worn in prayer were believed to be mentioned in the Law, The procession of the first fruits, brought in baskets of gold and silver with a bull whose horns were gilded (Bicurim, iii, 2-8), was a rite not described in the Law, but observed in the days of the last Temple. The Sabbath lamp of olive oil with flaxen wick (Sabbath, ii) became an important observance, and the regulations against work on the Sabbath were minute. The Passover differed materially from that of the Samaritans, and from that described in the Law, because Israel had come to the "rest and the inheritance," and even the meanest must "recline at ease" (Pesakhim, x, i), instead of standing with girt loins staff in hand. Down to 70 A.D. the lamb was roasted (Pesakhim, vii, 2), but after the destruction of the Temple was no longer killed either for one or for more (viii, 7), the shank bone alone remained, as it still does, the symbol of the lamb. The Passover might be eaten in legal uncleanness (vii, 6) but it consisted only of unleavened bread, mingled wine, and bitter herbs (ii, 6), namely, lettuce, endives, and horseradish, liquorice and bitter coriander, with the Kharoseth sauce symbolic of the mortar used for building in Egypt, and made of figs, pistachios, and almonds, with acids, spices, and cinnamon (Bartenora's note on, x, 3); but the Kharoseth was not a command (x, 3), nor indeed were the four cups of wine (x, 2-7), though they were used at the Passover in the time of Christ. The search for leaven was strict, and even bookbinder's paste was avoided (iii, 1) among sources of suspected fermentation.
The great day of Yoma—the fast of Atonement—could no longer be observed, save by fasting of the strictest character, even children and babes being encouraged to observe it.[1] The dance of maidens in the vineyards, and when going down to fetch willows at Kolonia (Taanith, iv, 7; Succah, iv, 4) was no longer a cheerful rite when wives were chosen by young men not for their beauty but for pious worth. It used to occur twice yearly before the Temple fell. The scapegoat was no longer precipitated from the cliff of Zuk {el Muntâr) for fear of its return to Jerusalem (Yoma, iv, 4); nor was the feast of water pouring, or the torchlight dance in the Temple possible (Succah, iv, 9; v, 2-4), but the palm branches could still be brought to the synagogue (Succah, iii, 12), and the lulab, or bunch, carried with the citron. The messengers no longer bore witness to the new moon in Jerusalem (Rosh hash Shanah, i, 3), nor were beacons lighted to carry the news to Babylon (ii, 2), but probably the ram's-horns were blown at this feast (iii, 3), as they still are in Jerusalem, and as they were even in the fourth century A.D. The booths were made not only on or outside houses but even on board ship, or when travelling in a car (Succah, ii, 3), The fasting for rain, beginning in October and going on if needful till April (Taanith, i, 2-7) could still be observed, but no wood-offering could be brought to the Temple (Taanith, iv, 5).
The Levirate ceremony (Yebamoth) was strictly observed, as it still
- ↑ The Babylonians are said to have been so hungry after the fast as to eat the sacrifice raw (Menakhoth, xiii, 10).
