common name in the Talmud for the Temple. See Mat. xxiii. 38), burned our Temple, and banished us from our country. Or, the voice of Jacob means, there is no effectual prayer that is not offered up by the seed of Jacob; and the hands are the hands of Esau, there is no victorious battle which is not fought by the seed of Esau. Guittin, fol. 57, col. 2.

T. N. Dion Cassius, as cited by Milman, says, that during the war in the reign of Hadrian, the enormous number of 580,000 fell by the sword, not including those who perished by famine, disease, and fire. The whole of Judæa was a desert; wolves and hyænas went howling along the streets of the desolate cities. Those who escaped the sword were scarcely more fortunate: they were reduced to slavery by thousands. There was a great fair held at a celebrated terebinth, which tradition had consecrated as the very tree under which Abraham had pitched his tent. Thither his miserable children were brought in droves, and sold as cheap as horses. Others were carried away, and sold at Gaza; others transported to Egypt.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

VOICE, HAND, AND MANUAL ABLUTION.

2. The interpreter may not raise his voice above that of the reader (of the Law in the synagogue). If the reader's voice is too high for the interpreter, he shall lower it. Berachoth, fol. 45, col. 1. 7. Hegros the Levite, to his shame, knew how to give a sweet modulation to his voice, but refused to teach the art to his brother Levites.

He used to insert his thumb into his mouth, resting his forefinger on his upper lip, and this gave such a sweet modulation to his voice, that it visibly thrilled his brother Levites. Yoma, fol. 38, col. 1, 2.

19. When the large gate of the Temple was opened, the noise was heard at Jericho; so also were the notes of the magreyphah. (A musical instrument made in the shape of a perforated shovel.) Some say, also: The voice of the highpriest, when he expressed the name of God on the Day of Atonement. Tamid, fol. 30, col. 2.

T. N. Some imaginative writer in the Jewish Weekly volunteered the assertion, that the magreyphah was the first conception of the modern organ. Now 72 means to sweep, or scrape away; see Ju. v. 21. "Shovels," in Ex. xxvii. 3, is rendered by Onkelos, ". In Bava-metzia, fol. 30, col. 1, magreyphah is mentioned together with kardumoth, axes. As a musical instrument, the magreyphah is said in Eirechin, fol. 11, col. 1, to have been used in the Temple, and to have had ten apertures, each of which produced ten different musical sounds. It is Rashi, who flourished in the twelfth century, and who, wishing to account for the one hundred sounds, inserts a ten holed tube into each aperture. It is said in the same place, on the authority of a Mishnah, that it produced a hundred sounds through each aperture, which even Rav Nachman rejects as a gross exaggeration.

22. A drop of cold water applied to the eyes in the morning, and warm foot and hand baths in the evening, are better than all the eyesalves in the world. Shabbath, fol. 108, col. 2.

23. He that slights the washing of the hands is rooted out of the world. (For, adds Rashi quoting page 3, Note VII., Whoever transgresses any of the words of the scribes is guilty of death. See page 139, Note 8.) Soteh, fol. 4, col. 2.

VERSE 27.

See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

SMELL AND BLESSING.

2. They asked Rav Chisda: If one has eaten and drunk without having previously pronounced a blessing, may he do so afterwards? He replied: If one has eaten garlic and made his breath offensive, is he to eat more garlic and make it more offensive still? (That is, is he to aggravate his culpable neglect by a vain repetition of a benediction?) (See infra, Note 13.) Berachoth, fol. 51, col. 1.

3. If one perceives an agreeable odour coming from the direction of a city, he shall pronounce a blessing upon it, provided the majority of its inhabitants are Israelites; but not if the majority are idolaters. Rabbi Yosi said: Not even if the majority are Israelites; for the daughters of Israel burn incense for purposes of witchcraft. Berachoth, fol. 53, col. 1.

4. There were cinnamon (kinamon) trees at Jerusalem, which, when used as fuel, diffused the odour all over the land of Israel; but they disappeared after the destruction of that city. Shabbath, fol. 63, col. 1.

7. A woman who eats citrons habitually, will have children of an agreeable odour. Kethuboth, fol. 61, col. 1.

9. A man was once told that his affianced bride lacked the olfactory sense. In order to ascertain the fact, with a view of being released from his engagement, if true, he followed her into a dilapidated building, and observed to her that it smelt of Galilæan radishes; to which she jestingly replied: I wish some one would give us dates of Jericho, and we could eat them together. Suddenly the building gave way, and she was killed. The wise men then said: Since he went there with the intention of examining her, he had no hereditary claim to her property. Bava-bathra, fol. 146, col. 1.

T. N. The following may serve as an explanation. If one has espoused a woman, on condition that she has no bodily defects, and finds that she is not free from them, the espousal is not valid. If he has espoused her absolutely, and defects are afterwards found in her, she may be divorced without any claim to the money due to a divorced woman. Among these defects are: habitual perspiration, offensive breath, and a thick manly voice. (See page 384, Note 8.) Kethuboth, fol. 72, col. 2; fol. 75, col. 1.

10. Rabbi was one day offended in the course of his lecture by the smell of garlic. Whoever has eaten garlic, exclaimed he, let him leave

the room. At once Rabbi Cheyah arose and left the room, and was followed by all the audience. The next day Rabbi Shimon the son of Rabbi said to Rabbi Cheyah: It was thou then, who didst annoy my father. Not at all, was the reply. Sanhedrin, fol. 11, col. 1.

12.

Tradition records, that Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha said: Once when I entered into the Holy of Holies to burn incense, I saw Acathriel (the crown of God) Jah, the Lord of hosts, sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, who said unto me: Ishmael, My son, bless Me. I said: May it please Thee to cause Thy mercy to subdue Thy anger; may it be revealed above Thy other attributes; and mayest Thou deal with Thy children according to the quality of mercy, and not according to strict judicial procedure; and He shook His head It teaches us (adds the compiler) not to esteem lightly the blessing of an ordinary man (hediot; for such Rabbi Ishmael was compared to God. See page 329, Note 6). Berachoth, fol. 7, col. 1. Whoever pronounces a benediction unnecessarily, violates the third commandment. Berachoth, fol. 33, col. 1.

to me.

13.

14.

A man is bound to bless God for ill fortune, as well as for good fortune. Berachoth, fol. 33, col. 2.

15. A man may not enjoy anything in this world without pronouncing a blessing upon it, and whoever fails to do so, trespasses against God. Berachoth, fol. 35, col. 1.

16. Rabbon Gamliel and the elders were once reclining in an upper chamber at Jericho, when dates were served, and Rabbon Gamliel (believing that Rabbi Akiva would, in conformity with his teaching, offer up three benedictions) asked him to bless the food. The latter hastily pronounced only one of the three prescribed forms. Akiva! exclaimed Rabbon Gamliel, how long wilt thou push thy head into disputes? He replied: Rabbi, although thou differest from thy associates, thou hast taught us, that where one is opposed by many, the halachah is according to the many. Berachoth, fol. 37, col. 1.

18. By the manner in which a man repeats his blessings, it may be known, whether he is a disciple of the wise or not. Berachoth, fol. 50, col. 1.

21.

Rav Nachman and Rav Yitzchak were dining together, when the former started a conversation (which cannot be repeated). When the guest was on the point of leaving, the host asked him for his blessing. I will tell thee a parable, replied the guest. A traveller in the desert, hungry, weary, and thirsty, found a shady tree laden with pleasant fruit, and watered by a refreshing spring. He recruited and rested himself; but before he resumed his journey, he said: Tree, tree, wherewith shall I bless thee, who art already supplied with pleasant fruit, a delicious shade, and a refreshing spring? But may all the shoots derived from thee be blessed like thee. Wherewith, continued the guest, shall I bless thee, my friend, who art already endowed with learning, riches, and children? But may thy offspring be equally blessed with thyself. Taanith, fol. 5, col. 2.

24. A disciple of the wise, who yields to one of the amhaaretz the privilege of pronouncing a blessing, even if that amhaaretz be the highpriest himself, has incurred the penalty of death; for it is said (Pr.

viii. 36): "All they that hate me (i.e., that lower their dignity as representatives of the Law, and thus cause people to depreciate Me) love death." Meguillah, fol. 28, col. 1.

29. He that does not impart of his substance to the disciples of the wise, sees no sign of blessing in his life. Sanhedrin, fol. 92, col. 1.

30. Rabbi says: Which is the straight way which a man should choose for himself? He should love admonition; for as long as admonition prevails in the world, it brings tranquillity of spirit, prosperity, and blessing; and evil departs from it. Tamid, fol. 28,

col. 1.

VERSE 33.

Where is he that hath taken venison?

Rav Laive bar Lachma said: Job was a contemporary of Moses; for the word 'N occurs in connection with both. But does not the same word occur also in connection with Isaac ? . . . . A certain Rabbi sitting before Rav Shemuel bar Nachmaine, said: Job never existed; and the book is only an allegory. Bava-bathra, fol. 15, col. 2.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

VERSE 9.

Then went Esau unto Ishmael, etc.

Rava asked Ravah bar Mari: What is the origin of the saying, The blighted fruit-tree associates gladly with fruitless trees ? He replied: It is written in the Law, repeated in the Prophets, stated a third time in the Hagiographa, inculcated in the Mishnah, and reiterated in the baraitha (exterior Mishnah, not included in Rabbi's compilation). The Law: "Then went Esau unto Ishmael." The Prophets: "And there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and were with him." ("", the present reading is NY", and went out. Ju. xi. 4.) The Hagiographa: For it is written (Ben Sira! xiii): Each bird dwells with its kind, and the children of men with their like. The Mishnah: Whatever is attached to an unclean thing is unclean, and whatever is attached to a clean thing is clean. The baraitha: Rabbi Eliezer said, It is not without a reason that the cuckoo went to the raven; they belong to the same species. Bava-bathra, fol. 92, col. 2.

VERSE 11.

And he took (several) of the stones of the place.

And yet it is written further on: "And the stone (singular)," etc. Rav Yitzchak said: It teaches that all the stones con

gregated into one place, each insisting that the righteous man should lay his head upon it. To make an end of the dispute, they all became one stone. Chulin, fol, 91, col. 2.

SYNOPTICAL NOTES.

STONE, LITERAL AND MYSTICAL.

1. The Post-Mishnic Rabbis have taught (and the law is incorporated by Maimonides in his Digest, Hilchoth Berachoth, Sec. 10, Halachah 9): If one sees the place where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the localities where they crossed Jordan and the brooks of Arnon, the stones which the Lord cast down from heaven at Lower Beth-horon (not the hailstones, of course; Jos. x. 11), the stone which Og attempted to throw upon Israel, the stone on which Moses sat when Joshua fought against Amalek, Lot's wife, and the walls of Jericho, which were swallowed up by the earth on the spot; for any of these he shall offer acknowledgment and praise before God . . . .

What about the passage of the brooks of Arnon? Before Israel passed these parts, the Amorites, ignorant of the fact that the ark levelled the hills before the advance of the people, hid themselves in caves of the opposite mountains, with the intention of falling upon the unsuspecting columns during their march through them. Crushed, however, by the union of the mountains on the approach of the ark, their blood flowed into the brooks of Arnon. The Israelites, on seeing it, and informed by two lepers of the cause of the phenomenon, sang praises to God. That is it (says the compiler), that is written (Nu. xxi. 15): “And the stream of the brooks which inclined to the dwelling of Ar, and leaned upon the border of Moab."

The incident in connection with the stone of Og, king of Bashan (says the narrator), is only a tradition (i.e., entirely unsupported by Scripture). Having ascertained that the camp of Israel occupied the space of three miles; he tore up a rock of a similar size, and carried it on his head, intending to hurl it on the camp. Before he reached it, the Holy One, blessed be He! caused ants to bore a hole through it, so that it glided down to his neck, whilst his teeth, which lengthened miraculously, and protruded in opposite directions, prevented the removal of the rock. Moses, who was ten cubits high, then seized an axe of equal length, and leaping up ten cubits high, hit the giant on the upper part of his heel, and killed him. Berachoth, fol. 54, col. 1, 2.

T. N. The fact that the above halachah is embodied by Maimonides in his Digest of Rabbinical Laws, disposes completely of the distinction, which has been recently made between haggadah and halachah. It is evident, on the contrary, that the two are essentially united, the former very often forming the basis for the latter, and assumed as downright historical truth by it.

4. Raphram bar Pappa said: There is also a divergence of opinion as to stones (used instead of waste paper). For tradition records : Such stones may be carried on the Sabbath to the closet. But of