בכל תפלה שבכל יום :

"in every prayer, every day."

ii. 2.)

(Hilchoth T'phillah, c.

ולמלשינים אל תהי תקוה וכל עושי רשעה כרגע יאבדו והזדים מהרה יכרתו ותכניעם במהרה בימינו ברוך אתה יי שובר אויבים ומכניע זדים :

"O let the slanderers have no hope: all the wicked be annihilated speedily, and all the tyrants be cut off quickly: humble thou them quickly in our days. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who destroyed our enemies." (Daily Prayers, fol. 36.) Here is the same utter want of mercy. No desire for their amendment, no prayer for their conversion, but an invocation of sudden wrath and destruction. And this the synagogue prescribes, not on its feasts only, but every day; yea, and every time of prayer is to be marked by the voice of malediction. There is also another command relating to this daily malediction, which illustrates still farther the spirit of the oral law.

שליח צבור שטעה ונבהל ולא ידע מהיכן יתחיל ושהה שעה יעמוד אחר תחתיו * ואם טעה בברכת האפיקורוסין אין ממתיכין לו אלא מיד יעמוד אחר תחתיו שמא אפיקרוסות נזרקה בו :

"If the reader in the synagogue should make a mistake, or be confused and not know where to begin, and delay for an hour, then let another rise up in his stead. But if he made the mistake with regard to the blessing of the Epicureans, he is not to be waited for, but let another instantly rise up in his stead, for perhaps he is infected with Epicureanism." (Ibid. c. x. 3.) According to this law, if the reader go wrong in invoking a blessing, or offering up an intercessory prayer for mercy, such a petition may be delayed for a whole hour. But if this malediction should be the place of his mistake, there is to be no delay and no

postponement. If the reader cannot offer it in time, another is to rise up immediately, and cry to heaven for a curse.

No. XVII.

RABBINIC LEGENDS IN THE SYNAGOGUE SERVICES.

WE have just considered the extraordinary command of the oral law, which provides, that, if the reader in the synagogue should make a mistake in reading the prayers, the congregation shall wait for him for an hour: except the mistake occur in cursing the Epicureans, for then, “He is not to be waited for, but let another instantly rise up in his stead, for he is, perhaps, infected with Epicureanism.” The special notice of this case is as honourable to the Jews as it is condemnatory of the oral law. It would appear from this that such mistakes had occurred. Readers in the synagogues have sometimes stumbled and stammered when they came to this fearful malediction. And truly we are not surprised, if a man of piety, acquainted with God's Word, should be overwhelmed in publicly cursing his fellowmen, and be unable to bring the words of imprecation over his lips. The care which the scribes took to legislate for such an occurrence, implies an honourable testimony to the good feeling of the nation, though it strongly marks their own intolerance, and forms a striking contrast to the spirit inculcated in the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. When his disciples asked him to teach them to pray, he taught them a short form; but short as it was, it contained the petition, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us," and was followed by this admonition, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men

N

their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matt. vi. 14, 15.)

The intolerance which we have noticed, proves sufficiently that the religious ideas of the oral law have not been drawn from Moses and the prophets; and this will appear still further from the absurd legends which are alluded to in the prayers of the synagogue, as if they were acknowledged verities. In the Liturgy for the Feast of Pentecost, which is now approaching, we find more than one such allusion, to which we would most earnestly call your attention. And first of all, those prayers recognise the legend of Leviathan and Behemoth. In the morning service for that day the Jews repeat the following words :

מנת דילן דמלקדמין פרש בארמותא : טלולה דלויתן ותור טור רמותא * וחד בחד כי סביך ועביד קרבותא : בקרנוהי מנגה בהמות ברבותא • יקרטע נון לקבליה בציצוי בגבורתא : מקרב ליה בריה בחרביה רברבותא • ארסטון לצדיקי יתקן ושרותא : מסחרין עלי תכי דכדכוד וגומרתא נגידין קמיהון אפרסמון נהרתא: מתפנקין ורוו בכסי רויתא • חמר מרת דמבראשית נטיר בי נעותא :

Which D. Levi thus translates:-" He will certainly bestow on us the portion which he hath promised us of old. The sporting of Leviathan with the ox of the high mountains, when they shall approach each other and engage in battle. With his horn he thrusts at the mightiest beasts, but the Leviathan will leap towards him with his fins and great strength. His Creator will then approach him with his great sword, and will prepare him for an entertainment (or a banquet) for the righteous; who will be seated at a table formed of jasper and carbuncle, with a river of balm flowing before them. When they will delight themselves and be satiated with the bowls of wine prepared at the creation, and reserved in the wine-press." In this portion See Job xl. 15, &c. D. Levi.

.בהמות This alludes to *

of the Liturgy of the synagogue, there is a very plain reference to the battle between Behemoth and Leviathan. The felicity of the righteous in the world to come is also described, and a part of it is said to consist of the banquet which God will prepare for them from the flesh of Leviathan, when he shall have killed him. It is true that D. Levi has the following note on this banquet. "All this is to be understood in a figurative sense, and by no means literally, as several Christian commentators have done, and thus cast undeserved reproach on the Rabbinical writers." But he has neither given us his authority, nor his reasons for this assertion; nor has he explained the meaning of the figure. We should be glad to know what ninety-nine out of every hundred Jews understand when they hear this read in the synagogue. What do they understand by the name Behemoth? What by Leviathan? What by God's killing him? What by preparing him as a banquet for the righteous? But however Jews in the present day may explain it away, there can be little doubt how the authors of this hymn and the Jews of old understood it. In the Talmud we have the following account of these two great beasts :

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב כל שברא הקדוש ברוך בעולמו זכר ונקבה בראם אף לויתן נחש בריח ולויתן נח עקלתון זכר ונקבה בראם ואלמלא נזקקין זה לזה מחריבין כל העולם כולו מה עשה הק"בה סירס את הזכר והרג הנקבה ומלחה לצדיקים לעתיד לבוא שנא והרג את התנין אשר בים ואף בהמות בהררי אלף זכר ונקבה בראם ואלמלא נזקקיז זה לזה מחריבין כל העולם כולו מה עשה הק"בח מירס הזכר וצינן הנקבה ושמרה לצדיקים לעתיד לבוא •

"R. Judah said, Rav said, Everything that God created in this world he created male and female. And thus he did with Leviathan the piercing serpent, and Leviathan the crooked serpent, he created them male and female. But if they had been united, they would have desolated the entire

world. What, then, did the Holy One do? He took away the strength of the male Leviathan, and slew the female and salted her for the righteous for the time to come, for it is said, And he shall slay the whale (or dragon) that is in the sea.' (Isaiah xxvii. 1.) In like manner with regard to Behemoth upon a thousand mountains, he created them male and female, but if they had been united they would have desolated the entire world. What then did the Holy One do? He took away the strength of the male Behemoth, and made the female barren, and preserved her for the righteous for the time to come."(Bava Bathra, fol. 74, col. 2.) In this narrative there are no marks of allegory. The creation of the world is not an allegory, but a fact. The creating of living creatures male and female is another fact. The weakening of the male and the salting of the female to prevent the desolation of the world, does not look like a figure. The Jewish commentators certainly take the matter very seriously, and speak of the creation of Leviathan, not as of an allegory, but as of a real occurrence. Thus R. Moses, the son of Nachman, in his commentary on the words, "And God made great whales," after describing the great size, adds,—

ורבותינו אמרו כי התנינים הגדולים הוא לויתן ובת זוגו שבראם זכר ונקבה והרג הנקבח ומלח' לצדיקים לעתיד לבוא אפשר כי מפני זה לא היה ראוי שיאמר בהם ויהי כן כי לא

עמדו עוד :

"And our rabbies have said that the great whales' mean Leviathan and his mate, for God created them male and female, but slew the female, and salted her for the righteous for the time to come: and perhaps this is the reason why the words, And it was so,' are not added, for they (the race of Leviathan) did not continue." (Com. in Gen. i. 21.) From this it is evident that the famous rabbi knew nothing of an allegory, for he makes this legend the reason why