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THE .JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

303

in the rendering of the Hallei. (Ps. cxvi. KV-IO. cxvii. ). Probably its finest nuisieal

quoted extensively

treatment has been that by J. 1.. Monibafh. wrillcn about 1870 for the Great Synagogue of London composition of great interest.

—

BlBLIOdRAPllv: Zunz, GottcMlioiMiche Vnrtrfigc,

p. 396.

F. L. C.

'A^EDAH,

rtTp)! " The l)inilinij; or sacrifiee of Isaac "i: This I'.iblical inii(k-nt plays an important The earliest allusion to part in the .Jewish liluri;y. it in [iniyer oeeurs in the Mishnah (Ta'anit. ii. 4) in the litany for |)ublie fast-days, Jlay lie wlio (

'"

answered Ai)raham on Mount Moriah In the Geniara

supplieation."

a ram's horn on New-year's

reminder of

(

listen to our H. H. Kiif) the tiscof

Day

is

explained as a

ram which was

otTered in place of Isaac. Hence the following passiige was inserted in the mimif arranged by l{ab in the third century the

Ajas Akhaltzyk

nation of its conception as a claim to atonement. The injunctions in Jer. xix. and in Jlicah, vi. 7 against the sacritice of chihlren are exjilained as referring to the sacrifice of Isaac (Ta'anit, 4i( Yalk., Micah, g .5.55). These i>rotests were silenced by the persecutions in which Jewish fathers and mothers were so often driven to slaughter their own children in order to save them from baptism. This saeriljce is regarded as a parallel to that of Abraham iZunz, "S. P." pp. 130-iys). The inlluence of the Christian dogma of atonement by vicarious sulTering and death.it has been suggested, induced the .Jews to regard the willingness of Isaac also to be .sacrificed in the light of a voluntary olfering of his life for the atoneiiient of his (lescendants(Geiger's"Jild. Zeit."x. 170;"Nachgelas.sene Schriften," v. 3.52). From the i)oint of view of some advocates of reformed Judaism the great importance of the Biblical .")



AKDAMUT A..

^^

I

I

izsz:

Andante,

P

4

f

=c

q*=*=

•-

rJ

(Zunz. "S. P." p. 81; B. Beer, "Leben Abraham's," Lev. R. xxxvi.): p. 1M(>) for that day (see Gen. H. Ivi.

" Ri>inemh<'r In our favor. O I.ord our Ciod. the onth which Thuu hiu*t sworn to our futlter Abraham on Mount Mnriuh con:

the hlndlnt-r of hi.s son Isiuii- u[H)n the altar wht'n tie su|>preswil his love In onler lo do Thy will with a whole heart Thus may Thy Uive 8uppn.ssThy wrath ainilrist us. and thnxiKh Thy irn-at »fo<Klii<.ss may the heai of Thine anirer Ik* turiUHl away

ntilt-r

I

fnun Thy

peiiple.

Thv

etty.

ami Thy

herltjiKe

I

.

.

.

Hememlier

of Abndiam's attempted sacrifice of Isaac conGod does not desire such a sacrifice; accordingly many American reform rituals have abolished the 'Akeilah jirayers. At the same time stress is laid even by reformers on the typical character of the story as expressing the spirit of martyrdom which permeates Jewish history and has maintained the Jewish faith. 6t<iry

sists in the lesson that

lu-day in men-y in fuvor of hlsw'eil the hlnillni? of Isaac.'*

Gen. xxii. was taJien as the Biblical lesson for the second day of the New-year festival (Meg. Slrt;

compare In

till'

l{aslii.

ml

Inr.).

course of lime ever greater importance

was

nttribiiled lollie '.Vkedah. The liagiriulislic literature is full of allusions to it; the claim to forgive-

ness on its account was inserted in the ilaily morning prayer; ami a piece calleil " Akedali " wasaiided to till' lituriry of each of the penitential days among the (lernian .lews. B<fore the first blasts of the shofar are souniled there is sung in the .Sephardic liturgv a hymn which narrates the '.kedali; this was wrllten by Jiidali ben Samuel ibn Abbas, rabbi in Fez in the twelfth century. This turn given lo the attempted .sacrifice of Isaac is certainly in conllict with the prophetic spirit. The occurrence is never again mentioned in the Bible;

and even

in the

Talmud

voices are raisi'd iiieondem

liliu.iocR.vpiiv: I.. Dukes. ZurKrnulniioil. X'liliehr. Piitiiie, ims, pp. 'u, W>: A. wiener, Oic Op/ir- und Akcdauchcte,

Brmlau,

-.

lS«iU.

AKEHMAN, RACHEL:

The earliest

.

Jewes,s to

wriieGi rinaii poetry; born probably at Vienna, lo'i'i; She apiiears to have died at Iglau. .Monivia, 1.544. received an excellent education, having studied both Latin and Greek. She soon exhibited poetical powOn ei"s, and began to exercisi- tiniii at an early age. account of her poem. "Geheimniss des llofes" (The Mystery of the Courts), in which she ilescribed the iniriL'ucs of courtiers, lijichel and her father were expelled from Vic'iina, where they had lived. She M. K. died heartbroken at this treatment.

AKHALTZTK

(meaning, in the Georgian IanCastle"): . fortified town of Transcaucasia, in the i.'overnment of Tifii.s. on an afiluent of Of the 'JlVIMH) the Kur. 11" miles west of Tifiis. inhabitants about li.OtHi are Jews; some of them giuiLie."

Niw