Sabbath Through all their Offices there is still something peculiarly relating to the hastening of Elias to the end that he may not only loose their knots or resolve their scruples but give them timely notice of the advent of the Messias But notwithstanding that their Offices for the Sabbath contain excellent things according to their way of Worship yet they have therein many things apparently trivial and ridiculous Of which we may give example in their praying over the Lamps Wine and Spices which are brought unto the Synagogue Where the Wine being consecrated it is carried home that therewith they may sprinkle their houses to preserve them from Witchcraft and Sorcerous Incantations Some likewise wash therewith the parts of the Body that are infirm and conceive that the consecrate Wine yields present cure The Spices also being hallowed are made use of to refresh the Soul that is left alone in the Body when the Sabbath is ended for on that day only they hold that every Male Jew has two Souls But the consecrate Wine and Spices have yet an higher purpose and vertue For with the Spices they refresh the Souls below on the week-dayes because the fire of Purgatory thereon is believed to send forth a very grievous stench And by pouring some of the consecrate Wine upon the ground they imagine Corah and his fellow-Mutineers to be assisted For they are of Opinion that that factious crew are still living in flames under ground It cannot be denyed that albeit the Sabbath Offices of the Jews are taken for the greater part out of Scripture but that they entertain a very Carnal sense thereof and that the whole Rest tends more to gratifie the Body than to serve God And to engross this Ease unto themselves and to show that the Sabbath was purposely appointed for their sakes and that none other have thereunto any right or title as also to declare their just Dominion over all other people in the world the Jews in Barbary imploy their Slaves in all manner of servile Offices upon this day And on it too give solemn thanks unto God That he has put no less difference between Israel and the Gentiles than between light and darkness the six days and the seventh Mr. Selden observes out of their Rabbins that there were three things peculiarly commanded the Israelites namely Circumcision the Tephillim and the Sabbath The first was expresly commanded Gen. 17. the second in Exod. 13. and the third Exod. 31. Now this last was so particularly commanded to the Israelites that the Jews think no Gentile has any share therein that they are not bound to its observation and therefore cannot be punished for the breach thereof And upon this account as we but now intimated they imploy their servants and slaves who are not of their Religion in every sort of drudgery upon the Sabbath that their Doctrine may be illustrated by their Practice And for a further Argument of the appropriation of the Sabbath to the Jews they wear thereon no Phylacteries because without those the Celebration of the Sabbath is thought sufficient to distinguish them from all other Religions in the World The Jewish Masters have raised no few disputes concerning the cause and reason of the Institution of the Sabbath with the persons to whom it belongs the time when its observation began together with its obligation both upon the Originarie and Proselyte Jews All which are industriously collected and learnedly discoursed by Mr. Selden lib. 3. cap. 10 11 12 13 c. de jure Nat. Gentium juxta Disciplinam Hebraeorum What we have already set down concerning these Sabbatine Rites hath respect unto the Jews in Barbary whom I find to harmonize herein with the Jews of other Countries Now because the Sabbath and its Rites make up a great part of their present Religion I thought it not improper to insert the Rules of the Sabbath which are practised by the European Hebrews as they are set down by Mr. Buxtorf in the tenth and eleventh Chapters of his Synagogue I have been enforced to make use of a young Pen in the Translation thereof and to deliver them to the Press without either Perusal or Transcribing and therefore desire the Reader to correct and pardon what faults may therein occur CHAP. XVI How the Jews Prepare themselves for the Sabbath and how they begin it WE read how the Jews prepared themselves on the sixth day according to that of Exodus 16.5 23. To morrow is the rest of the Holy Sabbath unto the Lord bake that which ye will bake to day and seeth that which ye will seeth Which they interpret of providing all necessary things against the Sabbath that they may the better honour it but especially all Dyet is to be prepared and dress'd that they may have the better leasure to hallow the Day And to this end whatsoever they intend to eat on the Sabbath they make ready on Friday before night the women chiefly are employed in making sweet-meats of divers sorts and when they make ready their dough they make it in a great lump undivided but if the lump be so great as it is in large families that it must be divided the remaining part is kept covered lest a neighbour seeing it may be ashamed that others have provided for the next Sabbath and he not for the present Every one according to his Ability hallows the Day with three splendid Banquets They begin the first on Friday-night before the Sabbath the second on Saturday at noon the last in the evening of the Sabbath And they justifie the performance of this Ceremony from Moses his writings where concerning Manna it is thus expressed Exod. 16.25 Eat that to day for to day is a Sabbath unto the Lord to day ye shall not find it in the fields Here the Rabbies say that Moses meant by repeating the word Day three times that they should in their Banquets on the Sabbath thrice eat of the Manna But the repetition of those Banquets hath some other meaning as is evident by their Book of Ceremonies written in the German Dialect For unless they had been commanded to eat at three set-times they would have so indulged themselves that the whole Sabbath would have been a time only to eat and drink but because all knew when they were present at one Banquet that they must attend on two more every one observed that moderation agreeable to their particular appetites and befitting such a Solemnity thinking on the dainties which they should again shortly taste What is moreover meant by this Banquet and how much they reckon of it shall a little after be declared Moreover none whether noble rich or wise ought to think it beneath him to do something in the honour of the Day For though a man have an hundred maids yea though he have the command of a thousand servants yet he himself ought with his own hands to do something in the honour of the Sabbath And so we read
therefore better keep on our Journy and save our lives than with certain danger both of body and life hallow the Sabbath But the third repli'd Truly we ought not to stir hence but here to keep the Sabbath God who hath commanded us so to do is able to preserve 〈◊〉 safe The other two persisted and broke the Sabbath but the third pitched his Tent and there abode he covered the Ground instead of a Table with a Cloth and on it laid the Provision he had with him and so betook himself to Prayers that being ended he satâ— down to eat of the first Banquet of the Sabbath the Attendance he had was a terrible Bear almost pin'd with hunger the good Jew was almost afraid and gave the Guest a piecâ— of Bread and had faith that God would preserve him the Bear took the Bread and attended on him The Jew after supper betook himself again to prayer and so to sleep and the Bear lay down by him in the morn hâ— was very glad that the hungrie Bear was sâ— kinde as to spare his flesh and for it gave God â—hanks and so provided for his Morning-prayers he then dined and after sup't and did all his duty When the Sabbath was ended he went on his Journey the Bear still following him The same night it fortuned that his Companions fell among Thieves who stripped them of all they had At length this devout Jew and the Bear overtook them and though the Beast was so kinde to him it was not for want of natural fietceness for he soon tore the other two in pieces Then the Godly Jew began to be afraid but whilst he mused with himself the Thieves beset him and asked who he was whence he came and whither he was going he told them he was a Jew and that he came from the Kings Palace they asked whence he had that Bear he answered The King gave it as a Companion One of the Thieves told the other that surely this Person was beloved of the King that he had given him such a guard The other said Let us give him all our money and follow him through this Wood that the Bear hurt us not So they gave him all their money to conceal them and going far with him at length departed the Bear also returned to the Wood. And from this storie the Jews conclude that they ought to observe the Sabbath in whatsoever place they are and commit themselves wholly to the protection of God Almighty CHAP. XVII How the Jews hallow the Sabbath and how they end it IN the morning they rise not up so early as on other days but for the greater pleasure in honouring the day they sleep a good part of the morning And for this custom the Rabbies have consulted the Writings of Moses and finde in Numb 28. where it is spoken of daily Offerings that it is expressed by the word Babboker mane that is the morning but when it is spoken of the Offering of the Seventh day it is expressed by the words Die Sabbathi that is the Sabbath day intending this meaning that the daily Offerings were to be performed Antelucano tempore that is at break of day and instead of this on the Sabbath they had Morning-prayers and referred their Offering till later in the morn therefore the Jews sleep longer than on other daies to prepare them for Prayers When they repair to the Synagogue they pray as on other but longer and sing more Hymns to honour the day they put not on their Phylacteries as on other daies because they think the Sabbath it self is a sufficient signe of the Jewish Faith and ordained only for them to hallow and have therefore no need of Circumcision and Phylacteries though both are signes by which Jews are distinguished and known They bring the Book of the Law out of the Ark after the same manner as is declared in the ninth Chapter They read a Section out of the Law and divide each Section into seven Lessons to be read by seven choice men After the reading of the Law they read Lessons out of the Prophets which are agreeable to the Writings of Moses of which custom this is the Original When in old time they were forbidden to read Moses they chose a Section out of the Prophets which agreed with the Writings of Moses of this there is mention in the Acts of the Apostles Act. 13.27 They which dwell at Jerusalem and their Rulers knew him not nor the Voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath day And again Act. 15.21 Moses of old time hath in every City them that Preach him being read in the Synagogue every Sabbath But though they are not forbidden the reading of Moses yet they keep the Old custom and read the Prophets after Moses They pray also for the Souls of the dead who have not kept the Sabbath aright For the Rabbies suppose that they both before and after the Sabbath are tortured in Hell-fire and therefore they pray for them on the Sabbath that thereon they may have rest They continue in prayer not after the sixth hour of the day being forbidden to fast or pray longer as they plead from the place so often recited Thou shalt call the Sabbath a Delight Here they say that the word signifying in Hebrew Delight is written without the Letter ד which signifies six by which the Prophet meant implicitly that they should pray but till the sixth hour When Morning-prayer is ended they provide for the second Banquet and to honour the day they generally indulge their Appetites but if it happen that any one have a strange Dream as if he should see the Book of the Law or his house burn or his teeth strook out or suchlike portending evil he has liberty to abstain from meat till the evening He who in a dream is offended with meat and delights in fasting may do as he himself pleaseth and he that is so grieved that he cannot refrain from tears he may weep for by it grief is eased and such pleasant weeping honours the day but he that fasts on purpose on the Sabbath is bound to fast the next day after that thereby he may do Penance for detracting from the honour of the day After Dinner the Rabbies have thought fit to studie or read in Sacred Writ for one of the chief Rabbies relates that the Sabbath made complaint that God had given to every thing a companion and equal except to it and God answered Israel shall be thy companion for on the Sabbath they shall learn the Law whereas others are idle The Law also came and complained saying When Isarel returns into his own Land one possesseth his Vine another his Field Who then shall regard me To which God said Israel shall respect thee for on the Sabbath they shall not labour And considering this they have thought it fit to spend some time after dinner in studying the word of God that the Sabbath or the Law might have no
more reason of complaint At the time of Evening Sacrifice they repair again to the Synagogue and say their Evening-prayers and then eat the third and last time on the Sabbath when it begins to depart they take leave of it with a Blessing They look upon the observance of these three Banquets to be of much concern for they think that he who thus observes the Sabbath shall escape Hell and be preserved from the dreadful War of Gog and Magog and also be free from the perplexities that shall attend the coming of the Messia and therefore one of the Rabbies pray'd that his Portion might be with those who celebrate the Sabbath with three Banquets At Evening they are again prohibited to draw water out of the River or Well by reason of the Souls of the wicked deceased which again refresh themselves as they are returning to Hell At the very departure of the Sabbath after supper one very nimbly draws the Cloth from off the Table for they say that he who doth it shall in a short time be set at libertie Aere Alieno About the Evening they again go to prayers in which they make mention of the Prophet Elias for they say that his coming was promised in the evening of the Sabbath or some Feast-day and when the Sabbath is gone they ask him if he will come the next Sabbath and acquaint them with the coming of the Messia Some of them also write that the Prophet sate under the Tree of Life in Paradise and registred the good Works the Jews did on the Sabbath They continue these Prayers till late in the night out of love to the Souls of the wicked that they may have the more respit from torments for as it is in the Evening on Friday proclaimed in Hell by Dumah an Angel that is Ruler among the Spirits that the wicked may go to their rest as the Jews do and all Israel on the Sabbath So when the Prayers are ended the Spirit cries again Return ye wicked into Hell for the Jews have done Prayers As soon as the Hymn Benedicite is ended the women go with haste to the wells and draw water for they write that the well Mara whereof they drink in the Desart runs into the Sea of Tyberias and thence in the end of the Sabbath did mixt it self with the water of all their wells and if a woman should chance to draw in that instant she would have an Antidote for all Diseases A certain woman gave testimony to this most precious Panacea who immediately after prayers going to draw water came in that instant in which the Well had mixt it self with hers but being somewhat slow in drawing her Husband was verie angrie The woman for fear let the Pitcher fall out of her hands and it happened that some drops fell upon her Husband and those parts which the water touched were immediately healed See the effect of this his anger for he was only healed in part whereas if he had drank he had been totally cured and clean as a new-born Child Hence is that notable Saying of the Rabbies Iracundus nihil aliud quam iram suam reportabit Lastly they separate the Sabbath from the Week following and give God thanks that he hath enabled them so to hallow the Sabbath They do it after this manner A great Taper like a Torch is kindled which they call the Candle of Separation they have also a little Box full of sweet Spices provided Then the Master of the Family takes the cup of Wine in his right hand and sings with a loud voice Behold God is my Salvation I will trust and not be afraid I will receive the cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord c. Which done he consecrates the Wine and spilling a little on the ground saith Blessed art thou O Lord who hast created the Fruit of the Vine Then he smells to the sweet Spice and delivers it to all present to smell to afterwards he takes the Cup in his right hand and going to the great Taper looks diligently on the nails of his left hand bowing his fingers inwards towards the palm of his hand that they may cause a shadow after that he opens them again and looks on the outside so diligently that he may discern the nails to be whiter than the flesh and saith Blessed art thou O Lord who hast ordained a clear light then taking the Cup in his left hand he vieweth the nails of his right hand which done he removeth the Cup into his right hand and saith Blessed art thou who hast made difference betwixt things holy and prophane betwixt Israel and other Nations betwixt the seventh day and the other six days of the week and while he saith this he spills a little of the Wine on the ground and then drinks and giveth to all present to drink And so the Sabbath is ended and the Week begun They prove the difference between the Sabbath and the Week-daies by these words And that ye may put difference between things holy and unholy and God divided the light from the darkness They smell to the sweet Spice to avoid dotage because they are deprived of a Soul at the end of the Sabbath which Soul they again receive at the beginning of it and enjoy more than on week-daies Antonius Margarita in his Book de side Judaica has something to this purpose The Jews write in the Talmud that every man hath three Souls and prove it from Esay 42.5 Thus saith the Lord God he that created the heavens and stretched them out he that spread forth the earth and that which cometh out of it he that giveth breath to the people upon it and spirit to them that walk therein From this Text they attribute to man two Souls which with the true Natural Soul always inherent make three moreover they say that when a man sleeps these two adventitious Souls steal from him one ascends to Heaven and there hears all future Events the other roves about the Earth and there beholds nought but folly and vanity and this they call the Irrational or Brutish Soul but that Soul wherewith every man is first inspired hath its immoveable residence in the heart and sees all that those two Souls that have forsaken the body do or see Hence all dreams arise and therefore not always to be lightly esteemed But on the Sabbath a fourth Soul cometh as a fresh supply which elevates their minds that so they may the better honour the Sabbath and when the Sabbath is ended this Soul leaveth them again Hence it is that they are dull and smell to the sweet Spices to refresh their Spirits So much of Margarita but whence he collected this cannot as yet be understood by the Jews writings Some more wise than the rest smell to the sweet Spices because on the Sabbath the fire of Hell doth not stink but as soon as the Sabbath is ended and the Gates of Hell opened that
dinner and supper Which if they reckon right make up the sum At the saying of the Benediction for Gods giving them the Law they stand up with their heels joyn'd together and their toes opened bowing their heads toward Hierusalem They have also a Prayer which is said by the Priest alone wherein he desires God that he would be pleased to pardon all those who have been negligent and unattentive at the time of Prayer But I could not finde this Prayer in their Breviary though with some curiosity I perused it to that purpose Besides the Sabbath they keep Monday and Thursday as weekly Holy days On each of which they read three Sections of the Law the first by a Koên whom they suppose to be descended of Aaron the second by a Reputed Levite and the third Section by a Common Jew As concerning the keeping of Monday and Thursday Holy and reading the Law thereon as well as on the Sabbath after a more Solemn manner the Vulgar Jews give no other account thereof but Custom and the Pleasure of the Masters But those who pretend to give a Rationale of their Rites refer it to an Institution of Ezdras grounded upon the peoples wandring three dayes without water in the Desart of Sur in memory whereof he appointed the Law to be thrice solemnly read every week Now to be without water say they is to be without the Law for which interpretation they bring Esay 55.1 Others think that Thursday and Monday are set apart for the solemn Lesson of the Law in memory of Moses's going the second time into the Mountain to renew the Tables of the Law which hapned say the favourers of this Opinion upon a Thursday and to have returned thence upon a Monday Upon which dayes some of the preciser sort keep a strict Fast like those in St. Luke 18. and in all probability for the same end On these two dayes they have besides the usual Office a proper Prayer which from the first words thereof bears the title of Vehu-rachum which is said with singular attention Of old this Prayer used to work Miracles but by reason of some great delinquency in the present Jews it has lost this Efficacy CHAP. XV. Their Ceremonies about the Book of the Law Their Manner of Celebrating the Sabbath The Offices which thereon are Solemniz'd c. IT is a Canon strictly observed by the Jews That a Book of the Law is necessary to the Constitution of a Synagogue And therefore the first thing they provide in order to set up a Synagogue is a Copy of the Law and a Chest or Ark wherein to lay it up Now that which is called the Book of the Law is The Pentateuch written in a large Character on Parchment which is dressed according to the manner of the Phylacteries The Parchment is rolled up upon two staves to make it the more convenient to be carried in Procession It is also usually wrapt up in a covering of Linnen Silk Tissue c. As for the piece of Tapistry pictured with divers Birds which was the old-fashion'd Covering of the Ark the Jews in Barbary use no such thing for they abhor all manner of Imagery in their Service as minding them of the Idolatry of their Fathers for which they conceive themselves to be still punished and also out of an averseness to be thought to imitate those Christians who have offensively introduced Pictures into their Oratories not only for Ornament but Veneration But to return to the Law The Jews pay the five Books of Moses so great a Reverence that they never suffer them to be taken out of the Chest or looked upon but on three dayes namely Monday Thursday and Sunday when they are read and this too in the Morning because it is esteemed the purest part of the day 'T is true they use also to show the Law to the people on the Sabbath-night but it is because the whole day is hallowed The taking out of the Law belongs to a Noted Rabbi or in his absence to one of the more ancient and Devouter Jews But to carry it in Procession within the Synagogue is sold to him who is able to give most for the Place As we have observed in the Officers of the Synagogue At the taking out of the Law the Officer turns himself to the people and repeats this Versicle Come and extol God with me and let us praise his Name together And at the Elevation of the Law the people bow their Faces toward it and make a long Respond wherein they declare their own vileness and magnifie the Majesty of God And when the Rabbi holds up the Law and opens it he speaks these words This is the Law which Moses laid before the Children of Israel and which proceeded from God whose ways are all just The word of the Lord is pure and a defence to all those who believe it When the Law is carried from the Ark to the place where it is appointed to be read all the people there present sing the Hymn of Moses Numb 10.35 Rise up Lord and let thine Enemies be scatter'd and let them that hate thee flee before thee By which they wish and pray for the Destruction of all those who are not of their Religion When they carry the Law either to the Reading-place or in Procession there is always one who steps up to him that carries it and kisseth the Covering thereof for it were to defile the Law to kiss either the Letters thereof or the Parchment whereon they are written And he who doth this with a Voice moderately elevated blesseth God for having made the Jews his peculiar people and that he hath given them his Law When the Book returns from Procession and has put on its Coverings all the Males in the Synagogue kiss it in Order as the Papists do their Pax and when they have done the Officer gives the Book an Elevation and so lays it up in the Chest And as it returns thither they say the words of Moses at the resting of the Ark Numb 10.36 Return O Lord unto the ten thousand thousands of Israel The Pentateuch is divided into fifty two Sections to the end that it may be read over upon the fifty two Sundaies in the Year And in reading it they are bound to be very plain audible and articulate Because every tittle thereof is of singular weight and moment The last Lesson constantly falls upon September the twenty fifth which immediately follows the Feast of Tabernacles And when this Section is read over the Chasans or those who read the Law declare a great joy and satisfaction that they lived to make an end of the Annual Lesson They also praise God that notwithstanding the many Miserie 's befaln them they are still in possession of the Law in which all other Blessings are abridg'd On the day when this last Section is read all the Copies of the Law are brought forth of the Ark about which the people dance in
imitation and remembrance of David 2 Sam. 6.16 During the time that the Law is out of the Ark they place burning Torches therein in token that the Law performs all the duties of a light to those that obey it On this day also the Elder Jews make themselves merry in seeing the Youth scramble for the fruits they cast among them On this day also are sold the Offices of the Synagogue to them that will give most And all being orderly consummate every one leaves the Synagogue with this Prayer The Lord preserve my going out and my coming in from henceforth and for ever The next thing that we are to account for in this Chapter is the Manner of their keeping the Sabbath and the Offices thereon celebrated A Theme large enough for a whole Volume if we were to give an exact description of all Rites and Cases thereunto belonging But I shall confine the discourse at present to the Customs of the Jews in Barbary among whom and the rest of the Jewish Nation there is but small disagreement in the Sabbatarian Ritual Though it must be confessed that the Barbary-Jews are neither so strict nor Ceremonious in this matter as the Jews of other Countries if we may believe the account which good Authours have given of the later The whole Nation of the Jews sufficiently accord in the notice of the word Sabbath and grant that it barely signifies no more than Rest and that sometimes too it is used both for working-dayes and Festivals and that it puts on a more peculiar and restrained sense when it is concisely taken for that seventh day which God set apart for his Worship And in the Observation of this Sabbath or Rest the Jews practice numerous Ceremonies some antecedent and relating to their preparation and others concomitant or waiting upon the day Their antecedent Ceremonies are seen in dressing and preparing on the Eve of the Sabbath the Victuals that are thereon to be eaten According to the Commandment Exod. 16.23 To Morrow is the rest of the Holy Sabbath unto the Lord bake that which ye will bake to day and seeth that ye will seeth c. From which they conclude That all things necessary to the Sabbath and for the Honor thereof ought to be provided over night that there may be nothing to interrupt this Rest If it falls out that the Servants are not able to make all things ready the Masters assist them to the end that the Sabbath by no bodily labour may be transgressed And they are able to cite many great Rabbins who have help'd their Servants in preparing for this Rest But this strict Custom of dressing no Victuals upon the Sabbath is not universal with the Jews we now speak off With whom I have been entertain'd with good cheer on the Sabbath that was thereon prepared And asking them how they durst or would act so contrary to their own pretences the Reply was That they thought the Crime of a low nature if it was done without giving scandal to others that is secretly Which was then the Case Every Sabbath is observed with three Feasts and four Offices The first Feast is upon the Friday-night or rather at the very entrance and begining of the Sabbath The second is their Sabbath-dinner and the third Feast concludes the Sabbath Now the Custom of this triple Feast they deduce from the triple repetition which Moses used of the word To day when he gave out Orders concerning gathering of the Manna Exod. 16.25 Some of the more hospitable and wealthier Jews keep their Tables spread during the whole time of the Sabbath And in this as other things they generally tread in their Fore-fathers steps who were excellent at turning the power and intention of the Law into Carnal Form and Superstition But besides their greater apparatus in Diet for the Sabbath they use other preparative Rites in order to the Solemnity of This Great Day All which are bodily and external and not worth our recital if it were not to let us see into what follies a people may fall in Religion when they have once renounced the Truth All the Friday-afternoon is usually taken up in Sabbatical preparations as washing of the head and hands the trimming of their beards whose corners the Graver sort suffer not to be cut according to Law and in a peculiar Superstition of paring their nails on which parings they are forbid to tread in prevention whereof they usually burn or bury them In like manner they spend no small time in whetting the Knives and preparing other Utensils of the Table The women on the Friday comb and dress their heads and make ready all accoutrements of the body For they esteem a neglect in any of these particulars a down-right violation of the Rest And because their Masters use a word for Sabbath signifying Queen they think it reasonable that they as duly prepare themselves thereunto as they would for the reception of so great a Personage And he saith the Jewish Canon is greatly to be praised who honoureth the Sabbath with his Body Clothes and Dyet with his body by duely dressing it with his clothes by having a Sabbath-days Suit and with his dyet which on the Sabbath should be both more and better than on other dayes In Barbary they have their Sabbath-Lamps which are lighted by the women to which being lighted they hold up their hands and say this Benediction Blessed be thou O Lord our God King of the World who hast sanctified us with thy Precepts and commanded us to light the Sabbatine-Lamps If any mans curiosity lead him to enquire into the reason why the Office of lighting these Lamps belongs to the women I shall only tell him that among many other reasons pretended to be given hereof the chief is the keeping the women in minde of the transgression of Eve who seducing Adam to disobedience thereby put out say they and extinguished his Light and Glory But the women do it upon the account of a received Opinion among them that thereby they facilitate their Child-birth There being these three Precepts recommended to them for that end viz. To keep the Sabbath-bread light the Lamps and carefully to attend their Months The Sabbath-lights we now speak of are so contrived that they may last the whole Sabbath on which they are not allowed so much as to snuff them for fear of transgressing the fourth Precept But notwithstanding that the Jews in this part of the World are sufficiently rigorous in the observation of the Sabbath yet I neither could finde nor hear of any of them who would if surprised with the Sabbath expose themselves to the danger of abiding in Woods and Desarts rather than on the Sabbath to travel a few furlongs to gain a safer residence For they are willing to let things necessary to save mans life thereon to be provided for And some will not doubt to say that if ever they be Masters again of Hierusalem they will not loose it for
fear of transgressing the Sabbath And they have an usual saying Paligro del alma quaebra el Sabbato That the hazard of loosing a mans life dispenseth with the Sabbath They have a Custom in some places on the Friday to put water into little pits and to draw no place dry to the end that the Souls in Purgatory may therein cool and refresh them For on the time that is over and above added to the Sabbath they suppose the Souls in Purgatory have liberty to recreate There are many other Rites belonging hereunto the most whereof will fall in with the Offices which are now to be accounted for Upon the Arvit or Eve of the Sabbath they have a peculiar Office which begins with the twenty ninth Psalm Give unto the Lord ye sons of the mighty give unto the Lord honour and strength Give unto the Lord the honour of his Name and bow your selves to the Lord with the beauty of Holiness The voice of the Lord is upon the waters The God of honour hath made it thunder The Lord is upon much waters The voice of the Lord is with strength the voice of the Lord is with beauty The voice of the Lord breaketh the Cedars and hath broken the Cedars of Libanus And he hath made them leap as a Calf Libanus and Sirion like the sons of Elephants The voice of the Lord cutteth the flames of fire the voice of the Lord vexeth the Wilderness he vexeth the Wilderness of Cades The voice of the Lord maketh the Hinds to be in pain and discovereth the Forests and in his Palace every thing speaketh honour The Lord hath been upon the water and the Lord hath sate King for ever The Lord will give strength unto his people the Lord will bless his people with peace The Translation I have here given of this Psalm which begins the Office of the Sabbaths Arvit is Verbatim out of the old Spanish wherein the Jewish Liturgy is extant And it is here inserted for no other purpose but to show how it differs from our present Translation Where the Reader may observe that the word Adonai is here and through all their Liturgy used for Lord it being altogether unlawful for them to mention even in their Devotions the word Jehovah After this Psalm immediately follows in their Liturgy a very large Expostulation concerning the oyl and weke and whole confection of the Sabbath-Lamps Where the Opinions of several antient Masters are recited concerning this matter as the Opinions of Rabbi Ismael Rabbi Tarphon Rabbi Elihezer Rabbi Aquiba Rabbi Jehudah Which 〈◊〉 Master gives them leave to put out their Lamps on the Sabbath-night for fear the Nations those that are not Jews and evil Spirits should do hurt therewith On the Arvit they make confession of the three sins for which as hath been said women die in Child-bed And among these three deadly sins the want of due lighting the Sabbath-Lamps is none of the least On the Arvit likewise when it grows dark they are bound to propound and answer these three Questions Hast thou paid Tythes Hast thou made the Hirub Hast thou lighted a Candle After this they repeat such Hymns and Psalms out of Holy Writ as commemorate Gods gracious Promises to Israel of which they make a comfortable application to themselves There are likewise repeated some short periods of Scripture relating to the Season of the year as in the Spring He shall make his dew to fall and in Autumn Thou makest the winde to blow and the rain to descend c. Having done this they use a Thanksgiving unto God for that he refresheth the dead with his mercies and confirms his Truth to those that sleep in the dust that he punisheth Apostates looseth the imprison'd redeemeth the captive provideth Medicines for and healeth the sick And at the end of this long Thanksgiving follows this Benediction for the Institution of the Sabbath Blessed be the Lord our God the Holy Thou hast Sanctified the seventh day for thy Glory having first finished the Heavens and the Earth and hast blessed it above all dayes and sanctified it above all times as it is written in the Law And here the Institution of the Sabbath out of Genesis is distinctly repeated These things with the rest of the Office of the Sabbath Arvit which is very long is concluded with a thankful recapitulation of Gods favours toward them especially in that he has made them his peculiar people given them his Law and promised that it shall never be changed nor they deprived of it Then they most humbly implore the Almighty that at last he would fulfil his promise retarded so long by reason of their sins and send them their desired Messias The next Office is that of the Sabbath-Morning where the Rubrick directs them to rise before the Sun and to read the ordinary course of Psalms till they come to the nineteenth And then to begin their Mattins Which for the most part are collected out of the Scriptures some portions wherof are said by the Cazan alone and others by the Kahal and Kohen as the Rubrick all along directs them This day the Law has always a solemn Procession and is openly shown to the people When it is brought to be laid up in the Hehal or Chest he that bears it saith these words Turn again to thy resting place and to the house of thy desire that every Mouth and Tongue may give praise and glory to thy Kingdom And turn unto the million of the thousands of Israel and O Lord turn us unto thee and we shall be turned renew our dayes as in former time And with this Prayer they conclude the Morning-Office for the Sabbath The third Office is the Musaf or Afternoon-Service which begins thus O Lord thou shalt open our lips and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise After they have said this they bless and laud God for the continuance of his favours both to quick and dead Next they recount how God gave their Great Master Moses the Commandment for the Sabbath After this they make a gratulatory Oration unto God for that he has been pleased to assist and accept their Services And the whole Office is shut up with a distinct enumeration of the Divine attributes and recommending themselves unto the Divine Protection beseeching God to take the safeguard of them both when they sleep and watch Their fourth Office is that of the Minha or Sabbath-night which being of the same tenor with the last we but now mention'd there needs no more but to name it At the determination of the Sabbath they have an additional Service at which though none are bound to be yet all are present to show their Devotion to the Sabbath and how loath they are to part therewith But others hold that they ought to protract this Rest as long as they can possible for the sake of the Souls in Purgatory especially for such as were condemn'd thither for the violation of the
us to carry a bundle of Palm At this time also the Law is brought to the Reading-place about which they walk with great state and nothing but threatning and victory appear in their looks This they do seven times in memory of their Fathers compassing the walls of Hiericho But others say That this compassing of the Reading-place seven times is in prediction of the certain ruine of their Enemies And this notice of the Ceremonie is very agreeable to the Execratory which is now used by them Wherein they profoundly curse the Christians desiring that God would smite them as he did the First-born of Egypt And though this Direful Prayer is not found in that Liturgie printed at Venice as I above-mentioned yet I am assured by a good Author that it is extant in the Machsor of the Cracovian Impression Upon the last day of this Festival the last Section of the Law is constantly read and the first Section begun For they begin and end the Lesson of the Law on the same day to declare their joy therein This last day of the Feast of Tents is called the Great day of the Feast S. John 7.37 where Tremelius observes that on the last of Tabernacles the antient Jews used to incompass the Altar as the modern Jews now the Reading-place with Palms in their hands crying Hosanna that is Preserve us we beseech thee Whence it was called Hasanna Rabba or the Great Hosanna or the Chief of the Feast And that on the same day they drew water from the Well of Shiloah at the foot of Mount Sion and brought it to the Temple where the Priests mingled it with the best Wine and poured it on the Altar and that the people sang these words of Esay With joy shall they draw water out of the Wells of Salvation To which our Saviour is thought to have alluded in that speech which on this day he made use of S. John 7.38 Every one that believeth in me out of his belly shall flow living waters When they have built their Tabernacles they may not use them till the Father of the Family hath consecrated both them and all the Utensils of the Feast wherein he gives God thanks that he hath chosen and sanctified the Jews above all other Nations and that to them only belongs the habitation in Tents At the expiration of the Feast when they come out of their Tabernacles the Chief of the Family saith these words God grant that the following year we may dwell in the Tent of the Leviathan The mystery of which Prayer depends upon the Opinion that the Jews have of eating with their Messias of the great Fish called a Leviathan which they imagine to be of a Poetical Magnitude and preserved on purpose for that great Entertainment to which they shall all be invited by Messias at his coming And the Prayer above-named has respect to this Opinion and designes no more than their desires that their King may have a speedy advent And having now taken this short view of the present Rites wherewith the Jews celebrate their three Cardinal Feasts their Minor Festivals come next to be considered Among which their Purim or Feast of Lots merits the first remembrance For to it is allotted a proper Office which honour is not granted to any of the rest CHAP. XXI Of the Jews Purim or Feast of Lots THe word Purim is Persick and signifies Lots and the Feast bears this name from the occasion of its Institution which without the trouble of transcribing is to be seen at large in the Book of Esther The Mischiefs plotted against the Jews falling upon their Enemies and those being killed by them who designed their destruction and all this happening upon the 13 of the Month Adar answering to our February and ending upon the 14 of the same Month in memory of their own deliverance and the destruction of their Enemies the Jews keep those two daies Festival whereon they both happened In the Celebration of this Feast they at present use these Ceremonies First they light up great store of Lamps that thereby they may testifie their joy and read over the Book of Esther At which both the women and children are bound to be present Who at the naming of Haman make an hideous noise beating with their hands and stamping with their feet and at the same time pronounce these words Let his name be blotted out Let the name of the ungodly come to naught Cursed be Haman blessed be Mordachee Cursed be Zeresch but blessed be Esther Cursed be all Idolaters and blessed be all Israelites Which Maledictions are now applied to the Christians And when they come to that passage concerning the death of Haman's Sons they huddle it over without pause or distinction intimating that they were all killed in a moment and that they hate to be long mentioning them When they come out of the Synagogue they fall to eating and drinking and are therein much more liberal at this than any other time And they have a Rule that at the Feast of Purim they should drink till they cannot distinguish between Cursed be Haman and blessed be Mordachee At this Feast the Rich supply the Poor with Wine and Viands and for two daies none undertake any Servile work The women especially are to keep Holy-day in honour of her who was the occasion of their Deliverance At this Feast also they salute one another with presents and bestow large Alms upon the Needy in compliance with what their Great Patriot commanded Esther 9 20 21 22. Where he established the Institution of the Feast of Lots The Mattins of this Feast begin with extolling Gods mercie and power in their Deliverance After which follow the Proper Lessons out of Esther When those are finished the Chasan leaves the Pulpit and saith part of the Dayly Service Their Vespers they begin with this Psalm My God my God why hast thou forsaken me c. and then again a Lesson is read out of Esther and after that the ordinary Evening-Service Then follow four Benedictions and all is concluded with select Psalms Purim is the last of their Anniversary Festivals for happening in Adar there is none between it and Easter which alwaies falls in Nisan the Month that began the Year when the Hebrews came out of Egypt and which still keeps that place in the Computation of their Greater Feasts Besides their Purim and the three Capital Feasts which we have already considered the Jews have other Minor Festivals as that of Reconciliation Dedication Church-Officers New year and Lunar Mutations of which take this short account in their Order And beginning with their Feast of Reconcilement or Expiation we finde the ground thereof in Lev. 16. and an express Statute for its Celebration v. 29. In the seventh month on the tenth day of the month ye shall afflict your souls and do no work at all whether he be one of your own Country or a stranger ihat sojourneth among you v. 30.