The formative forces in home life - The religious factor in the daily regimen - Preparations for the Sabbath - At home on Friday night - The Sabbath day - Festival observances: Passover - Tabernacles - Other feasts - Fasts - Historical and local factors - The position of woman - Linguistic features - Last scene of allThe conditions and character of home life are determined by three main forces. The first consists of religious regulations, the second of historical development, and the third of local environment. The religious regulations are those embodied in the Shulchan Aruch ("Table Prepared"), the digest compiled by Rabbi Joseph Caro in the sixteenth century upon the basis of the Talmud and its many commentaries. This medieval code controls and colours every movement in the daily life of the orthodox Jew; it governs every step in his earthly pilgrimage from the cradle to the grave. It prescribes with elaborate minuteness the varied observances for Sabbaths, feasts, and fasts, the customs and ceremonies for the principal events of human life, the relations that should prevail between husband and wife, between man and his neighbours. Prayer, diet, dress, charity, morality, and the functions of nature are all subjects of precise regulation. The Shulchan Aruch has thus imparted a fundamental uniformity to the scattered communities which would else have become diversified by local conditions, though its authority is no longer recognized so universally, nor are its ordinances followed so scrupulously as in days gone by. The historic factor in domestic life has arisen from the growth and experiences of the community; it comprises social conventions, pastimes, folk-lore, and the peculiar amenities of family life. It prevails mostly in the old-established settlements in Eastern Europe, but on being transplanted by emigrants to the lands of the West it is gradually dissolved in an alien atmosphere. The influence of local environment is naturally restricted in point of extent, but it operates with a growing degree of intensity, for throughout the lands of the West, and in a lesser degree even in the East, local habits and fashions tend to invade the home and to compete with the characteristic features of historic Judaism, triumphing over them where no conscious resistance is offered. The preceding chapters have already afforded illustrations of the religious factors in home life, but they form only a fraction of the rites and observances that endow it with its specific character. Let us follow the daily movements of a conforming Jew, as enjoyed by the Shulchan Aruch, which prescribes that he shall utter a hundred benedictions a day. No sooner does he wake in the morning than he pours water three times over each hand, for his hands are regarded as ritually unclean after the night's sleep, and he may not touch his face nor walk more than "four cubits" (about six feet) before performing the ablution. Nor may he walk beyond this limit with uncovered head or without wearing his garment of fringes, for he must ever be filled with a feeling of reverence for the Creator. The first important duty of the day is to offer up his prayers, but before he may do this he must cleanse himself by discharging his natural functions and bless the Creator for having fashioned him with the organs necessary for health. He then completes his toilet and proceeds from cleanliness to godliness. If he can he attends morning service in the synagogue and hurries thither to symbolize his zeal; otherwise he offers up his prayers at home, together with his sons. For twenty minutes or half an hour the room has the appearance of a miniature synagogue, the worshippers wearing the, talith ("praying-shawl") and tephillin ("phylacteries") and voicing their Hebrew prayers in a quaint traditional cadence. Only after completing his devotions may he take his breakfast, which, like every other meal, is attended with a ritual of benediction. He pours water three times over his hands, and while drying them blesses. "the King of the Universe, who hath sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to cleanse the hands." He then says grace before meat: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth," and breaks bread. Brief as is this grace before the meal, that which comes after it is appreciably long, and then the members of the family disperse to their various occupations. In the Western world, where trains wait for no man, the morning devotions and grace are often sadly mutilated by the necessity of punctuality at office, factory, or school, but a compensating leisureliness may be observed in the devotions of the evening. An orthodox Jew tries to attend the evening service at the synagogue not alone because of the religious virtue attaching thereto, but also because he may join a class of amateur students-tradesmen, artisans, pedlars, and the like - in their nightly study of the Talmud under the guidance of the Rabbi. But even if he should be unable to go to the house of prayer, he will never fail in his devotions at home, and he will round off the programme of the day by studying a page of the Talmud, uttering the complicated argument in a peculiar chant-like air in the midst of the family circle. His leisure moments are devoted to the reading of Hebrew works, primarily those of religious lore, and he always finds time to con a newspaper, being as interested in international as in purely local affairs. Before retiring to bed he offers up a night-prayer in which he fervently declares: "Into Thy hand I commit my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth," and thrice repeats: "Behold, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbereth nor sleepeth." The preparations for the Sabbath day are important not only because honour must be shown to it by special dishes, but still more because no cooking may be done on that day; and hence the Jewish housewife is busy marketing, cooking, and cleaning from Thursday morning till the setting of the sun on the following day. The kitchen presents a scene of bustle; there is the baking of the twisted loaves, sprinkled with poppy-seed in memory of the ancient manna, and of a large family cake; the chopping of fish to make the boiled rissoles known as gefüllter fisch, and the frying in oil of other fish; the preparing of the lockschen or macaroni for soup; the plucking of a hen, killed by a ritual slaughterer, and its disembowelling, salting, and cooking; and finally the cooking of the all-important Shalet. Add to these the sweets and sauces which the ingenuity of a diligent housewife may provide, and remember the rigid separation she must observe between meat and butter, and then one may acquire some notion of her task in preparing an orthodox welcome for the "Sabbath bride." The course of her labours may be suddenly interrupted by the discovery of a pin in the bowels of the hen, or some other ritual blemish, whereupon she must send the fowl to the Rabbi to inquire whether it is kosher. An adverse decision causes only passing irritation, for much more serious than the sacrifice of the fowl would have been the sin of eating it; and, besides, the forbidden bird can be sold to a Gentile neighbour. The housewife may also be interrupted by the calls of poor women, begging for the wherewithal to celebrate the Sabbath, and she gives them each a couple of candles to light in honour of the holy day. In addition to cooking there is the work of cleaning and dusting to make the house look bright and festive: the Sabbath candlesticks, the cutlery, and the boots all receive a vigorous polish. In many a humble home these arduous preparations have to be carried out alone by the zealous housewife, burdened perchance with the cares of infant children, though her husband accounts it a religious virtue to help. He distils the raisin wine for the sanctification of the Sabbath, brews the tea in the samovar, and drinks the first cup so that he and his family may lawfully enjoy the hot beverage during the day of rest. So absorbing are these various tasks - for no work of any kind may be done from sunset on Friday for the next twenty-four hours - that there is hardly time to eat; and indeed the upholders of tradition designedly eat little during the day so that they may develop a keen appetite for the evening repast. The conforming Jew also takes a hot bath, trims his hair, pares his nails, and dons his best clothes. With a feeling of relief the mistress of the house applies herself to her final duty - the decking of the table. She covers it with a white linen cloth, places at the head the two twisted loaves, symbolical of the double portion of manna gathered in the Wilderness of Sinai on the Sabbath eve, and covers them with a fancy cloth, generally of dark red velvet with a Hebrew design or benediction embroidered in yellow. She puts the bottle of raisin wine or some superior decoction near the bread, and the candlesticks of brass or copper or silver, sometimes two and sometimes four, containing wax candles, at the opposite end. Then she lights the wicks, and covering her eyes with her palms she offers up the Hebrew prayer: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Sabbath light." Thus she welcomes the day of rest, and with her daughters she awaits the return of her husband and sons from the synagogue, whither they have gone to join in the service of psalmody from which naught but sickness can excuse their absence. An air of peace and contentment fills even the humblest home on Friday night. The snow-white cloth, illumined by the sacred lights and adorned with the velvet mantle of the twin loaves and the wine of sanctification, changes the lowly abode into a place of delight, from which all the toil and turmoil of the week are banished: the genial scene is infused with a spiritual glow and touched with an Eastern glamour. Amid joyous greetings of "Good Sabbath! "the husband and sons are welcomed home, and the ties of family affection are drawn still closer by poetic ceremonial. The father, placing his hands on the heads of his children, pronounces a blessing in Biblical diction, invoking the favour of God to make his sons "like Ephraim and Manasseh," and his daughters like "Sarah, Rebeccah, Rachel, and Leah." And he sings the praises of his wife in the glowing panegyric of the Book of Proverbs (xxxi.), fashioned as an acrostic on the Hebrew alphabet, to a traditional air: "A virtuous woman who can find? for her price is far above rubies." And then, the family gathered round the table, he recites the sanctification over the wine, in which he recalls how God "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made, and God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." He drinks of the wine, and passes the cup round the table; and after laving his hands in the ritual manner and saying grace, he cuts one of the loaves and distributes a piece to all present. The family circle often includes a poor stranger, a Sabbath guest, who has been invited home from synagogue in accordance with the ethical precept of "hospitality to wayfarers." The guest is soon put at his ease and joins in the conversation, and if he be a Russian or Rumanian immigrant seeking asylum in a Western land, he regales his hosts with stories of his sad experiences. Between the courses there is a brief interlude for the singing of hymns, with spirited refrains, which proclaim the duties and pleasures of Sabbath observance. Grace after meat is recited with many melodious passages, in some of which the whole company joins, and the house is filled with the joyous strains of Hebrew minstrelsy. Presently the sound of sacred song is heard again, for the father of the household chants the current portion of the Pentateuch to a quaint Oriental air, in which his sons occasionally join. It is the one night of the week when, in many circles, all the members of the family gather together to indulge in the pleasures of conversation. They may not perform on a musical instrument or smoke, but they may diversify the evening by a game of chess, though as a rule the conversation is sustained with sufficient vigour to dispense with adventitious pastimes. Even in homes where the ritual of the Sabbath is not strictly kept, the night is regarded as sacred to domestic intercourse, and the family circle is not broken up even by the most tempting attractions outside. For the orthodox visits to places of public amusement are out of the question, as they would involve the handling of money, and perhaps the use of a vehicle, both acts that are forbidden on the sacred day. But those who are keen upon seeing a play avoid transgressing the letter of the law by booking seats in advance and walking to and from the theatre, although conscious that they are departing from the traditional observance of the day. They, however, who remain at home help to conserve the spirit of the ages; the genius of the Sabbath as celebrated in diverse climes through the changing centuries. Nought can compare with the feeling of cheerfulness and intimacy that fills the peaceful household on this night, the hallowed candles shedding their beaming rays and making playful shadows, the samovar steaming invitingly on the table, and the ambrosial fragrance of the morrow's shalet diffusing a sense of delicious contentment. And in harmony with the genial scene is the theme of conversation, parents telling their children tales of the olden days when Israel had a kingdom of his own, or of the medieval times when he was doomed to the dungeon and the stake, or stories of the wise men in the past; or the older members of the group may engage in a discussion on a Talmudical problem or the destinies of their people, all heedless of which the youngsters slowly drop off to sleep. And the pleasant discourse flows on unruffled until the servant enters to put out the lights, for no Jew may kindle or extinguish fire on the holy day (Ex. xxxv. 3). But the Sabbath candles must not be touched: they are left to burn unto the end, and the conversation is often continued until the last feeble flicker of the dying wick leaves all in the gloom that enwraps the future. The prohibition to handle fire on the Sabbath has produced a special character, the Shabbos-goyah or "Sabbath Gentile," who, in houses where there is no non-Jewish servant, attends to the lights and fires and performs any other domestic work forbidden to the Jew. These functions are usually discharged by the charwoman who has helped in the preparations earlier in the day; but there are hundreds of thousands of homes where even a charwoman on a week-day is a luxury. But on the Sabbath Gentile assistance is necessary for all who would keep the Law, and hence even the poorest home cannot dispense with a "fire-woman," as she is called in English parlance. The "fire-woman" usually looks after a number of houses in the same district, and her charge, which is called "fire-money," is quite moderate, amounting to only a few pence for the day. Early on the Sabbath morning the observant Jew wends his way to synagogue, to attend a service that lasts from two to three hours. He goes breakfastless, for he may eat no food until he has offered up his prayers; the only refreshment he takes is a glass of tea from the inexhaustible samovar. As it is almost noon before he is home again, he often combines breakfast with dinner, eating the joint repast with becoming leisureliness, and chanting with contentment the Sabbath hymns after consuming the succulent shalet. In the afternoon he indulges in a nap, examines the progress of his young sons in their Hebrew studies, and very often listens to a long Talmudical discourse, which follows the afternoon service in the synagogue. Morning sermons are not the fashion in his house of prayer, for no Derasha ("discourse") worthy of the name can be delivered under an hour and a half, and to prolong the morning service to such an extent would arouse the pangs of hunger even among the most zealous, and so violate the tranquil spirit of the day. Even if there be no Talmudic homily to detain him, he often lingers in the house of prayer to engage in mundane converse until the concluding prayers of the Sabbath at sunset, for to him and all his circle the synagogue is also a social rendezvous. But in the long summer afternoons he returns home to take a third meal, for the code ordains that he shall eat three meals in honour of the Sabbath, a sumptuary law which he will not willingly transgress. When the final service of the day, begun in the thickening shadows and
concluded amid the lighting of lamps, is over, he wends his way home, greets
the family with Gut Woch ("Good week"), and ushers out the sacred
day with the ceremony of Habdalah ("Separation") just enacted in
the synagogue, which indicates the transition to the working day. He pours
wine into a cup, lets it flow over to symbolize the Divine bounty which
he wishes to enjoy in the coming week, and utters a benediction. He takes
a spice-box, shakes it, and inhales the pungent fragrance, to typify the
"additional soul" with which the Sabbath, according to tradition, has endowed
him. He places his hands against a plaited wax-light, generally held by
a younger son (who is jestingly admonished to hold it higher if he desires
a tall bride), and bending the fingers inwards, he marks the contrast between
the shadow within and the light without and blesses "the Creator of the
light of fire." And in a closing benediction he blesses the King of the
Universe for having made a distinction "between the holy and the profane,
between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the
seventh day and the six days of creation." He sips the wine and passes
it round to the males1;
he extinguishes the taper in the ruddy overflow in the plate. The day
of rest is over and the week of work has begun again, and he meets its
cares and troubles with a lilting hymn and a glad refrain:
"He who profane from holy parts,Life in the home presents the same general features on festivals as on the Sabbath, with differences of ceremonial and. diet due to each special occasion. The most striking differences are those connected with the Feast of Passover and Tabernacles, which are both observed with rites in which historic memories, poetic symbolism, and religious legalism are all intertwined. Passover involves a culinary revolution, for all leavened food must be removed from the house, the crockery and cutlery used throughout the year must be replaced by the special sets reserved for the festival, and a staple factor of the week's diet is the brittle unleavened bread first baked by the Israelites on their flight from Egypt. The distinguishing feature of the celebration, which is peculiarly rich in picturesque ceremonial, is the service of praise and prayer offered up on the first two nights around the festive table, upon which, beside the gleaming candles, are the dishes that symbolize the Egyptian bondage and the Divine redemption. The Sabbath loaves are replaced by three cakes of unleavened bread, representing the "bread of affliction." A bowl of bitter herbs recalls the bitterness of the Pharaonic oppression; a pasty confection of almonds and spices, into which the bitter herbs are dipped before they are eaten, typifies the mortar wherewith the cities of Pithom and Rameses were built; the shankbone of a lamb represents the Paschal offering of Temple days; and a roasted egg stands for the private offering made by every Jew on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year in the romantic past. And before each member of the family group is a glass of wine which must be filled and emptied four times at fixed intervals in the service, in memory of the fourfold utterance in which the Almighty announced the redemption.2 An extra cup of wine is kept ready for any possible guest, and is called "the cup of Elijah," as the guest most desired is Elijah, the forerunner of the Messiah. The prayers narrate the history of the departure from Egypt and explain the meaning of the several rites connected with the celebration, and hence they are called Haggadah ("recital"). The order of the service is known as Seder or" Order," and the first two evenings of Passover are called "Seder evenings." This domestic celebration is in many cases the only occasion of a family reunion throughout the year, and thus serves other than purely religious objects; whilst the interest of the children is aroused by assigning to the youngest present the duty of asking four questions in regard to the distinguishing features of the evening. It is the custom on the Feast of Tabernacles to live as much as possible in a tabernacle or booth for seven days, in memory of the tents in which the children of Israel dwelt during their wanderings in the wilderness. The booth is a small temporary structure of wood, built generally at the back of the house, with a roof of rushes that lets in the daylight. The duty of "dwelling" therein is interpreted by staunch pietists to include not only eating but sleeping; but as the festival falls at the end of September, when cold nights in the Western world would make sleep in such an abode uncomfortable, the great majority of the orthodox fold are content simply to have their meals and receive their friends there. The booth is generally home-made, and all members of the family, especially the younger ones, take a delight in helping in its erection. The interior is decorated with pictures, religious emblems and Hebrew mottoes, and from the roof hang clusters of fruit, which give to the rude structure the appearance of a rustic bower in an Eastern land, and recall "the feast of ingathering" in ancient Palestine which the festival also commemorates. At nightfall, when the booth is lit up by the candles that have been blessed by the housewife, and the family are gathered around the table, the pious paterfamilias raises his voice in tuneful melody as he intones the sanctification over the wine, quickly to be followed by his neighbours in the tabernacles near by, and thus a chorus of Hebrew thanksgiving rises unto the star - lit heavens throughout the globe four thousand years after the wandering tribe dwelt in booths in the Wilderness of Sinai. The other festivals have also a domestic side to their observance, though not to such an impressive extent. Pentecost, the second of the three pilgrim feasts, is the least endowed with special ceremonial: the only custom is that of sitting up the greater part of the first night and reading passages from the Scriptures and the Talmud, for the festival commemorates the giving of the Law. New Year is the occasion for an effusive exchange of friendly wishes, which are communicated in Western lands largely through the medium of private cards and the columns of the Press; whilst the festive repast is begun with a sweet apple dipped in honey, to typify the year of sweetness for which everybody prays. The final meal on the Eve of the Day of Atonement is consumed with an air of solemnity, the grace being uttered in a tearful voice; whilst the fast is broken with a meal accompanied by every sign of joy and festivity. The Feast of Dedication (Chanucah), which commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrians, is a feast of light and song, which makes a potent appeal to children. On the first night one light, and on each succeeding evening a further light must be kindled, so that a row of eight beaming lights illumines the home on the last night; and the children, who have helped in the kindling, join in the gleeful hymn which tells of the re-dedication of the Temple after its pollution by the Syrian foe. Spending-money (Chanucah Geld) is given to the youngsters, who also demand a similar bounty on Purim (Purim Geld), wherewith to celebrate the downfall of Haman with fitting rejoicing. The latter festival is the occasion, particularly in Eastern Europe, of amateur theatricals, the favourite performance being a Hebrew or Yiddish play, with Esther and Mordecai as the heroes and Haman as the villain. A simpler form of entertainment is provided by two or three minstrels, who generally go in some sort of disguise from house to house, fiddling and singing all manner of merry songs. Three-cornered turnovers filled with honey and black poppy-seed, and known as Hamantaschen, are eaten; modest gifts are exchanged between friends in accordance with the custom prescribed in the Book of Esther; and the youngsters make a rollicking din with their rattles to proclaim anew the discomfiture of the wicked Haman. It is an occasion when merry-making amounts to a duty, and a liberal indulgence in strong drink is even recommended by the orthodox code, a counsel faithfully adopted by those who would make a virtue of their failings. The fasts of the calendar likewise find external expression in the home, since no food or drink may be taken by anybody above the age of thirteen, the year in which religious responsibility is attained. The house is often closed on the Day of Atonement, for the whole family are in the synagogue from early morn till sunset. On the four fast days kept in commemoration of events connected with the fall of Jerusalem (Zech. viii. 19) the Jew may attend to his ordinary work, and the home almost presents its usual aspect, save for the absence of meals. But on the ninth of Ab (August), the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple, he may not wear boots or shoes of leather, nor greet his friends, in token of the sadness of the day. Prominent as these national and religious anniversaries are in moulding and colouring home life in Jewry, they do not dominate it to the exclusion of other factors, for there are also features due to historical development and local environment. To the former category belong the peculiarities of language employed by Jews, their peculiar greetings, expletives, idioms, proverbs, folk-songs - all the elements of the distinctive culture evolved through the centuries. The features due to local environment are as varied as the environments themselves. They prevail predominantly, but not exclusively, in Western lands, and in proportion as they invade and dominate the Jewish home, the latter loses its distinctive character. The home is the dominion of the Jewish woman: hers is the duty of safeguarding its purity religiously, morally, and ritually, a task which demands unceasing vigilance and leaves little leisure for extra-domestic labours. The Jewish woman is trained in the ways of modesty and taught that chastity is the highest virtue. This lesson is enforced upon the eve of marriage by the custom of replacing her maiden tresses by a matronly wig, to avert admiration from any other but her husband. Even before marriage she may not be in the company of men, except under the closest chaperonage, and at social gatherings she and her sisters must entertain themselves in one room, whilst the men are in another. She dances with her own sex too, or if she dances with a man she may not touch his hand, but holds one end of a handkerchief while he holds another, and thus they trip it decorously. This rigorous separation of the sexes prevails only in certain circles in Russia, Galicia, and the lands of the East, though even in Western countries the pious look askance at social intercourse between men and women. But the tendency to discard these habits of the Orient is steadily progressing. The Jewish woman upon marriage abandons any occupation she may have followed for a living, in order to devote herself completely to her wifely duties; and if her husband be too poor to allow this sacrifice she gives up her work at least as soon as she looks forward to motherhood. Her natural instinct to give utterance to her emotions in song is discouraged by the puritanical rule of the Talmud: "A voice in a woman is lewdness," but it is too strong and primeval to be suppressed by law. She sings lullabies and folk-songs, simple Yiddish compositions that have all the qualities of p6pular ballads, inspired by traditional ideals and echoing with national sorrows. She sings to her baby-boy of the study of the Torah and the pursuit of trade, the twin ideal of the Eastern Jew; and croons over her baby-girl a ditty in which she pictures her already as a mother, revealing the insistent sense of maternity that animates the women of her race. No insipid rhymes about mythical monsters are her cradle-songs, but serious reflections on daily life. "A little while together we will play,Thus from the cradle does the child inhale a spirit of earnestness. This distinctive influence of the nursery prevails only in those communities that have evolved a specifically Jewish culture, namely, in the East, whilst it has extended to the Western Ghettos to which this culture is transplanted. It is part of the general intellectual atmosphere, of which the language spoken, whether Yiddish or Ladino, with all its peculiarities of speech and current idioms, forms so important an element. For the Jew born and bred in the strongholds of Jewish tradition has his own individual way of expressing himself, his own peculiar greetings, oaths, and proverbs. He has a primitive mode of nomenclature, addressing his neighbours by their forename, with a title of respect, such as "Reb Samuel" (Mr. Samuel -) or "Reb David," or denominating them by some physical or social characteristic such as "the red Michael," "the tall Archik," "the Lomzha Melammed" (teacher), or "Chaye die Shmaye" (the gossip). If he is ignorant of a man's name he addresses him simply as "Landsmann" (countryman) or, somewhat whimsically, as "Reb Yid" (Mr. Jew). His time-honoured Hebrew greeting is "Shalom aleichem" (Peace unto you), to which his friend responds with "Aleichem shalom." But this salutation is generally used only upon seeing a friend after a long absence, the more customary greeting being in Yiddish: "Was macht ihr?" (How are you?). "Good day" and "Good evening" have their literal equivalents, "a guten Tog," "a guten Ovend" (Ger. Abend), though the latter are often shortened to simply "a guten!" On the Sabbath the greeting is "Gut Shabbos" (Good Sabbath), or among the Sephardim, "Shabbat Shalom" (A Sabbath of peace); on the festivals, "Gut Yomtov" (Good holy day); and at the close of Sabbaths and festivals, "Gut Woch" (Good week). Should a person visit his friend whilst the latter is seated at table, he exclaims in Hebrew: "Blessed is he that sitteth!" and should one of them sneeze, the other calls out, "Asusah" or "Zu Gesund" (Good health!). The usual formula of congratulation is "Mazzol Tov!" (Good luck), while in drinking a toast the wish expressed is Lechayim!" (For life). These are but the commonest forms of greeting in the course of daily conversation, which contains a multitude of idioms. We come now to the last scene of all, and the panorama of domestic life will be complete. The Jew beholds the approach of the shadow of Death into his home with poignant grief, for his family affection is strong and deep-rooted. He does not lightly reconcile himself to the loss of his flesh and blood; he offers up Psalms in a wailing voice by the bedside or in an adjoining room, hoping that the Almighty will hear and have mercy. He selects verses from the alphabetical Ps. cxix. that correspond to the letters of the name of the stricken one, believing that this acrostic of propitiation will work with potent charm. And when he sees that the breath grows feebler, and the deathly pallor deeper, and that all hope is vain, he utters the declaration of faith for the dying to repeat: "Shema - Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Blessed be the name of His glorious Kingdom for ever and ever. The Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is God." For some moments he refrains from touching the body, to make sure that life is extinct, and then he closes the eyes and covers the face of the dead. He makes a rent in his garment, as also do the other members of the family, and all who hear of the sad news respond: "Blessed be the true Judge." The body is washed by the members of a "Holy Brotherhood" with traditional rites, and a talith ("praying-shawl ") - symbol of the faith of the synagogue-is wrapped around it before it is laid into the coffin. Many relatives and friends join in the funeral procession, for to accompany the dead to their last resting-place is a deed of enduring merit. An oil-wick is lit in memory of the soul that has fled, and is kept alight for a whole week. When the mourners return home the father and brothers of the departed, first laving their hands before entering, exchange their leathern footgear for slippers of cloth, and sit on low stools in token of sorrow. They break their fast with a modest meal of bread and hard-boiled eggs, which typify by their lack of an opening the sealed lips of the mourner. The frugal repast is prepared by a neighbour, for the mourners may not eat of their own cooking at the first meal after the burial. For seven days (Shiva) they sit at home and mourn, abstaining from work and even from a careful toilet. Three times a day they hold divine service, in which friends and members of their synagogue join, and they offer up the prayer of Kaddish ("sanctification") in honour of the memory of the departed. They study the pages of Holy Writ, above all the Book of Job, to solace their grief, and of an evening the Rabbi expounds a page of the Talmud or a chapter of the Scriptures to the friends who come to console and remain to pray. "May the Omnipresent comfort you among the rest of the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem!" is the consolation uttered by visitors as they leave the house, the words in which the precentor on the Sabbath eve welcomes the mourners back to the synagogue. And whenever the name of the dead is mentioned henceforth it is coupled with the pious invocation: "Peace upon him!" and upon every anniversary of the event (Jahrzeit) an oil-wick is lit in the home and the Kaddish prayer is offered up by the nearest relative in the synagogue. 1 Women do not partake of the wine of Habdalah, as they are supposed to have less personal interest in the resumption of work. 2 Ex. vi. 6, 7 . "And I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgements; and I will take you to me for a people." |