A SABBATH EVE IN CORDOVA
(CONTINUED.)
THE EVENING SERVICE.--A BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM IN ISRAEL.--HONORED WITH
AN INVITATION TO CHASDAI'S HOUSE.--ILLUMINATED STREETS.--THE
TWO ANGELS.--AN IDEAL SABBATH IN AN IDEAL HOME.--THE PRAISE OF
THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN.--A FATHER'S BLESSING.--PRESENTED TO THE
LADIES.--THE EVENING MEAL.--THE JEWISH KINGDOM OF THE KHOZARS.
The "_Sh'liach Hazibur_," (Reader) has taken his position before the
lecturn upon the "_Bimah_." From a voluminous parchment folio he chants
the beautiful and joyous Psalms xcv, xcix, cii, in that fascinating
musical _recitative_, peculiar to Hebrew liturgy, so joyous and yet
so holy, so gay and yet so reverential, so intensely sacred, so
religiously elevating as to lift the worshiper on its mighty pinions,
gently, from week-day life into the higher and purer Sabbath realm.
The "Reader" and the congregation sing alternate verses. What a grand
chorus of human voices! What majestic strains wing their heaven-ward
flight! How sublime a music to hear these hundreds of men entune their
sacred anthems to God. Sweet is the sound of the melting harp and of
the warbling lute, but sweeter than both is the music that rises from
the warm human breast. Touching are the strains of the nightingale and
the lark, but sublimest and most touching of all is the sacred music
that rises from the innermost depths of the strong and masculine heart.
Such
"Music religious heat inspires,
It wakes the soul and lifts it high
And wings it with sublime desires,
And fits it to bespeak the Deity."
To hear a man weep, to see his strong bosom melt in tears and his great
grief express itself in eloquent sobs, breaks another's heart, to
hear him sing with fervor and devotion the praises of God, gives the
strongest stay to the human soul. When men sincerely sing religious
songs their hearts speak. When we hear the Elders in front, yon
saintly patriarchs, laureled with the silver crown of three and four
and five score years, mingle their voices with those of the young
in the religious songs, we know such songs raise their weary souls
above mortal weakness, soften their pain to ease, stay the ruthless
hand of fell disease, and force death itself to sheathe, yet awhile,
his unsparing scythe, and our lips involuntarily breathe forth the
benediction: Praised be Thou, O God, who hast blessed us with the gift
of song.
The congregation rises and the "Reader" chants aloud the _Borchu_, the
appeal to the congregation "to worship God, the Worship deserving," to
which they answer: "Yea, we will worship God, for deserving of praise
is He, now and evermore."
They resume their seats and continue their prayers. They render thanks
for the genial hour of twilight, which bids the weary laborer cease,
and takes him to his peaceful home, and rewards him there with shelter
and with rest. They render thanks for the revealed truths and doctrines
conducive to moral good and human excellence, and sincerely they pray,
that, as long as in their thoughts and deeds God's word is their law,
and that law their light, they may never be without his fatherly care.
Again they rise; amidst awe-inspiring solemnity, the "Reader" chants
Israel's great creed: "_Hear, O Israel, the Eternal, our God is One_,"
to which the worshipers respond in one grand chorus: "Praised be the
name of His glorious kingdom forever and aye."
Silent, but fervent, devotion ensues. They express their deathless
faith in the God of their fathers, in Him who sustains life, supports
the falling, heals the sick, takes to himself the souls of the
departed, crowns the week with the blessed Sabbath day, and they
conclude praying that God may keep their tongues from evil, their lips
from uttering deceit, and arm them with meekness against ill will, that
he may impart humility in their soul and faith in their heart; that He
may be their support when grief silences their voice and comfort them
when woe bends their spirit, that truth may illuminate their path and
wisdom be their guide; that He may frustrate every evil device and
turn to goodness the hearts of those who devise them.
The "Reader" breaks the silence by taking a goblet of wine, and with
it, as the symbol of joy, he entunes the _Kiddush_, the consecration of
the Sabbath as a day of rest and joy and spiritual elevation.
The mourners and those who commemorate the anniversary of the death of
some dear departed, rise now and recite the _Kaddish_, the "Mourner's
Prayer," by which they utter even in their painful trials, their pious
submission to God's will and to His superior wisdom.
How sublime this mourner's service! How consoling to those who mourn
and weep, to those who have mourned and wept, and how instructive to
those who are destined to mourn and weep! It is as fraught with goodly
lessons for those whom the hand of death has spared as for those who
have been afflicted. It is more potent to move the heart than are the
most fervent prayers, more eloquent than the most stirring discourses.
Would you have your family life the sweetest, the purest, the most
blessed, while it lasts, then go to the synagogue, hear the Mourner's
_Kaddish_, and think how that heart must feel that has seen one of its
links, neglected while living, go down into the lonely grave, there,
where all the acts of charity and kindness, where the choicest of
flowers and most expensive of monuments can cheer the silent sleeper
no more. Would you have help to overcome jealousy and hatred, contempt
and evil thoughts and evil deeds, go to the synagogue, hear the
solemn "Kaddish," learn from it that there is a time when regret and
repentance come too late to be heard, a time when sobbing and wailing
can not pierce the clods. Would you moderate your ambitions and check
your appetites, would you see the frailty of the mortal, would you
keep your heartstrings vibrating in sympathy with suffering humanity,
would you have a clear conception of the ends and aims of life, would
you keep your conscience pure, then go to the synagogue, see the
mourners rise, and from their sighs and tears learn the lesson that for
the proud and the humble, the high and the low, the learned and the
ignorant, the rich and the poor, the tyrant and the slave, the king and
the servant there is but one common goal, death equalizes them all, his
scythe knows no caste, no creed, no name, no fame, no title and no rank.
But we have strayed from the living to the dead, from the joyous to the
sorrowful. Let us return to the service.
Again the congregation rises and solemnly they read the "Olenu,"
the concluding prayer, in which they express their fervent hope to
behold soon the splendor of God's majesty, such as will call unbelief
to vanish from the earth, will banish wickedness forever, will lead
all mortals to recognize and worship the One and Only God, and bring
on that glorious day when all men will live together in unity and
brotherly peace, and the spirit of enlightenment will reign supreme
over all.
Another joyous Sabbath hymn and the services are concluded.
In the vestibule, in the meantime, a number of strangers, showing by
their appearance and costume to belong to different countries and
to different stations of life, had gathered. They awaited there the
conclusion of the services to be invited home for the Sabbath meal,
for it is considered a sin in Israel if a brother in faith, be he rich
or poor, friend or stranger, passes, or is permitted to pass, the
joyous Sabbath Eve by himself, alone and forsaken, and it is regarded
an act of piety to grace the festive board of the Sabbath meal with
the presence of strangers. And so the company of these strangers is
pressingly solicited, and the invitation is cheerfully accepted. Moses
ben Chanoch, the Rabbi, and Jacob ben Eleasar, the special messenger,
who had on that day returned from the Jewish kingdom of the Khozars,
and we, who were cordially greeted after we were presented by our
friend Dunash ben Labrat, are the guests of the distinguished "Nasi."
Through whatever streets we pass, the houses inhabited by Jews vie in
their brightness with the brilliant illumination of the streets. A
bright and cheery home on the Sabbath Eve is a law unto the Jew. "From
the house that is cheerfully illuminated on the Sabbath great minds
will issue"[12] spoke the Talmud, and it said still more: "When the
Israelite leaves the synagogue for his home, on the Sabbath Eve, an
Angel of Good and an Angel of Evil accompany him. If, upon entering
his home, he finds the table spread, the Sabbath lamp lighted, and
his wife and children attired in festive garments, ready to receive
him, and in unison with him to bless the Holy Day of Rest, the Good
Angel sweetly speaks: "Thy next Sabbath, and all the Sabbaths shall
be as bright and as happy as this. Peace unto this dwelling forever,"
to which the Angel of Evil says a reluctant "Amen." But if no
preparations have been made to greet the Sabbath, if light, and song,
and thanksgiving do not cheer the inmates of the house, then the Angel
of Evil exultingly speaks: "May thy next Sabbath and all thy Sabbaths
be as this. Gloom, misery, dissension, unhappiness unto this dwelling
forever," to which the Angel of Good, bathed in tears, stammers forth a
reluctant "Amen."[13]
[12] Talmud Babli Sabbath 23b.
[13] Talmud Babli Sabbath 119b.
Upon entering the palatial residence, the very atmosphere breathes
holiness and peace. Scarcely has Chasdai ben Isaac crossed his
threshhold, when, in accordance with the established custom in Israel,
in a joyous but sacred melody, in which his mother, and wife, and
children join, they sing the salute to the Sabbath angels at the
domestic hearth, repeating each verse three times. Thus it runs:
"Peace unto you, ye angels of God, ye high messenger from the King of
Kings, praised be He."
"May your coming be in peace, ye angels of God, ye high messengers from
the King of Kings, praised be He."
"Bless us with peace, ye angels of God, ye high messengers from the
King of Kings, praised be He."
"Let your parting be in peace, ye angels of God, ye high messengers
from the King of Kings, praised be He."
Then fondly taking his mother by his right hand and his wife by his
left, and leading them both lovingly to the center of the room beneath
the radiant glow of the hallowed Sabbath lamp, he sings the last
twenty-one verses of the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs, that
noblest of all noble tributes to the virtuous woman, which reads as
follows: "The heart of the husband of the virtuous woman doth safely
trust in her, so that he shall not want for gain. She will do him good
and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax,
and worketh with diligent hands. She is like the merchant ships; she
bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night,
and giveth meat to her household, and the day's work to her maidens.
She considereth a field and buyeth it. With her fruit of her hands she
planteth a vineyard. She girdeth her loins with strength and maketh
strong her arms. She sees that her trading yields good profit; her lamp
is kept burning by night. She layeth her hands on the spindle, and her
hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hands to the poor, yea,
she reacheth out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow
for her household, for all her children are clothed with scarlet wool.
She maketh herself robes, her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband
is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen and selleth it, and delivers girdles unto the
merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing, and she smiles at days
to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the
law of kindness. She looketh well to the ordering of her household, and
eateth not the bread of idleness. Her sons rise up and praise her, her
husband also, and he extols her. Many daughters have done virtuously,
but thou excelleth them all. Gracefulness is deceitful, and beauty is
vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give
her the honor that the fruits of her hands deserve; her works are the
praise of all in the gates."
The scene of that happy group, Chasdai, the learned and sagacious
minister of the Moorish realm, facing his wife and mother, and
encircled by his children, singing this glorious tribute to the
virtuous women--a weekly tribute that has done much toward establishing
the beauty and grandeur of the Jewish family life--the wife, whose
beautiful form and features and grace express nobility of character and
godliness within, as she lowers her black and musing eyes, as her bosom
heaves with tender emotion, and her countenance is mantled with the
scarlet hue of innocence at her husband's enumeration of her praises;
the queenly mother, majestic and tall as her son, and in her beauty a
rival to his beautiful wife, as she holds her eye with speaking pride
upon her distinguished son; that scene is for the artist's brush and
for the sculptor's chisel. It is too beautiful, too pathetic, too
sublime for the feeble tongue or pen.
The children crowd to their father, and kissing them fondly, he lays
his hands in blessing upon them. Verily, blessed is the head upon which
parents' hands lie in blessing, and blessed are the parents' hands
that lie in blessing upon a child's head. We know now whence to trace
the cause of Chasdai's greatness and nobility of mind and excellence
of character. That happy home life reveals to us the secret of his
success. Here is the perennial fountain whence he quaffs daily the
sweet draughts of moral goodness and human excellence. Here is that
earthly paradise where kindness and good will, and peace, love, joy,
reverence, mingle and produce continuous ecstatic bliss.
We are presented to the ladies and a hearty welcome is written on
their countenance. We are no stranger to them, for Dunash ben Labrat
has kindly announced us in advance, and they are pleased with our
presence, for they, too, are longing to hear of the entrance of the
Jews into Europe, especially of the entrance into Spain. We are shown
our places at the festive board. A servant pours water on our hands
from a basin and ewer. Chasdai rises, and filling a goblet with wine,
he repeats, in melodious strains, the "Kiddush," the ceremony we had
already seen in the synagogue, the consecration of the Sabbath as a day
of rest and joy and spiritual elevation within the sacred precints of
the home. From beneath a beautifully embroidered cloth he takes the
Sabbath loaf, recites the benediction, and breaking it, gives a piece
thereof to every diner. And now the meal begins, spiced with excellent
conversation, in which the women enter as lively as the men, and more
than once their profound knowledge and brilliancy of mind and subtle
wit exact from us expressions of admiration. The chief topic of the
conversation is concerning the Jewish kingdom of the Khozars, from whom
Jacob ben Eleazar had brought the anxiously-awaited news that morning.
What we gather from this conversation is this:
West of the Caspian Sea is a powerful kingdom, named "Khozar," before
the strength of which the Persian monarchy trembles, and whose favor
and alliance is courted by the Greek Empire. Its original inhabitants
were a Turcoman tribe, who had gradually abandoned their nomadic habits
and maintained considerable commerce. Their capitol, Bilangiar, is
situated at the mouth of the Volga, and a line of cities stretches
across from thence to the Don. Merchants of all religions, Christians,
Mohammedans and Jews, were freely admitted, and their superior
intelligence over his more barbarous subjects had induced one of their
kings, Bulan (740 A. C.), to embrace the religion of the Jews. His
choice between the conflicting claims of Christianity, Mohammedanism
and Judaism was decided in this manner: He examined the different
teachers apart. He asked the Christians if Judaism was not better than
Mohammedanism. To which the Christians replied affirmatively. He asked
the Mohammedan teachers if Judaism was not better than Christianity.
To which they, too, replied in the affirmative. Both deciding in
favor of Judaism, the king embraced the faith of Moses, and induced
learned Jewish teachers to settle in his domains. A belief in Judaism
is the necessary condition on the accession to the throne. The most
liberal toleration of all other forms of faith prevails. But of this
Jewish kingdom nothing was known in Spain till Chasdai learned of its
existence through the ambassadors of the Byzantian emperor. Chasdai,
to assure himself fully of the sovereignty possessed by his brethren,
had sent Jacob ben Eleazar as a messenger to them, with a letter to
their king, which concluded thus: "Were I sure of the existence of this
kingdom I would throw aside all my present honors and positions, and,
hastening to it, would throw myself at the feet of a Jewish king and
feast my heart and eyes at the sight of his might and splendor." That
very day had brought the eagerly looked-for letter from the present
King of the Khozars. Chagan Joseph, giving the above information, and
concluding thus: "I, too, am desirous of knowing thee and of profiting
by thy wisdom. Could my desire be gratified, and could I speak to thee
face to face, thou wouldst be to me as a father, and I thy son, and
into thy hand would I intrust the government of my kingdom."
The meal was finished and grace was said. Dunash ben Labrat, mindful of
the promise he had made to Abdallah ben Xamri to bring him whenever
Chasdai would relate to us the history of the entrance of the Jews into
Spain, had come with his Moorish colleague, and they are announced.
Chasdai leads the way to the library, and we follow.
[Illustration]