it is the principal object of the writers of the history in the Bible to inculcate the lesson that God rewards and punishes man according as he deserves. "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land : but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword : for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" (Isa. i. 19, 20). 48 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. Twelfth Principle Messiah n^D. " I firmly believe that the Anointed (D^?) will come ; and although He tarries, I wait nevertheless every day for His coming" The Israelites were chosen by God to be " a king- dom of priests and a holy nation " (Exod. xix. 6). As a kingdom of priests they had to spread the know- ledge and the worship of God ; as a holy nation they were expected to become an example of goodness and righteousness to all people. Palestine was given to them as inheritance, and Zion or Jerusalem was their religious centre : " For out of Zion shall go forth in- struction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem " (Isa. ii. 3). The sins of Israel have brought about the loss of their independence as a nation, of their land and Temple, that is, their national as well as their religious centre. But the Divine decree that ordered the exile of our nation has also promised the restoration of Israel, when by love of God, by an earnest desire to fulfil His commandments, and by leading a virtuous and holy life, the Israelites will make themselves worthy of this Divine blessing. A descendant of the house of David, a human being, and not any more of Divine descent than any other man, will then be anointed * 1 It was in ancient times the custom to anoint persons when ap- pointed to important offices, such as kings, priests, and prophets. " Anointed " became, therefore, in Hebrew identical with " appointed." Cyrus, e.y., was "anointed" to conquer Babylon and liberate the captive Jews. The Israelites are the " anointed of the Lord " to teach all mankind by their own good example the true faith and the true worship of God. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 49 to be at the head of our nation, and a source of peace and happiness to all mankind. NOTE. By the Messianic time or "the days of the anointed" (rWlpn JYID'), the chief of our national hopes, we mean (i) the days of the restoration of Israel to the Holy Land, the rebuilding ot the Temple in Jerusalem, the resumption of the Divine Service therein, and the return of the Divine Glory (nV3!J') to Zion ; (2) the days of universal cessation of warfare, and the highest development of all human virtues and happiness. The characteristics of the Messianic days are given by the prophets as follows : "And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go np to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; and He will teach us of His ways, and \ve will walk in His paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge between the nations and shall decide for many peoples : and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isa. ii. 2-4). "And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid : and the calf and the young lion and the falling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed : their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor de- stroy in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall be lull of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Ibid. xi. 6-9). " On that day shall the Lord be One, and His name One " (Zee. xiv. 9). "Then will I turn to the peoples a pure langunge that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent" (Zeph. iii. 9 . At various times men have come forward as Messiah or prophet ; D So TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. but they satisfied neither the conditions of Messiah nor those of a true prophet. We therefore continue in our hope and in our faith that the word of God spoken by His prophets " shall not return unto Him void, but it shall accomplish that which He pi ease th, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto He sent it" (Isa. Iv. 11), that the promised Messiah will come, and with him the blessings of the Messianic time. Thirteenth Principle Future Life. " I firmly believe that there will be a resurrection of the dead, at the time ivhen it shall please the Creator, blessed be His name /" NOTE. The enjoyment and the loss of life, health, wealth, and honour are frequently mentioned in the Bible as reward and punishment for good and bad conduct respectively. Life, health, wealth, and honour are intelligible to the multitude ; they are most hoped for, and their loss most feared. They form the basis of the prosperity of a nation, and as in the Bible the Israelites are generally addressed as a nation, it is natural that the acquisi- tion of these blessings should form the reward of the Israelites for obedience to the word of God, their loss the punishment for disobedience. But for the individual the possession of these advantages, how- ever pleasant, is no real blessing, no true happiness. Short is the time during which the individual can enjoy these gifts ; they do not follow him in death, and are sometimes the source of grief and misery. " Riches are sometimes kept by the owner thereof to his hurt" (Eccles. v. 12). A better and a lasting reward our just and kind Father has prepared for those of His children who love Him truly and obey His commandments. Our existence does not end with death. Two ele- ments are contained in man body and soul. The soul is the nobler and the better element. It is the soul that makes man an image of God, and gives him superiority over the rest of the creation. In death TEXT-BOOK OP THE JEWISH RELIGION. 51 the body returns to the earth whence it came, and the soul returns to God who put it into the body (Eccles. xii. 7). NOTE. The soul of man is not of the sarae nature as the soul of other living beings ; the latter is merely their vital faculty, and cornea to an end with the body. We need only carefully read the history of the Creation, and we shall see that the soul of man is "the breath of life" D^n DEEO which He breathed into man's nos- trils, and this " breath, of the Almighty " is immortal. After man's death, which is merely a separation of body and soul, the elements which, united, form his life, the body returns to the earth, and resolves itself into its various parts, but the soul continues to live for ever. The life of the soul in the separate state is called "future life" or "the world to come" K3H ck\yn. It is the life in which, as our Sages say, " there is no eating or drinking, or any other of eanhly enjoyments, but the enjoyment of continually beholding the splendour of the Divine glory.'"' There the righteous receive the true reward, and the wicked the true punishment; and what a terrible punishment it must be to be excluded from the presence of the Divine glory even for a moment! Such a moment of agony is not compensated for by all the pleasures of the eanh ! For " better is one moment of bliss in the future life earned by good deeds than all earthly happiness :j (Abothiv. 18). But the consciousness of having accomplished a good deed is the greatest happiness, for " one moment of improvement and good deeds here on eurth outweighs all the enjoyment of the future life" (Ibid.). We cannot correctly picture to ourselves the enjoyment or the nature of the future life. What we read of it in Talmud, Mid- rash, and other books must be taken in a figurative sense. We speak figuratively of the JHJ? JJ Garden of Eden or Paradise, as the future abode of the good ; of DIDH fc^j the valley of Hinnom (hell), ;is the future abode of the wicked, because these names are suggestive of the greatest possible pleasure and the greatest possible pain. The soul of man continues to live after its separation from the body ; new life is thus given to man after 52 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. his death, and the transition into the new life is called Q"W3PI rvnn Revival or Resurrection of the dead. Whether the soul will enjoy a second life on earth united with the body, and if so, how and when this reunion will take place, is unknown to us. We feel convinced that there will be a second life after the life here on earth is completed, but we are unable to clearly define or describe that life. The belief that the soul continues to live after man's death is also called the belief in the Immortality of the Soul. " My flesh and my heart faileth, but God shall be the strength of my heart and my portion for ever " (Ps. Ixxiii. 26). " And after my skin, when this body is destroyed, and when my flesh is gone, I shall see God" (Job xix. 26). " As for me, I will behold thy face in righteous- ness: I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness" (Ps. xvii. 15). DIVINE WORSHIP. (STANDARD IV.) "YE shall serve the Lord your God" (Exod.xxiii. 25). Prayer 1 is one of the many ways of serving the Lord. We call it Divine Service. We may pray to God and pour out our heart before the Almighty all day long in any way or in any language we choose. The merit of prayer does not lie in what we utter, but in the feelings that occupy our heart while we pray. Our Sages have expressed this principle in the fol- lowing way : " Better a little with devotion ( n ?J?) than much without devotion." " Prayer without devotion is like a body without the soul." " During prayer bear in mind before whom thou standest : before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He ! " Decorous conduct is an essential of genuine prayer. Its absence during our prayer shows that we are not J The Hebrew n?Qri " prayer," is derived from b?3 " to judge," and originally signifies "judgment." The name H72PI therefore implies that before we approach God with our petition we ought to try our- selves and judge whether we have purified our heart from everything that would make us unworthy of addressing the Most Holy. 53 54 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. thinking of the All-holy Being to whom our words are spoken, or that we feel no respect for Him. Our direct object in praying to God is to commune with Him, to give expression to our feelings of rever- ence and gratitude, and to ask for His blessings. One of the chief effects of prayer, however, is the ele- vation of our thoughts, the purification of our heart, and the improvement of our conduct. NOTE. In order to foster a disposition for devotion and faci- litate its expression, it was necessary to fix to some extent the time, the form, and the contents of the prayer, without, however, restraining the free effusion of the heart before our Heavenly Father. Such rules are especially necessary for !"l?SP> "1135J3 "public Divine worship." Although we constantly enjoy the blessings of God, the very breath we breathe being the gift of our Heavenly Father, certain reasons of the day, of the week, of the month, and of the year, and certain occasions and events, have been selected as especially fit for reminding us of God's kindness and predisposing our heart to devotion. In the day, the beginning, the middle, and the end, or morning, afternoon, and evening have been selected ; in the week, Sabbath ; in the month, New-moon ; in the year, the Festivals. To these must be added all occasions on which we experience a special feeling of pleasure or grief. Our prayers are therefore divided into (i) prayers at fixed- times, and (2) occasional prayers. i. Prayers at F'ixed Times. " In the evening, and in the morning, and at noon I meditate and cry, and He hears my voice " (Ps. Iv. 1 8). We read of Daniel that he prayed to God throe times every day (Dan. vi. 1 1 ). These daily prayers are accordingly called : ^IW? Evening-prayer ; JTnn^ Morning-prayer, and HH3D Afternoon-prayer. On TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 53 Sabbath, New-moon, and Festivals an " additional prayer " ^DIO is inserted between the Morning and the Afternoon Services ; and on the Day of Atonement we have a fifth prayer n7>jn " conclusion," after '"iri3. The term '"VBfi " prayer," in its wider sense includes : (i.) Prayer in its proper sense : petition. (2.) Praises. (3.) Thanksgiving. (4.) Meditations on God and on our duties. (5.) Confessions. (6.) Readings from Biblical and post-Biblical sacred literature. flpSfl is used in a narrower sense of the Amidah (prayer offered up with- standing) or Shemoneh-esreh (Eighteen Benedictions). The chief sections of our daily prayer are VftW ami The Reading of Skema, In obedience to the precept, " Thou sbalt speak of them i.e., " the words which I command thee this day " when thou liest down and when thou risest," three sections of the Torah are read daily in the morning and in the evening, viz., ( I ) Deut. vi. 4-9, beginning yW "hear;"'' (2) Ibid. xi. 13-21, beginning JJDB> DX nTH " If ye will diligently hearken ; " (3) Num. xv. 37-4 1 , beginning ~tt?N^ " And he said." The first section, yV teaches the Unity of God, and our duty to love this One God with all our heart, to make His Word the subject of our constant meditation, and to instil it into the heart of the young. The second section, $VW OK nTO, contains the lesson of reward and punishment : that our success depends on our obedience to the Will of God. This important truth must constantly be kept before our eyes and the eyes of our children. 56 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. The third section, ~"5*^! contains the commandment of nyv " fringes," the object of which is to remind us of God's precepts : " Ye shall see it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that ye seek not after your own heart and ycur own eyes, after which ye use to go astray, that ye remember and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God." The reading of Shema is preceded by two ^1^7? ( r ) Praise of the Creator for the regular sequence of day and night, light and darkness. (2.) Praise of His goodness in giving us the Torah, and prayer for His assistance in the study of the Torah. The S/iema is followed by a reflection on the last words of the third section, "I am the Lord your God," and an expression of our faith in the truth of these words, which imply that God will in future redeem Israel. In the evening this blessing is followed by another containing a prayer for protection during the night. The Eighteen Benedictions, y?y tov or This prayer contained originally eighteen para- graphs, compiled and arranged by the men of the Great Synagogue ""PVian np33 ""BON. Later on, when attempts were made by evil-minded persons to frus- trate the national hopes of the Messianic time, the nineteenth paragraph (D^TyPE^) was added, praying for the defeat of the schemes of these men. NOTE. The first three paragraphs contain praise of God's good- ness to us, the descendants of the pious patriarchs (i), His omni- potence (2), His holiness (3). TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 57 The next thirteen paragraph* are petitions for our individual and national well-being ; for our individual well-being (4-9) : for reason and wisdom (4), assistance in our endeavour to return to God (5), forgiveness of our sins (6), deliverance from trouble (7), from illness (8), and from want (9). For our national \\ ell-being (10-1 5) : for bringing together those who are scattered (10), under good leaders (n), protected from the evil designs of opponents (12); for support of the faithful (13), rebuilding of Jerusalem (14), and the advent of Messiah (15). The sixteenth paragraph is a prayer that our petition may be accepted (16). The last ihree paragraphs include a petition for the re-establish- ment of Divine Service in the Temple of Jerusalem (17), thanks- giving (18), and prayer f<>r peace and prosperity (19). Having finished our prayer, we express our wish ihat our lips, from which prayer to God has coine forth, may not be defiled by unworthy language. On Sal/bath, Holy days, and Musaph of New-moon the thirteen middle paragraphs are replaced by one; in Musaph of New-year by three. Morning Service, 1^0^ Besides SJiema and Amidah the service contains: (i) "lIYJJn "Blessings of the morning," referring to the change from night to day, from sleep to fresh life, from rest to activity; (2) Sacrifices: passages fiom the Bible and post -Biblical writings referring to the daily sacrificial service ; (3.) D*")iCTO or *i?;1D? iOpn Psalm?, and the Seng of Moses ; (4) D'punri Supplications of various kinds ; the whole concluding witii (5) Thanksgiving for the privilege of proclaiming the Unity of God. and the expression of our hope to see the worship of the One God adopted by all mankind. This prayer, beginning with the words n2^P Wy]) "it is our duty to praise," is called -I^V- On Monday*, Thursdays, New-moon day, Sabbath, and Festivals Headings from the Law (iTTtfin niO~)p) form part of the Service. The praj er for the e-stablisninent of the general worship of the One God is also contained in the Kuddish t^j? "sauctification," 58 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. recited in various forms in Synagogue by the Reader, and also by- Mourner?. The latter recite it in order to express tlieir faith in God and resignation to His Will. Additional Service, *lp} On Sabbath, New- moon, arc! Holy days the second part of the Morning Service is called f]p-1D "Additional Service," the essential parts of which are the Amidah, Alenu, and Kaddish. 1 Afternoon Service, ^^D and nJtt The chief parts of this service are Ps. cxlv., Amidah, Sup- plications (XHFl), Alenu, and Kaddish. 1 Ndlah on the Day of Atonement consists chiefly of the Amidah. Evening Prayer, This service consists of Shema, Amidah, A lenu, and Kaddish. 1 In some congregations a few psalms are added. In the house of mourning Ps. xlix. or xvi. is recited. NOTE i. Additions are sometimes made to the ordinary prayers: (i.) Selichoth, prayers for forgiveness, on fast-days, peni- tential days, and in the month of Ellul. (2.) Piyyutim, poetical compositions added on Festivals and certain Sabbaths. (?.) Maar- aboth, poetical compositions added to the Evening Prayer. NOTE 2. These services are read either in Synagogue or at home. In addition to these there is a Night-prayer said at home before retiring to rest ; the essential element in it is the first section of Sliema, and it is called HE^n Si'g reading of SJiema before going to bed. 2. Occasional Prayers. Benedictions, The feeling of our dependence on the goodness of God must constantly be present to our mind. Whatever ue enjoy, whether it be eating or drinking, or some pleasing or remarkable sight, an agreeable f-mell, a festivity on a joyful event, or the performance of a Divine commandment ( n JVP) ; whatever befall us, whether it be 1 Kaddish is omitted when prayers are not said with a congregation. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 59- pleasant or unpleasant all this we consider as sent to us by the Will of the Almighty, and we express our conviction by a suitable blessing, ^51^- There is the general rule : It is unlawful for man to enjoy anything on earth without previoiisly acknowledg- ing by a i^rni! that God is the source whence the enjoyment ia derived. For different cases different forms of the Hp^S have been fixed. 1 Grace, firsn nra One of the most important of these benedictions is the prayer after meals, fysn J"D"Q " the benediction for food," or Grace. It is also called " the three bene- dictions," ni3"i3 W?W because originally it consisted of three benedictions : ( I ) Praise of God's providential care of all creatures: l*n ro"]2 ; (2) thanks for our food, as well as for our national gifts, Palestine, the Cove- nant, and the Law: n&n'ifl " thanksgiving," or pxn nrna " blessing for the land ; " (3) prayer for the restoration of Zion and the rebuilding of the Temple : BJ$9i i $3. In the course of time a fourth blessing was added (ITOsrn nitsn) in commemoration of the relief given to the Jews after the close of the war with Hadrian. On special occasions, such as weddings and the like, appro- priate additions are made. When three grown-up male persons or more have their meal together, a special introductory form is used, called ftBT ; that is, one of the company acts as reader, and the rest form the congregation. NOTE. Before meals we wash our hands, say the blessing Q?7/ T l^t?3 ^y, and eat a piece of bread, after having said the blessing 1 See Appendix VT. OUTWARD SIGNS AS REMINDERS OF GOD'S PRESENCE. (FOR STANDARDS IV. AND VI.) " Set up for thyself signs," in order not to forget those things which ought to be remembered. Although the best reminder of God's presence is the voice that speaks to us from within, out of our conscience, we nevertheless are liable, as human beings, to forget im- portant duties in the absence of an outward reminder. The Law has appointed three such reminders : HTMD " doorpost-ornament," HV'y " fringe," and ppSUji " orna- ment." i. nnrp Doorpost- Symbol. The Mezuzoh is a piece of parchment on which the two first paragraphs of Shema (Deut. vi. 49 and xi. 1 3-20) are written. The parchment is rolled to- gether, pat into a small case, and fixed on the right- hand doorpost. A small opening is left in the case, where the word "^ " Almighty," written on the back of the scroll, is visible. The object of the mezuzali is to remind us of the pre- sence of God, of His Unity, Providence, and Omnipo- tence, both on entering our home and on leaving it ; of the all-seeing eye that watches us, and of the Almighty TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 6 1 who will one day call us to account for our deeds, words, and thoughts. The mezuzah thus serves to sanc- tify our dwelling and protect it from being polluted by evil deeds. 2. T\YV Fringes. " Thou shalt make unto thee fringes upon the four corners of thy garment wherewith thou coverest thy- self" (Deut. xx. 12). The object of this command- ment is explained in the third section of Skema : " Ye shall look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord." We fulfil this commandment in two ways: (i.) We wear the whole day a small garment with four corners each of which is provided with ny? * It is called flap ivta or rfwa jmn (2.) During the morn- ing-prayer on the Day of Atonement all day long we wear over our garments a Hvtp (scarf), having ny^f on its four corners. Before putting on the flytp we say a blessing (roi3) } thanking God for having given us this commandment. 3. r! 1 Ornament. 2 " Thou shalt bind them as a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for a frontlet between thine eyes" (Deut. vi. 8). This commandment occurs in almost the same words four times in the Torah, twice in the admits of two meanings, (i) "fringes" or "tassel," (2) " something to look upon." * So called because worn in the morning during H^Dri " prayers." The name | 'pipPl may also be derived from ^DH " to join closely," " to attach," and would thus signify an ornament closely attached to the bodv. 62 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. first two sections of the Shema, and twice in the first two paragraphs of the 1 3th chapter of Exodus. The object of this commandment is to direct our thoughts to God and His goodness, and to impress certain lessons on our mind. NOTE. Tradition has acquainted us with the way in which this law is to be carried out. The four paragraphs that make mention of the commandment of the Tefillin, viz., I, tJ'iJE (Exod. xiii. i- 10) ; 2, y&y. 3 nm (Ibid. 11-16) ; 3, VEE? (Deut. vi. 4-9) ; 4, JlbB* DN rvni (Ibid. xi. 13-20), are twice written down on slips of parchment ; each set is put into a leather case (J"P3) and by means of leather straps (nij?-1V"1) bound on the arm (T />' IvQR^ * * * t * f v V '*/ "for a sign," and on the head (&^&O ?^' IY?^) "for a memorial." Before putting on the tefillin an appropriate blessing is said re- ferring to the commandment of tefillin. The lessons of which the tefillin are intended to remind us are set forth in the four para- graphs as follows : 1. The first paragraph teaches that we must, in various ways, express our belief in God as the King and Ruler of the universe. Two laws are mentioned in this paragraph which serve this object the BM notification of the first-born to the service of the Lord, and the celebration of the Feast of unleavened cakes. 2. The second paragraph reminds us of the wonderful way in which Go 1 delivered our forefathers from Egyptian bondage. Remembering this deliverance, we are strengthened in our faith in God in days of trouble ; for His ways are not ours, and when v', do not see any prospect of relief God may be preparing help for us. 3. The third paragraph (U'P^) proclaims the Unity of God, and teaches us to love God and obey Him out of love. 4. The fourth paragraph teaches that Providence deals with men according to their merits, according as each deserves reward .or punishment. We lay the tefillin on the arm near the heart, and on the bend, and whilst doing so we are reminded of our duty to employ the thoughts that rise in our mind, and the desires of our heart, in the service oi' the Lord, who gave us the powers of though t and will. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 63 The tefillin may thus be considered as an outward sign of our inner belief in God : we therefore do not put them on on Sabbaths and Festivals, the very observation of which is itself a sign (JTlX) of our belief in God, the Creator of the universe. The laying of the tefillin is obligatory for all males from their thirteenth birthday. With the completion of his thirteenth year a boy becomes of age in refer- ence to the fulfilment of all religious duties. He is then called HWp "13 (lit., a son of the commandment), a member of the Jewish community, upon whom devolve all such duties as a Jew has to perform. On the Sab- bath following that birthday, the Bar-mitsvah is called to the Law, either to read a section of the Sidra or to listen to its reading, and publicly acknowledge God as the Giver of the Law. Whether this ceremony and the family festivities connected with it take place or not, the obligations devolving on the Bar-mitsvah re- main the same. Signs of God's Covenant. 1. The Covenant of Abraham, HTO 1^3. God made a covenant with Abraham and said, " Thou shalt keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee : every male child among you shall be circumcised, when eight days old" (Gen. xvii. 9, IO, 12). 2. Sabbath is likewise " an everlasting covenant," " a sign it is between God and the children of Israel for ever" (Exod. xxxi. 16, 17). See p. 15. 64 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. MORAL DUTIES. A. Duties towards God. " And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God ask of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul ? " (Deut. x. 12). The fear of God (DB>n nKT) and the love of God (n?n D^H) are the fundamental duties towards God, and are, in fact, the source of all our duties. 1. The fear of God is not a fear of punishment. We do not fear God because He has the power to harm and torture us. Our fear of God is a fear of displeasing by our deeds, words, and even by our thoughts, Him who loves us and whom we love. 2. The love of God finds expression in our eagerness to do everything that pleases Him, and to abstain from everything that displeases Him, and to sacrifice will- ingly all we possess, even our life, if the Will of God demands it. Our own wishes and desires must be subordinated to His Will and guided by it. The fear and the love of God create in our heart a feeling of reverence. This is strengthened by reflec- tions on the infinite kindness, wisdom, and power displayed in His works. Reverence of God finds an outward expression in the manner we speak of Him and of everything connected with His name ; in the manner we behave in the House of God, or during Divine Worship, or when studying the Word of God, When we enter the House of God we should feel " how TEXT-BOOK OF THE JE WISH RELIGION. 65 fearful is this place ! this is nothing but the House of God, and this is the gate of heaven " (Gen. xxviii. 17). Reverence of God makes us feel ashamed if any frivolity enters our thoughts or passes over our lips, or if we are guilty of any impropriety in our conduct. It makes us cautious with regard to the mentioning of God's name, and keeps us from doing whatever is pro- hibited in the third commandment. (See p. 6.) 3. Faith in God's Kindness and Justice. We show this faith chiefly in times of trouble. However heavy a trouble may visit us, we must not murmur against God and imagine that we have been wronged by Him. On the contrary, it is our duty to patiently submit to the Will of God. When, therefore, sad news reaches us we say, HDX j^ ^-"nil " Blessed be He who is a true Judge," and bear in mind that the All-wise and Omnipotent knows best what we deserve and what is good for us. 4. Implicit Obedience to His Commands. With regard to the Divine commands, we must bear in mind that God is not in want of our service, of our praises and prayers ; that it is solely for our good and our true happiness that He made His Will known to us and gave us the opportunity to serve Him and to evidence our love of Him. If we do so, it will give us pleasure to do what He commanded us, however great the sacrifices may be that are demanded of us. 5. Devotion. Part of our time must be devoted to communion with God in prayer, in reflections on Him and His works, in the study of His Will and Word, and in meditating how we can best show ourselves worthy of God's love. 6. Longing for reconciliation with God, when we become aware of having acted contrary to His Will. We regret our sins, and with a firm resolve not to repeat them, we return to Him, ask His pardon, and fervently hope that He will grant our petition ; for He tells us, " Let him (the sinner) return unto the 66 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. Lord, and He will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon" (Isa. Iv. 7). See p. 20, " Day of Atonement." B. Duties to our Fellow-creatures. i. Duties to our Fellow-men. (a.) General Duties to our Fellow-men. "Love thy neighbour as thyself" (Lev. xix. 18). When once a proselyte came to Hillel, the famous rabbi, with the request to teach him in a few words the principles of Judaism, the rabbi taught him this very precept (T. B. Shabbath 3 I a.) This love is a fun- damental principle of Judaism, because it is implied in the doctrine of God's Unity, which it is the mission of Judaism to teach. " Have we not all one Father ? has not one God created us ? why should we deal treacherously a man against his brother ? " (Mai. ii. 10). This principle involves the following rules of conduct: (i.) That which is displeasing to thee, do thou not to thy fellow-men. We do not like to have our life endangered or our health injured. We must not do anything by which the health of our neighbour might be injured, or his life endangered, or pain and grief be caused to him. (2.) " Let the property of thy neighbour le as dear to thee as thy own, and let the honour of thy neighbour le as dear to thee as is thy ow7i" (Aboth ii. 17, 1 5). In the same way as we wish our own property to be safe from injury and loss, and our honour from base attack, so is it our TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 67 duty to protect the property and the honour of our neighbour, and to be most careful lest we cause him injury by any deed or word of ours. (a.) We must not appropriate that which belongs to our neighbour by robbery, theft, or dishonesty, or by assistance and encouragement given to robbers, thieves, or dishonest persons in the pursuance of their unlawful acts. He who buys stolen goods is worse than the thief; the latter only injures the one whom he robs, whilst the former, in addition to this, corrupts the thief, driving him from bad to worse, and makes the way of repentance more difficult for him. (&.) It is base and disgraceful for a man to take ad- vantage of the ignorance or embarrassment of his neigh- bour for the increase of his own property. Usurers frequently belong to this wicked and disgraceful class of men. (c.) We must not, by falsehood and slander, or by spreading false reports, damage the repute of our neighbour. An " evil tongue " (jnn \\V?) is a great calamity to society, and separates those who ought to be united in friendship and good-will. It has been said that " calumny kills three, the slanderer, the one who listens to the slander, and the person slandered." NOTE. "Thou shalt not curse the deaf" (Lev. xix. 14), who does not hear what is said, and cannot defend himself. The same is the case with the dead. It is a want of decency and piety to speak ill of the dead, who cannot contradict what is spoken to- their discredit or defend themselves. "Before the blind thou shalt not put a stumbling-block" (Ibid.). We must not, in any sense of the word, mislead our fellow-men. When asked by them for advice we must conscientiously counsel what we think best for them. 68 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. (c.) It is our duty to protect our neighbour's pro- perty and honour. " If thou meetest the ox of thine enemy or his ass going astray, bring it back to him " (Exod. xxiii. 4). If we hear an innocent person slandered, it is our duty to defend him and prove his innocence. Even if we have been wronged by our neighbour, we must not conceive plans of revenge, nor constantly keep the injury in our memory; we must reason with our neighbour and try to convince him of his error or misdeed. " Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart ; thou shalt surely reprove thy neighbour, but not bear sin against him. Thou shalt not revenge, and thou shalt not keep a grudge against the children of thy people, but love thy fellow- man like thyself: I am the Lord" (Lev. xix. 17 18). Charity, ton nto and npTO w * v v ; T T : (e.) There is a more positive form of our love for our fellow-man, and that is charity ; in Hebrew it is called nply lit. "justice," because the Hebrew considered charity as an act of justice. The general object of charity is to promote, as far as is in our power, the well-being of our fellow-men. There is one kind of charity which can be extended to rich and poor alike : it is called in Hebrew ion mpoa " an act of kindness." *lpn TWO includes (i.) Visiting the sick (D^n -flpa). (2.) Comforting the mourners (Dv3K D1H3). (3.) Accompanying the dead to their last resting- place TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 69 (4.) Making peace (Dvt^ nxnn) between those that are at strife. (5.) Judging charitably of our neighbours' deeds and words. A second kind of charity is that practised only towards the poor. It includes (i.) Alms-giving ( n P^) for the purpose of tempo- rarily relieving poverty and alleviating suffering. (2.) Assistance given to the poor towards obtaining a livelihood, by procuring occupation for them, or teach- ing them a trade. (3.) Support to the aged and sick, to widows and orphans. (4.) Helping the poor in the education of their children. (5.) Comfort and encouragement given by kind words. (b.) Special Duties towards our Fellow-men. (i.) CJiildren towards their parents. "Honour thy father and thy mother " is one of the ten words which God spoke to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. We honour our parents by considering them as our superiors, as endowed with authority over us, and entitled by reason of their greater experience to be our guides and instructors ; by listening respectfully when they speak to us, and by speaking respectfully to them and of them. The love of parents towards their children should find an echo in the hearts of the latter. Parents spare no trouble and shrink from no sacrifice when the well-being of their children demands 70 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. it. It is the duty of children to show themselves grateful to their parents and to return love for love. We love our parents By trying to do everything that pleases them, and to avoid everything that displeases them ; By willing obedience to their commands ; By exerting ourselves to give them pleasure ; By assisting them when, through age, sickness, or misfortune, they are in need of our aid ; By honouring their name and memory after their death ; and By obeying those appointed by them as our guar- dians in their absence ; e.g., an elder brother or sister, a teacher. (Comp. p. 8.) (2.) Our special duties to other persons may be divided into (a.) Duties towards our equals. (5.) Duties towards our superiors. (c.) Duties towards our inferiors. (a.) Duties towards our Equals. (i.) Amongst our equals we have some who are closely connected with us by the bond of friendship. Special duties towards our friends are, faith in the sincerity of their friendship for us, sincerity and disin- terestedness in our friendship for them, readiness to make sacrifices for them, and genuine sympathy for them in their prosperity and in their misfortune. (2.) Man and wife are united by the holy bond of marriage. They owe to each other love, faithfulness, confidence, and untiring endeavour to make each other happy. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 71 (3.) As citizens of a state we must take our proper share in all work for the welfare of the state. We must show our loyalty by rendering complete and ungrudging obedience to the laws of our country. When the state is in danger we must evince patriotism, and must not withdraw ourselves from those duties which, under such circumstances, devolve upon every citizen. All our means, our physical and intellectual faculties, must be at the disposal of the country in which we live as citizens. (4.) As members of the same religious community, we must join our brethren in their work for the well-being of the entire body. To separate oneself from the com- munity ("fl3S?n JO iyj) ITiiS) and to abstain from bearing the common burden has been considered a serious dereliction of duty, and a course of conduct deserving of the strongest condemnation. (5.) Towards members of another faith we have to fulfil all our duties towards our fellow-men as con- scientiously as towards members of our own faith. We must show due regard for their religious convic- tions, and not revile in their presence anything sacred to them. Respect for the religious feelings of others will increase regard for our own religion, and evoke in our neighbours the same respect for our religious feeling. (6.) Between employers and employed, sellers and buyers, strictest honesty must be the basis of all trans- actions ; in cases of dispute a friendly explanation and discussion of the differences will promote the interests of both parties much better than mutual animosity. Each party must bear in mind that its own success 72 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. depends on the co-operation of the other party and not on its ruin. (&.) Duties to our Superiors. To our superiors we owe respect. Such superiors are Our teachers, who patiently strive to benefit us by their instruction, and whose labours pupils may lighten to their own advantage by due attention and obedience, or aggravate to their own great injury, by inattention and disobedience. Scholars (E^- , rafa) because the Will of God in forbidding them declared them to be unclean and abominable ; by abstaining from them we become holy (D^Bhip), and are trained in self-restraint, an essential element in a holy life. It is also important to remember, though of secon- dary importance, that the things forbidden in the Law are injurious to man's health. It is a fact that modern science has proved in numerous cases. A. Of mineral food nothing is forbidden except what we know or suspect to be dangerous or in- jurious. B. Of vegetable food all is permitted that is whole- some, except (a.) npny Fruit of a tree during the first three years after its planting (Lev. xix. 23, 24). (&.) DW3 Divers kinds of grain sown in a vine- yard (Deut. xxii. p). 1 (c.) Enn New grain before the second day of Pass- over (Lev. xxiii. 14). 1 Similarly the grafting of two different kinds of trees the one upon the other, the cross-breeding of different kinds of cattle, the wearing of garments of linen and wool /T3PJJK>) are prohibited (Lev. xix. 19). No reason is given in the Torah for these prohibitions. They are filpH "statutes." They, perhaps, have been intended to teach us the prin- ciple of simplicity, and to train us in the virtue of contentment, as a safeguard against undue desire for luxury and superfluity. TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 79 C. In reference to animal food we have to observe the following rules : I. Care must be taken that the killing of animals and the consuming of their flesh shall not tend to create savage and cruel habits. It is therefore forbidden (a.) To cut off a piece of flesh of a living animal for our food (''nn }D "OK " limb of a living animal "). (&.) To kill the parent with its young on the same day (Lev. xxii. 28 ; comp. Dent. xxii. 6). (c.) To give unnecessary pain to the animal in killing it. On this principle the regulations for killing animals (naw) are based. (d.) To eat the blood of beasts and birds (Lev. xvii. 12, 14). The blood contained in the meat is removed as far as possible by having the meat soaked in water for half an hour, and then kept covered with salt for an hour, the salt being again removed by rinsing. This process is called Jcasher ; that is, preparing the meat so as to make it "^'3 "fit for food." 2. The flesh of an animal that has died of itself (rp33) is forbidden as injurious to health. The flesh of animals properly killed, but found on examination to have been affected with some dangerous disease, is for- bidden, and called ^tp. 1 3. With regard to the distinction between animals allowed for food and those forbidden, the animals are divided into: nna "cattle," nn "beast," *fry "bird," " fish," and pV '" creeping thing." originally designated meat of animals torn by wild beasts, but it is now used to describe meat forbidden by the Law. All per- mitted food is kasker ~l*3. So TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. (a.) With regard to cattle and beasts, the rule is given, " Whatsoever parteth the hoof and is cloven- footed and cheweth the cud, that you may eat " (Lev. xi. 3). 1 (&.) A number of birds are enumerated as forbidden (Ibid. xi. 1 3 seq.), but being uncertain as to the exact meaning of the names of many of the birds, we only use for food such birds as are traditionally known as " clean " birds. (c.) Fish with scales and fins are permitted ; others are " unclean " (Ibid. xi. 9 seq.'). 4. Those portions of the fat of cattle which used to be burnt upon the altar as part of the sacrifices are forbidden. These are called 3?n " forbidden fat." 5. The "sinew that shrank," npan T3 (Gen. xxxii. 33), must not be eaten. NOTE. This law shall remind us of the wrestling of Jacob with the man who attacked him, which forms a type of Israel's fight against the evil threatening him from within and from with- out, and teach ns the lesson that, despite temporary troubles and struggles, Israel will ultimately be victorious. 6. " Thou shalt not seethe the kid in its mother's milk" (Exod. xxiii. 19). This law is explained by Tradition as forbiddin all mixture of meat and milk NOTE. The literal meaning of the verse points to the duty of self-restraint, that we must not fall with greediness upon the first- ripe fruit, or upon the young immediately after their birth. 1 The milk of forbidden cattle and beasts and the eggs of forbidden birds are likewise forbidden. TRADITION. (FOR STANDARD VI.) THE words, "And them shalt kill (the animal) as I have commanded thee" (Deut. xii. 21), imply that the manner of killing had been commanded ; and as this subject is not further referred to in the written Law, it follows that there must have existed another unwritten or oral Law that contained details and explanations of the commandments of the written Law. Furthermore, the man who gathered sticks on Sabbath was put to death ; the Isi-aelites must have learnt from Moses that the prohibition of work implied the prohibition of gathering sticks (Num. xv. 32 seq.). Such explana- tions and details were at first handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. " Moses received the Law from Sinai (that is, from Him who had revealed Himself on Sinai), and handed it down to Joshua, and Joshua to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets to the men of the Great Synagogue " in the days of Ezra the Scribe (Aboth i. i). It was then further transmitted from generation to generation till the time of Rcibbi Jeliuda hannasi, called the Holy, who collected and sifted the traditions, and arranged them, according to their contents, in 'a code, called Mishnah (Oral Law). The Mishnah consists 82 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. of six sections (Dnno rw Six Orders"), viz., I. D*jnr On Divine worship and laws concerning seeds. II. "WD On Sabbath and Festivals. III. D'BO On marriage. IV. ri?7? (lit. damages), Civil and criminal laws. V. D^p On sacrifices. VI. rrinntp On things clean and unclean. "When these had been written down, their contents formed the subject of comment, criticism, explana- tion, and discussion in the Academies. These were collected, and are called the Cfemara, N"iC3. Mishnah ' T T: and Gemara together are called Talmud. We have the Talmud in two different forms ; the one was written in the Babylonian schools, and is called the Babylonian Talmud (Y^ZI "nDpfi) j the other in Palestine, and is called the Palestine or Jerusalem Talmud CWETI* 'TCOTi). The laws contained in the Talmud are intermingled with a mass of other material, such as meditations, narratives, legends, exhortations, and parables. To make them more easily available, they have been col- lected, and systematically arranged in two great works : ( I ) Mishneh Torah, or Yad hachazakah, by Kabbi Moses Maimonides, in fourteen books; and (2)ShulchanAruch, by Eabbi Joseph Karo, in four parts I. Divine worship, Sabbath, and Festivals (n"JK II. Laws regulating Jewish household and home life (njn rnr). III. Marriage 'Laws (W ins). IV. Civil Laws (BBBte 'fp'n). ' The traditional laws contained in these works may be divided as follows : (i.) Laws not directly contained in the Pentateuch, TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 83 but derived from the text of the Law, by certain rules of interpretation (rninn ]E>). (2.) Laws not connected with the text of the Law, but traced back to the time of Moses, ^D nvtb n^n (3.) Regulations for the prevention of breaking the Law ; they are called a fence for the Torah, flinta (4.) Laws and regulations laid down from time to time as circumstances demanded, JYiJpfi (5.) Practices not commanded by any authority, but hallowed by age and generally accepted as laws, NOTE. We owe obedience to the laws which emanated from the chief religious authority of the nation after Moses. For we are commanded, "According to the tenor of the law which they the priests, the Levites, and the judge shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do : thou shalt not turn aside from the word which they shall tell thee, to the right hand, nor to the left" (Deut. xvii. n). / THE JEWISH CALENDAR. The Jews have adopted the Era of the Creation, and count at present 5650. The ordinary year consists of 1 2, the leap-year of 1 3 months. As the months are de- termined by the revolution of the moon round the earth, and the moon completes her circuit in about 29! days, 2 months have together about 5 9 days. Therefore the Hebrew months have alternately 29 and 30 days. The 1st day of the month and the 3Oth are called New-moon (B^l EW). We have therefore alternately one and two days Enn E'Ni ; only Kislev and Tebeth are irregular. Nisan has 30 days, lyar 29, Sivan 30, Tammuz 29, Ab 30, Ellul 29, Tishri 30, Heshvan 29 or 30, Kislev 29 or 30, Tebeth 29, Shebat 30, Adar 84 TEXT-BOOK OF THE JEWISH RELIGION. 29 (in a leap-year Adar 30, and Adar-sheni 29). Accordingly Rosli-chodesh of Nisan, Sivan, Ab, Tisliri, Shebat, is one day ; of lyar, Tammuz, Ellul, Cheshvan, Adar (and in a leap-year Adar-sheni) 2 days ; Kislev and Tebeth respectively I and 2, or both I or both 2 days Rosh-chodesh. The Hebrew year, consisting of 12 lunar months, is shorter than the solar year by 1 1 (or 10 or 12) days. In 3 years the difference would amount to more than a month, and Nisan would thus fall in winter instead of spring. But as Passover must be kept in the month of Abib ("the ears of corn"), i.e., in the spring (Deut. xvi. i), a month must be added every 2 or 3 years ; and such a year of 1 3 months is called a leap-year. Each cycle of 19 years has 7 leap-years, viz., the 3rd, 6th, 8th, nth, I4th, i /th and ipth. APPENDIX. i. 1. Nisan. The Sabbath before Passover is called 7n|n "the Great Sabbath," on account of the im- portance of the approaching festival. i4th: np| 2ny "the Eve of Passover." Fast of the First-born. i5th to 22nd: npS "Passover." 1 6th : " Beginning of counting the Omer," ~>O'U?n JYVBp 1 7th to 2oth : TS'lBH ton Half-holydays." 23rd : an npx " Farewell to the Festival." 2. lyar. i4th : *}$ npp "Second Passover" (Num. ix. 9 sqq.). 1 8th nnwa J"? the 33rd of the Omer. "Scholar's feast." 3#1 'Eton ^JB' Fasts kept by some, on the first Monday, Thursday, and Monday succeeding each other in the beginning of the month, in order to atone for sins they may have committed on the Holydays. 3. Sivan. 3rd, 4th, and 5th : r&3?n ! TV&? "The three days of bordering" (Exod. xix. 1012). 5th : niy-U^ any The eve of the Feast of Weeks." 6th and yth : n\M3C* "Feast of Weeks," also called "Pentecost." 8th : 3D -1-ipX " Farewell to the Festival." 85 86 APPENDIX. 4. Tammnz.i'jtla : "Fast of Tammuz," Men? lb>J? 5. ^1&. " Sabbath before the Fast," flTn n3B> (see p. 33). 9th : "Fast of Ab," 2X3 n^n " Sabbath after the Fast," TOPI3 n3K> (ibid.) i 5 th : n3 1E>y PiBtoq T5 th of Ab." Reconciliation of the Benjamites with the other Israelites (Judges xxi.) 6. J7M. rrirrbt?n IQ "Days of propitiatory prayers," beginning on the first day of the month according to the Spanish Rite, and according to the German Rite, on the Sunday (or and S.) before fU^n B>th 29th : rwn SMh 3$ "The eve of New-year." 7. T-ishri.ist, and 2nd: "New-year," na^Pl ew 3rd : " Fast of Gedaliah," W^nji D1* ist to loth: "The ten penitential days," *0* "The Sabbath after New-year," rn-1E> n3K> (see p. 22). 9th : ")-1S? D'V 2ny The eve of the Day of Atone- ment." loth : n-!B3 DV or DniSSn nV The Day of Atonement." 1 4th : n'-DD y$ " The eve of Sukkoth." 1 5th to 2ist : fi'l3p " Feast of Tabernacles." 1 7th to 2ist: nvV-)'n Vin Half-holyday." 2ist : N31 KWin "The Great Hoshana Service." 22nd and 23rd: n^y. ^f "Feast of the eighth day." 23rd : rnta nnjpb Rejoicing of the Law." 24th : 2H npK " Farewell to the Festival." 8. Heshvan. W#) Wq ^JC' The Fast of 'Monday, Thurs- day, and Monday,' kept by some at the end of the month." 9. Kislev. 25th to 2nd (or 3rd) of Tebeth: R|q "Feast of Dedication." 10. Tebeth. loth : nap? rnby "The Fast of Tebeth." APPENDIX. 87 11. Shelat.isth: 133^3 ib^ PlPOn "New-year for trees." The last Sabbath in the month (or on the first of Adar, if on Saturday), o4f 1W The Sabbath of She- kalim." Exod. xxx. 11-16 is read in addition to the weekly section. 12. Adar. ;th : Anniversary of death of Moses. Sabbath before Purim, *VOT r\2& (Deut. xxv. 17-19). i3th : TflDg n3gn Fast of Esther." 1 4th : Purim, Dn-13 "The Feast of Lots." 1 5th : DniB I&W "Purim of Shushan." The last Sabbath but one, n"i3 rut? Num. xix. is read as an extra lesson. The last Sabbath in the month, or the first in Nisan, if New-moon, Kninn T\2,& Exod. xii. 1-20 is read as an extra lesson. [13. Adar Sheni. DniB ]&&, nT n2^, IPlipX n^gn, Dn-IB H"J3 113$, and t^^nn n?^ which in an ordinary year are observed in Adar, are in a leap-year kept in Adar Sheni ; and ^^ n3B> either on the last Sab- bath in Adar, or on the first of Adar Sheni, if on Saturday.] APPENDIX II. THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE, *pn ( = n}in, DW33, D'2-in?). I. rnin Law, also called Wtyn Pentateuch (Five books). It contains besides the Law the history from Adam to the death of Moses. It is divided into five books (D^BD), each of which is subdivided into weekly sec- tions (^yiP), and these again into seven divisions, of which each is called 'IB^S . The following are the five books : 1. JVP'&oa Genesis : contains the history of the Creation, of Adam and his sons, of Noah and the flood, and of the Patriarchs to the death of Joseph. 2. niDtp Exodus : contains the history of the Israelites in Egypt, their departure from Egypt, the Revela- tion on Mount Sinai, and the construction of the Tabernacle. 3. N?ip?l Leviticus. Laws concerning sacrifices ; dietary and sanitary laws, the sanctification of man. 4. iS'lIp? Numbers. History of the Israelites during their journeys in the wilderness from Sinai to the borders of Moab. 5. D 11 ")^ Deuteronomy. Moses addresses the people, and exhorts them to be faithful to God and His Law. II. DW33 Prophets. A. tpytffa} DW3? Earlier Prophets : containing the his- tory of the Israelites from the conquest of Pales- APPENDIX. 89 tine by Joshua to the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. (.) y^ 1 " 1 ; Joshua. The conquest and division of the Holy Land. (&.) D*B?B> Judges. The period of the Judges between the death of Joshua and the birth of Samuel. (c.) '2 K *?MQV Two Books of Samuel The history of Samuel and Saul, the earlier history of David (first book), and the reign of David (second book). (d.) '3 'K D^p Two Books of Kings. Death of David, reign of Solomon, division of the realm, into the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, kings of Judah to Jehoshaphat, and of Israel to Ahab (ist book), the successors of Ahab to the occupation of the country by the Assyrians, and the successors of Jehoshaphat to the beginning of the Babylonian exile (2nd book). B. D^VTiK DW3} Latter Prophets : contain exhortations to faith in God and obedience to His command- ments, addresses of rebuke, and words of comfort. 1. VTjy^J Isaiah. During the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. 2. njP"l? Jeremiah. From the reign of Josiah to the Babylonian exile. 3- ?K P!P? Ezekiel. During the Babylonian exile. 4. *&$ 'Ofi (The twelve) Minor Prophets. Hosea. Joel. Amos. Obadiah. t Contemporaries of Jonah. Micah. 90 APPENDIX. C-in3 Nahum. "j From the end of the Assyrian 5n Habakkuk. J- invasion to the beginning of ?? Zephaniah.] the Babylonian invasion. After the return of the Jews nay Zechariah. } ., _. , . . J from the Babylonian exile. III. D^-in? Holy Writings or Hagiograplia. 1. D^nJ;! (lit. Praises), Psalms of David and several other writers. 2. \?& Proverbs of Solomon. 3. li'X Job: contains the history of a pious man who suffered exceedingly, yet remained faithful to God, and the discussions of Job and his friends on the goodness and justice of God. 4. D'"]^n TB> Sony of Solomon. Songs in which the re- lation between God and Israel is supposed to be figuratively represented as that between bridegroom and bride. 5. n-n Ruth. The history of Kuth, her kindness and faithfulness to her husband and his kinsfolk. 6. HIPX Lamentations. Lamentations of Jeremiah for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and the exile of the Israelites. 7. J"V?DP Ecclesiastes. Reflections on the vanity of human life. 8. "inp Esther. The history of Haman's plot against the Jews, and its defeat through Mordecai and Esther. These five books are called "the five rolls," K'on rn?3p and are read on Passover, Festival of Weeks, 9th of Ab, Festival of Tabernacles, and Purim re- spectively. APPENDIX. 91 9. '^n Danid. The history and visions of Daniel during the Babylonian exile. 10. $"]}]} Ezra. The history of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile, and the rebuilding of the Temple. Ix - ^J? Neliemiah. The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. j 2 . '31 'K Dn?n nn? The two Books of Chronicles. Genea- logies of the tribes of Israel, and the history of the kingdom of Judah. APOCRYPHA. When the Canon of the Holy Scriptures was fixed, there were many other instructive and edifying books written by Jewish authors, but they were not considered inspired writings, and were therefore not included among the Holy Scriptures. They are called Apocrypha, " hidden " or " laid aside ; " that is, not added to the Holy Scriptures. The principal books of the Apocrypha are the following : 1 . Two books of proverbs and maxims : The Wisdom of Solomon. Ecclesiasticus. 2. Additions to Biblical books : The Book of Baruch, additions to Jeremiah. Additions to the Book of Daniel. Additions to Ezra. 3. Narratives : The Books of the Maccabees. The Book of Judith. The Book of Tobit. APPENDIX III. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 3 ns o'f6x n n-y.n N :^a-y onpx Dn$ n;njTO a ^- ^^ n n.nrin n^y.n s ^R ns T^n oi : n'i3 mi D3 . ^^i n3B>n "tt? _ n t _ T : 2 j;in N 1 ? _ n n: : j? nbnn x$ t^ n^3 nbin APPENDIX IV. THE THIRTEEN PRINCIPLES OF FAITH. nwnan yn^-i sate Kin tee? -sftsrp 8n.tent!> nc?y;i : ncriyi : nby Vra^ w TIT Kin 10 s-im. rns x-int ^xn sin ioi nn Nint?? nis. nn^n DiK>n vy 1:3-1 n^.-D ns-n T nnns nnin ^n *6i ns nj N$ nnn ns-r : rniyp -nin^ n.t bs DJ? aonoii>^ ^s by ejsi n^sn nx* Tian nsp fisn nyri^ nya D^nrsn n'niji n.jnri^ 93 APPENDIX V. TEXTS OF MORAL DUTIES. /~3-i sjaaj) ^53 V\ (Deut. vi. 5.) (Lev. xix. 18.) P. '3K ^O| *JJp!> W91 K&>m6l ^ivny-ns rvrnn min ^33^3 ^nx-nx sb>rr&6 T : 'iv -: v - r -r* 'iv T : ' r r v T: (JJta. 17.) :pn (7&zd 1 8.) ny *3.?-n$ -itsn nan ^o?.~n DPiy*i* D^ISSI. pn^>n N^ ' (Ex. xxiii. 9.) ": bnvp '' ' "' (Lev. xix. 33, 34.) 50?*0 (Ex. xxii. 20.) tj-ISyri i6 D ; n (Deut. xxiv. 14.) xv. u.) n^l3 13*3^-1 t.?^ TC 1 ??' ^ (Exod. xxii. 24.) 5^. ; ,PV ni. c-ipn n^b (Lev. xix 32.) z^. 2.) : D? (Ibid n.) Jin^ny.? K^^ njp^ip'N^. i^nD^-s t ?i : -la^n N (Ibid. 35.) :rrwb>ip3} ^"sa n^s? BBt?B3 ^ -I'^n-Ni K'n B>K win ^ ^n^y. n! nig IK ^n^y.S isop n?pn ? (7J^. xxv. 14.) 94 APPENDIX. 95 (Lev. xix. 1 6.) ngya "j n-& (Ps. xxxiv. 14.) ;nn*irp 13^0 TR?'^ y? 1 ? 1?'^ ^ (Isa. i 1 6, 17.) nan.xi. (Mic. vi. 8.) iTpl D V roS y3yni : npn APPENDIX VL BENEDICTIONS The first part of a i" 1 ??? is invariably otoyn &$ 'jtf>X nn -spna Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the Universe." The second part varies according to the occasion for the n?n? viz. : Before partaking of bread, ftKn } DH& K'jrtsn who hast brought forth bread out of the earth." Before partaking of cake, riu'lTp ^D &ni3 "who hast created various kinds of food." Before partaking of wine, |Qf H ^3 N^iB " who hast created the fruit of the vine." Before partaking of fruit that grows on trees and shrubs, ftm na Kni3 " who hast created the fruit of the tree." Before partaking of other fruit, noiK.n '"?? ^^113 "who hast created the fruit of the earth." Before partaking of anything not included in the aoove objects, l" 1 ?" 1 ^ ""C?? '2^ " by whose word everything has come into existence." On enjoying a pleasant fragrance, B' 1 *??'? V/P N!?13 " who hast created various kinds of spices." On hearing a thunderstorm, D^ty !? \rrynp 'in'3^ whose strength and power filleth the Universe." On seeing lightning, TVBtena nbyo n'^y " who repeatest the act of Creation." 9 6 APPENDIX. 97 On seeing the sea, nf n D'rrntf riwyg " who hast made the great sea." On seeing a rainbow, VlOgO? DJ5) inn.33 |OX?.1 : nn?n 1D1T " who rememberest the covenant, art faithful to Thy cove- nant, and keepest Thy promise." On seeing in Nisan the first blossoming trees, OIK \}2L ori3 n'lun^ Dnto nto^K) rrirrit: rrin? in jna-i n " who hast not omitted anything in the world made by Thee, and hast created in it goodly creatures and goodly trees wherewith to benefit the children of man." On tasting new fruit, putting on new garments, or entering a new house, njrt 19:6 -Warn tipj?) Wnn "who hast given us life, preserved us, and permitted us to reach this season." On hearing good news. S^pftn] DltSH " who art good, and causest others to be good." On hearing sad news, npx J^ " true Judge." After having partaken of any food or drink, except bread, cake, wine, figs, dates, and pomegranates, r\"\2~\ TWQ|I n^pViyn *n rp-a *n ^3 ^w orja n'vqn^ anai^-no ^3 "who hast created many living beings and the supply of their different wants, in addition to all that thou hast created for the maintenance of all living ; blessed art Thou that livest for ever." A ""ip'iS before the performance of a religious duty begins thus : -w V) vn'iyo? HB^i? "^ c^wri ^n WP^K \\ r\m -qm " blessed art thou, Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who hast sanctified us by Thy commandments, and com- manded us." The reference to the special religious duty forms the second part of the H3^3 L L Before washing the hands, B?T n^pa ?y " concerning the washing of the hands." G 98 APPENDIX. Before putting on the aria IcanfotliJ- nW ?D fy "con- cerning the commandment of tsitsith." Before putting on the talith,^ nS'3 !?$!$ " to wrap ourselves in a garment with tsitsith. 1 ' Before putting on the teftllin, 1 pS9?l nyrft to lay teftllin," and P?Sn niVP 'JJ " concerning the commandment of tefillin." Before taking the ZwZa&ft, 3^6 n?*9J ^ " concerning the taking of the lulabh." Before kindling the Sabbath lights, n3K> ^ 13 p^n? to kindle the Sabbath lights." Before kindling the Festival lights, 3to DV ^ T3 p^n? to kindle the Festival lights ; " or, 3to D'Vl H3^ T3 p^n^ if the Festival happens to be on Sabbath. Before kindling lights on the eve of the Day of Atone- ment nnia? n DV ^ 13 P^in 1 ? "to kindle the lights for the Day of Atonement." Before fixing the mezuzah, fiT-ITI? P'13?? "to fix the inezuzah." Before separating challah, n?n ^"ipn? "to separate challah." Grace for Little Children. NPis >rn : ano wonn ^n3 Blessed be the Merciful, the Giver of this bread." 1 See page 61. PRINTED BY BALLANTYNK, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON.