NOTES

[1] When our great theologians, Saadiah, Bachya, Maimonides, Albo, &c.,

considered it necessary to write long and abstruse metaphysical essays

in order to firmly establish certain truths, it was done rather for the

purpose of combating the views of opponent theologians than for the

instruction of the multitude, and it may fairly be said that Maimonides

has done far greater service to his brethren by the composition of a

systematic code of laws than by his philosophical “Guide.” The former,

the Mishneh-Torah, never fails to enlighten those who seek in it

enlightenment with regard to some religious duty, whilst the “Guide”

would scarcely relieve anyone of his perplexities in matters of

religious belief. There is a saying in the Talmud Jerus. (Chagigah, ch.

i.), “Would that they had forgotten me, and kept my commandments!” or,

in other words, “Theologians would do better if they were less eager to

investigate into the essence of God and His attributes, and were more

anxious to study and to do God’s commandments.” Instead of devoting

their chief attention to the knowledge and the practice of the Law,

they waste their energy and their time in attempts to solve problems to

which the human mind is unequal (S. Plessner, Religions-Unterricht, p.

xxxviii.).

[2] Post-biblical authors frequently employ the term ‏אמונה‎ in the

sense of religious belief, and ‏תורה‎ in the sense of religious duties;

the equivalent for religion is ‏דת‎.

[3] For the Hebrew see Appendix I.

[4] The Hebrew ‏נביא‎ as well as the Greek προφητης “prophet,”

signifies “speaker” or “preacher.”

[5] i.e., that the war with the Canaanite tribes was to be carried on

as a holy war, in fulfilment of God’s command, and not for the purpose

of spoil and plunder.

[6] King Amaziah of Judah challenged Joash, king of Israel, to fight

with him. Joash considered this challenge as an arrogance to be

compared to the arrogance of the thistle in the above fable.

[7] The faith of Israel in the Omnipotence of God, who can do wonders

for the salvation of His people, is figuratively represented as a

child, called “The Almighty, &c., deviseth wonders,” &c.

[8] Comp. p. 83.

[9] i.e., he who is truthful in ordinary conversation is also a

trustworthy witness in a court of justice; those who are accustomed to

say falsehood cannot be trusted in important matters.

[10] It seems that the author copied the dream as Daniel had written it

down, but the interpretation was handed down by tradition.

[11] The Israelites. Comp. Exod. xix. 6.—Part of this vision refers to

the time of the Maccabees, part to the Messianic period.

[12] Some are of opinion that the term “weeks” is not to be taken

literally, but in the sense of “year,” or “a period of seven years.”

There is, however, no proof for such interpretation. The many attempts

to explain the seventy year-weeks have without exception proved a

failure.

[13] See p. 121.

[14] It is, however, possible that ‏דברי‎, lit. “words,” means here

“history.”

[15] The Talmud is also called ‏ש״ס‎ (Shass), the initials of ‏ששה

סדרים‎.

[16] The word ‏יד‎ is intended to indicate the number 14, the work

being divided into 14 books.

[17] According to Rashi, Rabbi Hillel meant to say that the Jews would

not be redeemed by any Messiah, but by God Himself. Comp. Haggadah for

Seder-evening, “And I will pass through the land of Egypt; I myself,

and not an angel.”

[18] Comp. supra, p. 122.

[19] See Essays on the Writings of Ibn Ezra, by M. Friedländer, p. 7

note 1.

[20] The Piel of a verb has frequently this meaning, e.g., ‏קדש‎ “to be

holy;” Pi., “to declare as holy;” ‏טהר‎ “to be pure;” Pi., “to declare

as pure;” so ‏כלה‎ “to be at an end;” Pi., “to declare as being

finished.”

[21] Die Religions-Philosophie der Juden, by S. Hirsch. p. 445 ff.

[22] The phrase ‏עיון תפלה‎ is also used in the sense of “devotion

during prayer.”

[23] I.e., the name or God consisting of four letters (‏י‎, ‏ה‎, ‏ו‎

and ‏ה‎). The correct pronunciation of the word not being known,

adonai, “Lord,” is substituted for it.

[24] The “second day” (Neh. viii. 13), as a day of devotion and

meditation on the Word of God, is probably the Day of Atonement.

[25] It is here assumed that the Torah was not intended to be written

in a chronological order, and that this commandment was given after the

Blessing of Moses was written.

[26] Maimonides accepts for this verse the Midrashic explanation:

nothing of the Torah has remained in heaven for later revelations.

[27] ‏את צמח דוד עבדך‎.

[28] He is probably called Elijah on account of the zeal which he will

display in bringing men back to the service of God.

[29] Mishnah Eduyoth viii. 7.

[30] Lit., “The accepting of the yoke of the heaven’s dominion;” “The

accepting of the yoke of the precepts.” The expression “yoke” is here

by no means derogatory. It simply indicates the duty which in the one

case “the dominion of heaven,” and in the other case “the Divine

precepts,” impose upon us.

[31] Hebrew titles of books are often fanciful names, which more or

less distinctly imply either the nature or contents of the books, or

the name of their authors. The Hebrew names for the fourteen books of

Mishneh-torah are as follows: (1) ‏מדע‎ “Knowledge;” (2) ‏אהבה‎ “Love;”

(3) ‏זמנים‎ “Seasons;” (4) ‏נשים‎ “Women;” (5) ‏קדושה‎

“Sanctification;” (6) ‏הפלאה‎ “Distinction;” (7) ‏זרעים‎ “Seeds;” (8)

‏עבודה‎ “Service;” (9) ‏קרבנות‎ “Sacrifices;” (10) ‏טהרה‎ “Purity;”

(11) ‏נזיקין‎ “Damages;” (12) ‏קנין‎ “Acquisition:” (13) ‏משפטים‎

“Disputes;” (14) ‏שופטים‎ “Judges.” Rabbenu Jakob calls his work ‏ארבעה

טורים‎ “Four Rows,” a name borrowed from Exod. xxviii. 17. The names of

the four parts are: ‏ארח חיים‎ “Path of Life” (Ps. xvi. 11); ‏יורה דעה‎

“Teacher of knowledge” (Isa. xxviii. 9); ‏אבן העזר‎ “Stone of Help” (1

Sam. vii. 12, and Gen. ii. 18), and ‏חשן משפט‎ “Breastplate of

Judgment” (Exod. xxviii. 15).

[32] I.e., if a person has no fear of God, he is himself the sole cause

of its absence, and he alone is responsible for it.

[33] The words of the Mishnah are ‏בכל מדה ומדה שהוא מודד לך הוי מודה

לו מאד‎ The meanings of three roots are combined in this interpretation

of the words ‏בכל מאדך‎ viz., ‏מאד‎ “exceedingly,” ‏מודד‎ “measuring,”

and ‏מודה‎ “thanking.” The three words are similar in sound.

[34] The term ‏עיון תפלה‎ (lit., “reflecting on prayer”) has two

meanings: (1) reflecting on the prayer while uttering it; devotion; in

German, Andacht; (2) reflecting on the prayer after having uttered it,

while we are waiting for the sure fulfilment of the wishes expressed in

it.

[35] In the whole Book of Esther the name of God does not occur even

once. It is not mere chance; there are several passages where the

mention of the Divine Being is expected, and it is believed that the

omission is due to the fear of a subsequent desecration of the book in

the hands of the Persians.

[36] I.e., the word consisting of four letters, yod, hé, vav and hé.

[37] E.g., by giving bad advice and transgressing the law, “Thou shalt

not put a stumbling block before the blind” (Lev. xix. 14).

[38] Comp. the saying, ‏לא עכברא גמבא אלא חורא‎ “Not the mouse is the

thief, but the hole.”

[39] Those who become security for a stranger are blamed (Prov. vi. 1

seq.) as acting rashly, and foolishly endangering their peace and

welfare.

[40] See p. 294.

[41] The Hebrew is composed of the names of the three consecutive

Sidras, Lev. xvi.–xxiv.

[42] Lit., inquiring, scil., what the condition of the patient is, and

what is needed for his recovery.

[43] Comp. supra, p. 261.

[44] The prayer for the head of the State, beginning ‏הנתן תשועה

למלכים‎ has its origin in this sense of loyalty towards the State in

which we live.

[45] I.e., When the old and experienced counsel to pull down a house,

the pulling down is essential to its rebuilding; whilst the counsel of

young and inexperienced men to build may imply destructive elements.

[46] There are some exceptions to this rule:—The Reader wears the

talith during every Service; in some congregations mourners wear it

when they recite kaddish. On the Day of Atonement the whole

congregation wear the talith during all the Services. On the Fast of Ab

the talith is put on before the Afternoon Service instead of during the

Morning Service.

[47] There are two forms of the blessing which accompanies the

performance of a Divine precept: the precept is expressed (1) by a noun

which is preceded by the preposition ‏עא‎ “concerning;” (2) by the

infinitive of a verb preceded by the preposition ‏ל‎ “to,” e.g.,

“concerning the commandment of tsitsith,” and “to wrap ourselves with a

garment provided with tsitsith.” The latter form is used (1) when the

blessing is recited before the performance of the mitsvah has

commenced; (2) when he who performs the mitsvah is personally commanded

to perform it. In all other cases the first form is used. Hence ‏על

מצות ציצת‎, because we are, as a rule, not in a fit state for prayer

when we put it on, and therefore recite the blessing later on; ‏על מקרא

מגלה‎; because he who reads might just as well be one of the listeners.

We say ‏להניח תפלין‎ at the commencement of the mitsvah; ‏על מצות

תפלין‎ before the second part. (See Babyl. Talm. Pesachim, p. 7.)

[48] The term ‏תפלין‎ reminds us of ‏תפלה‎ “prayer,” and denotes things

used during prayer. Originally it had probably the more general

signification: ornament or head-ornament; in the Chaldee Version it is

the translation of ‏טטפות‎, which denotes “head-ornament.” (Comp.

Mishnah Shabbath vi. 1.)

[49] Two sides of the bayith have the shin impressed on them, the right

and the left; but in different forms, on the right the letter has three

strokes (‏ש‎), on the left it has four strokes (‏ש‎), in order to

ensure the right order of the four paragraphs (‏פרשיות‎) which the

bayith contains from right to left.

[50] The knot formed by the ‏רצועות‎ of the tefillah shel rosh has the

shape of a daleth, that of the tefillah shel yad is like a yod; these

two letters added to the shin of the tefillin shel rosh read shaddai,

“Almighty.”

[51] In the evening it was but natural that tsitsith and tefillin

should be laid aside, as the greater part of the night was devoted to

sleep; the rule was therefore generally adopted: “The night is not the

proper time for laying tefillin” (‏לילה לאו זמן תפילין‎). The opposite

principle, however, “The night is likewise a suitable time for laying

tefillin” (‏לילה זמן תפלין‎), had also its advocates among Rabbinical

authorities (Babyl. Talm. Menachoth 36b).

[52] With the completion of the thirteenth year a boy becomes of age in

reference to the fulfilment of all religious duties. He is then called

Bar-mitsvah (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 Sabbath following that birthday he is called to the Law, either

to read a portion of the Sidra or to listen to its reading, and

publicly acknowledge God as the Giver of the Law.

[53] Compare p. 329.

[54] See Daily Prayer Book, Morning Service.

[55] There are, besides, on the back of the scroll, just behind the

names of God in the first line three words of a mystic character

consisting of the letters following in the alphabet the letters of

these divine names. The words have in themselves no meaning, and it may

be that their object is simply to indicate from outside where the names

of God are written, and to prevent a nail being driven through that

part in fixing the mezuzah to the door-post.

[56] Mishneh-torah III., Zemannim, Hil. Shabbath, ch. xxx. § 1.

[57] Maimonides applies these terms to Sabbath; but they apply

generally with equal force to the Festivals.

[58] We “remember” also the Sabbath or Festival by naming after it the

preceding day, the night following, and in the case of Festivals the

day following: the eve of Sabbath or Festival ‏ערב שבת‎, ‏ערב יום טוב‎;

the night after Sabbath or Festival, ‏מוצאי שבת‎, ‏מוצאי יום טוב‎; “the

day after the Festival,” ‏אסרו חג‎ (lit., “bind the Festival,” with

reference to Ps. cxviii. 27).

[59] A similar ceremony takes place before the first meal in the

morning. A cup of wine or other spirituous liquor is poured out, some

Biblical passages referring to the Sabbath are recited, and the usual

blessing is said before partaking of the beverage. The blessing

containing the Kiddush is not said, and the ceremony has the name

Kiddush or Kiddusha rabba, “great Kiddush,” only on account of its

similarity with the evening Kiddush. The passages recited are the

following: Exod. xxxi. 16, 17, xx. 8–11; Isa. lviii. 13, 14.

[60] ‏ברוך אתה … בורא פרי הגפן‎ “Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God,

King of the universe, who hast created the fruit of the vine.” In the

absence of wine, or if wine is disliked or injurious to health, the

blessing over bread is substituted for that over wine.—The blessings

are generally preceded by the word ‏סברי‎ “Is it your pleasure, scil.,

that I read?” whereby it is simply intended to call the attention of

the company to the prayer.

[61] See p. 352, on the difference between the holiness of Sabbath and

that of Festivals.—The last two ‏ברכות‎, viz. ‏בורא מאורי האש‎ and

‏המבדיל‎ are added; the second part of the latter is slightly modified

in order to suit the transition from Sabbath to Festival.—The Habhdalah

on the night following the Day of Atonement consists of three ‏ברכות‎,

that over spices being omitted, except if Jom-kippur falls on Sabbath;

in that case the Habhdalah includes all the four ‏ברכות‎.

[62] Habhdalah is likewise omitted when Sabbath is closely followed by

the Fast of Ab. On Sabbath night, eating and drinking being forbidden,

only the one blessing, ‏בורא מאורי האש‎ is recited; that over spices is

omitted, and the remaining two blessings are recited on Sunday evening

after the fast.

[63] Although the whole of the Day of Atonement is devoted to Divine

Service, less time is given to reading from the Law than on Sabbath, in

order to leave more time for Prayers, Confessions, and Meditations.

Rabbi Akiba, however, was of opinion that seven should be called up to

the Law on the Day of Atonement, and six on Sabbath (B. Talm. Megillah

23a).

[64] The distance allowed is called ‏תחום שבת‎ “a Sabbath-journey,” and

is 2000 cubits in every direction; it is reckoned from the outskirts of

the place in which we live. If, however, a person desires to perform a

mitsvah, such as milah, at a place distant about a double

Sabbath-journey from his domicile, he may fix before Sabbath his abode

for that day half-way between the two places, and then traverse on

Sabbath the whole distance from the one place to the other. This change

of abode is called erubhe thechumin, “combination of two

Sabbath-journeys into one,” by changing the centre from which they are

measured.

[65] They are called ‏אבות מלאכות‎ “principal kinds of work,” and are

those which directly or indirectly were wanted in the erection of the

Tabernacle, and were therefore included in the prohibition of doing any

work for this purpose (Exod. xxxi. 15 and xxxv. 2).

There are certain things which cannot be brought under any of these

heads, and are nevertheless prohibited, because they frequently lead to

a breach of the Sabbath laws; e.g., riding in a carriage or in any kind

of conveyance; playing music. These prohibitions are called ‏שבות‎

i.e., acts prohibited on Sabbath and Holy-days by our Sages; or ‏גזרה‎

(lit., “decree”), safeguard against breaking the Law.

Divine precepts, however, ordained for the Sabbath—e.g., sacrifices—or

for a certain day, which happens to fall on a Sabbath—e.g., initiation

of a male child into the covenant of Abraham on the eighth day of its

birth, or saving the life of a fellow-man in case of illness or any

other danger—must be performed although they may involve any of the

acts otherwise prohibited on the day of rest.

[66] The preparation of food is only permitted on Holy-days if wanted

for the same day, except when Sabbath follows immediately after the

Holy-day. In that case it is allowable to prepare the food for Sabbath

on the Holy-day, provided such preparation has commenced before and

need only be continued on the Holy-day. The preparation made for

Sabbath before the Holy-day comes in is called erubh tabhshilin,

“combination of dishes,” i.e., of the dishes prepared for Sabbath on

the eve of the Festival (‏ערב יום טוב‎) and of those prepared on the

Festival itself; it is accompanied by a blessing and a declaration of

the significance of the erubh. The following is the blessing: ‏ברוך …

אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על מצות ערוב‎ “Blessed art thou ... who hast

sanctified us by thy commandments, and hast ordained for us the mitsvah

of erubh.”

It may here be noted that there are, besides, three kinds of erubh,

viz.:—