Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/467

 JEWS

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JEWS

Jeavencd bread is exclusively used; the first two and last days are observed as strict holidays. Since the paschal lamb has ceased, it is customary after the paschal meal to break and partake as Aphikomon, or after-dish, of half of an unleavened cake which has been broken and put aside at the bcRinning of the sup- per, (ii) Pentecost, or the feast of Weeks, falling seven weeks after the Passover and kept, at present, for two days only, (iii) Trumpets, on 1 and 2 Tishri, of which the first is called Xew Year's feast. On the second day they blow the horn and pray that God will bring them to Jerusalem, (iv) Tabernacles, on 15 Tishri, lasting nine days, the first and last two days being observed as feast days. On the first day they carry branches around the altar or pulpit singing psalms; on the .seventh day, they carry copies of the Torah out of the ark to the altar, all the congregation joining in the procession seven times around the altar and singing Ps. xxix. On the ninth day they repeat several prayers in honour of the Law, bless God for having given them His servant Moses, and read the section of the Scriptures which records his death, (v) Purim, on 14 and 1.5 Adar (Feb.-March), in com- memoration of the deliverance recorded in the Book of Esther; the whole Book of Esther is read several times during the celebration, (vi) Dedication, a feast commemorative of the victory over Antiochus Epiph- anes and lasting eight days, (vii) Atonement Day, celebrated on 10 Tishri, although the Jews have neither Temple nor priesthood. They observe a strict fast for twenty-four hours, and strive in various ways to evince the sincerity of their repentance (see Calendar, Jewish).

Reform Judaism, which traces back its origin to Menilols-idlm's time, is chiefly prevalent in Germany and the United States. It has very lax views of Bib- lical inspiration and bends Jewish beliefs and prac- tices so as to adapt them to environment. It is a sort of Unitarianism coupled with some Jewish peculiar- ities. It disregards the behef of the coming of a personal Messias, the obhgatory character of circum- cision, ancient Oriental customs in synagogue ser- vices, the dietary laws, which but few Reform Jews observe out of custom or veneration for the past, the second days of the holy days, all minor fea.sts and fa.st-days of the year (except Hanuklia and Purim), while it uses sermons in the vernacular and adds in some places Sunday services to those held on the his- torical Sabbath Day, etc. Nominally, for all, the Sabbath is the day of rest; but only a small number even of the Orthodox Jews keep their places of busi- ness closed on that day, o^nng to the commercial demands of modern life and the police regulations usually enforced in Christian lands concerning the ordinary Sunday rest. Intermarriage with non-Jews is generally discountenanced even bj' Reform Jewish rabbis, and as a fact, has never been frequent, except of late in Australia. Of late, the use of Hebrew has been revived particularly in Palestine Jewish colonies, and a number of Jewish journals and reviews are pul>- lished in that tongue in the East and in certain coun- tries of Europe. Yiddish, or Judeo-German, is by far more prevalent, and is used in the large cities of Eu- rope and North America tor weekly and daily papers.

The Yeshibas, or high schools of Talmudic learn- ing, where the time was exclusively devoted to the study of rabbinical jurisprudence and Talmudic law, have been partly replaced by seminaries with a more modern curriculum of studies. In 1S9.3 Gratz Col- lege, thus named from its founder, was started in Philadelphia for training religious school-teachers. Yovmg Men's Hebrew .Associations, begun in 1S74, now exist in nearly all the large cities of the United States. Of wider import still is the development of the Sabbath schools which are generally attached to Jewish congregations in the same country. The recent Zionist mo\'ement claims a passing notice. Since

1S96 the scheme for securing in Palestine a legal home for the oppressed Hebrews h.as rapidly taken a firm hold of the Jewish race. To many, Zionism appears as calculated to bring about the realization of the old Jewish hope of restoration to Palestine. To others, it seems to be the only means of obviating the impos- sibility felt by various peoples of assimilating their Jewish population and at the same time of allowing it the amount of freedom which the Jews consider neces- sarj' for the preservation of their individual character. By others again, it is regarded as the practical answer to the anti-Semitic agitation which has prevailed in- tensely through Western Europe since ISSO, and to the lack of social equality, which Jews repeatedly find de- nied them, even in countries where they possess civil rights and attain to high political and professional positions. Since 1897 Zionism holds annual inter- national congresses, counts numerous societies and clubs, and since 189S has a Jewish Colonial Trust. There is no Jewish Church a.s such, and each congrega- tion is a law to itself. Owing to this, the ancient dis- tinction between the Sephardim and the .\skenazim continues among the Jews. -As of yore, the Sephar- dim. or descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, readily organize themselves mto separate congrega- tions. Even now, they are easily distinguished from the Askenazim (German or Polish Jews) by their names, their more Oriental pronunciation of Hebrew, and their peculiarities in synagogue services.

(4) Judaism and Church Legislation. — The principal items of church legislation relative to Judaism have been set forth in connexion with the history of the Jews. There remains only to add a few remarks which will explain the apparent severity of certain measures enacted by either popes or councils concerning the Jews, or account for the fact that popular hatred of them so often defeated the beneficent efforts of the Roman pontiffs in their regard. Church legislation against Jewish holding of Cliristian slaves can be eas- ily understood: as members of Christ, the children of the Church should evidently not be sulijectcd to the power of His enemies, and thereby incur a special dan- ger for their faith; but more particularly, as stated by a recent Jewish writer: " There was good reason for the solicitude of the Church and for its desire to prevent Jews from retaining Christian slaves in their houses. The Talmud and all later Jewish codes forbade a Jew from retaining in his home a slave who was uncir- cumcised" (.Abrahams, "Jewish Life in the Middle Ages"). The obligation of wearing a distinguishing badge was of course obnoxious to the Jews. .At the same time. Church authorities deemed its injunction necessary to prevent effectively moral offences be- tween Jews and Christian women. The decrees for- bidding the Jews from appearing in public at Easter- tide may be justified on the ground that some of them mocked at the Christian processions at that time; those against baptized Jews retaining distinctly Jew- ish customs find their ready explanation in the neces- sity for the Church to maintain the purity of the Faith in its members, while those forbidding the Jews from molesting converts to Christianity are no less natu- rally explained by the desire of doing away with a manifest obstacle to future conversions.

It was for the laudable reason of protecting social morality and securing the maintenance of the Chris- tian Faith, that canonical decrees were framed and repeatedly enforced against free and constant inter- course between Christians and Jews, against, for in- stance, bathing, living, etc., with Jews. To some extent, likewise, these were the reasons for the insti- tution of the Ghetto or confinement of the Jews to a special quarter, for the prohibition of the Jews from exercising medicine, or other professions. The in- hibition of intermarriage between Jews and Christians, which is yet in vigour, is clearly justified by reason of the obvious danger for the faith of the Christian party