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338 ;

'Alenu

THK .lEWISn ENCYCLOPEDIA

Aleppo

the cimrge was rem-wcd ajiiiin by Professor Kypke. governineut inspector of the Kiiiiiirsberg Synugofrue, in a nieniorandiim i)ri'seute(l to the goveriinieiit in 1777, cm the occasion of a memorial service lieUi by the KOiiigsberg Jews inlioiior of theUnssian empress. This was rcfiiictl l)y Mentlclssolm in a couiiler-niemorandum preseiiteil to the governTiient. the result of which was that, despite Kypkcs protest, the matter

was

laid

ml ni-tn.

southern limit being Alexandria in Egypt, In the sixteenth century one of the routes to India still passi-d through it, and im accoimt of this the city became one of the great attractions for the Jews who traveled eastward. Though the synagogue in Aleppo has many modern additions. Abbe Chagnot is of ojiinion that portionsof it wereereiled as early as the fourth century. It contains several inscriptions, some carved in its walls. <ithers painted on them; one dating as early as 833, another as late as 1861 the former in a chapel (n3p) sjiid to have been erected by Ali ben Nathan hen Mebassi'r biMi DISH. The date is furnished in the usual way by starring letters in a Biblical (juotji-

Holh docnmeiitsweieafterward

published from the archives by L. K. Borowsky, pastor of Kimigsberg. in 1791 (see ^Iendels.sohu. "'Gesammte Schrifteu," vi. 418; .lost, "Gesch. derlsmeliten," ix. 381 Singularly enough, in the early Christian Church, convert.s before being baptized ha<I to step forward at the end of divine service, and make public confession by tirsl turning back Coincidenceinthe ward, renouncing the kingdom of Sa Early tan and spitting out as a sign of conChristian tempt; then turning forward in the



tion.

round the main building; the one on the extreme west, behind the Ark, and corresponding to thi' ladychapel of a European cathedral, is a damp shrine, with a stone sarcophagus, in which are i)reserved lour Biblical manuscripts, the jiride of the Aleppo Jews. The greatest superstitious reverenee is attached to the codex now in 5 Other Aleppo, which is ascribed to Aahon and rt
 * ,^;^ Asiikk; it bears note of its dedi-

the world and of man. they took the oath of allegiance to JesusastheSon of God" (see llotiing, "Taufe."!. 3S1

Tne Aleppo

"De Jlysteriis," i. 2). Possibly the jirayer for the conversion of all heathen nations, contained in the latter portion of the '.Menu, has some coruieetion with the practise adopted by the Church of admitting proselytes at the end of the service, BIBLIOORAPHV Zunz, f;. 1^ p. :!!»; I.Hcralurhlall (Jr.s> Ori€uttt, IHJii, pp. ,5<^-7t>; Ilriick. Itahhinische Ccremimialhriluchc, pp, ,T.i-58 Hamburtter, R. B. T. supplfiiipnt, il. Cyril,

"'"" '" "'^' ^^r; ^bV2 and ^IXIL"' D''J3"in. that is, lo the Pabbinites of JerusiUem, and of its subsequent delivery to the Jerusalem Synagogue of t'airo, as well as of its having originally belonged to an inhabitant of Bassora, and to the Karaite community of Jerusjilem. The codex, from its accentuation and general character, can hardly be of earlier date than the twelfth century; nor can it be the original written in i)22.

i^rlnts



li



(Jratz.

Gcsc/i. d. Ju<k)i.

(icynmmtc Schriftiu, ix. :iS: I. ltiS-i;i.

vill. 7ii,

x. IWO.


 * !lii;

Mti].l.-ls,-i.,iin,

Grsch. <l'r Isr<t<litin, H. Weiss. In Kobale's Jcv/iunoi (Hebrew), ISW.pp, vi.

418;

,Iost.

jj

'ALENU

OF

The epigraphs

The traditional (ir^yl. MTJSIC melixlv to which the 'Alenu jirayer is chanted, while of comparatively late origin, is of suitable breadth and dignity. It consists ts.sentially of the opening phrase, several times repeated, with the addition of a strain from the cantor's introduction of the 'Amid.mi and a passing reminiscence of the Koi, The version given on the ojiposite page is somewhat simpler in detail than that favored by most cantors, some of whom prefer also to quote a strain from the melodies of the jireceding evening pravers instead of the one here instanced, F. L, C.

The

of the Hebrew alphaFor its symbolic meaning, see Mislmah Sliahbet. bat, i. It wasemi)loyed asa numeral to mark No. 1 of the shckel-bo.xes in the Temple (Shek. iii. 2). Aleph and Tav being the first and the last letters of the alphabet, the expression "from Aleph to Tav" signifies "from begimiing toend." Hence, "the observers of the Law from Aleph to Tav "are those that keep the Law in its entirety. See Ai.phahet Ai.l'iiA .M> f)ME<i.. Iv. (it)



first letter



ALEPPO

Arabic, Haleb; Hebrew. 3^nN. IS'^n. 2?n. Imt gi-nerally n31V D1S- or abbreviated J'lX or Town of ancient and of modern Syria, and capn31S): ital of a Turkish vilayet of the same name, between the Orontes and Euphrates rivers: situated on the banks of a little desert stream, Xalirel-Haleb, seventy miles east of Alcxandretla, its seaport on the Mediterranean. Fonnerly it derived its importance from being on the roite to Bagdad and southern Persia; and it is sjiid to have contained at one time as many as 200,000 souls. It can boast of sheltering one of the

have been copied from another

latter was founded in 1889. In the matter of dre-ss the Jewesses of .Vleppo adopt a costume resembling that of their Mohammedan sisters a long black cloak enveloping them from head to foot, the face alone being visible. The girls in the -Vlliance school wear European dress. Books arc very rare in the city, but manuscripts aboimd. fifteen Hebrew ones having been recently collected there in two days. One was a unique diwan of secular poetry by Eleazcr ha-Bable probablj' composed in Aleppo (".lew. Quart. Hev." xi. 68'2). .V printing-press for Hebrew was set up in Aleppo in 1X9S. In a private library therea Masoretic Bible, finished in 1307. has been found this library also contains a cabalistic work, njpn D. written in Cochin in 1497.

The

(

oldest Jewish communities, mentioned in Ps. Ix. Though only ten days" journey north of I)ainas<-ns, it was traditionally regarded, in letters of divorce (see Get), as the most northerly point a Palestinian Jewmight visit without being considered a traveler, the

nnist

manuscrii)t. itself perhaps not the tirst. The other three manuscripts are; (1) Pentateuch (text and Targum) with full Masoretic lists, finished (prohablv in italy)) Pentateuch with the conunentary of Pjislii in the margin and simdry additions of Ibn Ezra, Nahmanides, and JosephCaro; (3) a huge but be:iutifully illuminated Masoretic Pentateuch with the Haftarot and the live Megillot. The synagogue is also the meeting-house of the congregants. n an upper lloor is the rabbinical school with a fairly good Hebrew library. Stored near the roof of one of the chapels is a.i/c/ij'jrt/i, from which, in times of dronghl, the dust is removed and carried with nuicli ceremony to the Jewish cemetery and there buried with fi'rvent i)rayers forrain. There are sjud to be about 10,000 Jews in Aleppo, each of whom must pay a poll lax. Besides the various primary schools, where HeModern brew and .rabic are taught, there is a Aleppo, boys' school, founded by the Alliance Israelite rniverselle in 1869, with 2.")0 pupils, of whimi 96 pay for tuition. There is also a school for girls, with Ifl.") pupils, of whom 79 pay.

NlDRK.

AliEPH

The chief peeidiarily of the structure isa raised known as Elijah's Seat. Sevend chapels .sur-

pulpit,

uameof theCreatorof

Church.

338

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