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462 Baki, Simson

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Baking

1

The

to the steady influx of other Jewish artisans. city has a

and 9

"

Talmud Torah, a

heders

"

private school for Jews,

with 155 male pupils.

h. r.

S.

BAKI, SIMSON:

J.

462

Hebrew expression D^BVI rOJ? in I Kings xix. 6, rendered as "cakes baken on the coal," is also most probably to be understood as meaning cakes baked on glowing stones (see Robinson, "Biblical Reii. 416; Doughty, "Arabia Deserta," i. Another method of baking, prevalent still among the Bedouins, is to employ a heated iron plate in lieu of sand or stones OfD rnnD, Lev. ii.

searches,"

1.

Born

either in

Germany

and very probably related to the Bachi family, members of which flourished successively at Vercelli and Casale. He lived about 1582-84, and or Italy,

wrote at these dates from Safed and Jerusalem three letters, which were recently published by David Kaufmann in A. M. Luncz's "Jerusalem," vol. ii., Jerusalem, 1887, Hebrew section, pp. 141-147; compare also Steinschneider in the same periodical, vol. iii., Jerusalem, 1889, pp. 56, 57, No. 33&, who calls him "Back." 1. g. G. A. K.

131).

Ezek. iv. 3). The reference in I Chron. ix. 31 is probably to bread baked in this way. The Jews that were settled in the land, no doubt, as a general thing, had ovens in their houses (Ton, " tannur "). The modern Palestinian oven, which, in ancient times, could certainly not have been more primitive, consists generally of a clay pan, which is placed upon small stones with dung-fuel heaped around and over the pan. The dung is kindled and 5;

2. Rabbi at Casale; flourished about the middle He was a contemporary of the eighteenth century. of Moses Zacuto, and was, it is assumed by some, the descendant of Simson Baki, 1, or in some way related to him.

According to Babbi Benjamin Cohen

of Reggio, who was Bald's pupil, he died on the 11th of Sivan, 5451 ( 1691; compare "GebulBinyamin," ii., No. 44). Baki seems to have been a mysFrom one of the epistles of the cabalist Moses tic. Zacuto, bearing the date 1672 (T'DIH JTTOK, No. 2), it appears that he was very superstitious, for he complains of his ill-success at exorcising the evil spirit with which a woman was possessed, whereupon Moses Zacuto recommended the burning of sulfur along with the use of the Ineffable Name to In common with all his obtain the desired effect. countrymen, Baki was a fervent champion of Shabbethai Zebi, and transmitted to him from Italy a letAs a writer he ter avowing allegiance to his cause. does not appear to have been active beyond the composition of a commentary on Lamentations and the Song of Songs mentioned in the " Epistles of Moses

=

Zacuto," entitled H3DP IWIEn, which latter is still exBibliographers do not allude tant in manuscript. to it at all, except Benjacob, "Ozar ha-Sefarim," p.

Modern Baking-Oven in

Syria.

(From Benzinger, "Hebraische Archaologle,")

549, note; 217.

BiBLiOfiRAPHY: Nepi-Gbirondi, Toledot Oedole ITsrael, 1856: p. 321, Gratz, Oesch. der Juden, 2d ed., x. 323; Briill, Brilll's Jahrb. ix. 175, in Hakarrnel, new series, iv. 168 note 1; D. Kaufmann, in Luncz's Jerusalem, it, Jerusalem,

section, p. 142: A. Jellinek, in the Zunz-JubcU schrift, Berlin, 1884, Hehrew section, p. 86 ; Mortara, Indite Alfabetico, Padua, 1886, p. 5, s.v. Bachi, who mentions two Simsons, who are, without doubt, identical. Another died In 1885. 1887,

Hebrew

k.

BAKING.— Biblical

G. A. K.

Data: The bread

the bread then laid upon the heated stones under the pan. This is evidently an elaboration of the process above described. Another form of oven, however, is also used, consisting of a clay cylinder narrower toward the top. Eire is kindled inside this, and the cakes of bread are stuck upon the

heated inside walls. The ancient Egyptians laid the cakes upon the external walls of the oven, as the

drawings show. of the

ancient Hebrews, like that of the Palestinians today, was not in the shape of thick loaves, but of thin cakes (see Bread). Originally these were baked by kindling a fire on the sand or on small stones, and then, when the sand or stones had become sufficiently heated, brushing away the fire and ashes and laying the thin cakes of dough upon the sand or stones and covering them with glowing ashes. A few minutes sufficed to bake this bread. Such is the description given by Epiphanius (De Lagarde, "Symmicta," ii. 188), who explains the Septuagint kyKfivOia as referring to " the hiding " of the cakes under the ashes (compare the Vulgate panis subcinerarius). The

Bibliography: Wilkinson, Ancient Egypt, 1878, ii. 34; Erman, Aegypten und Aegyptisches .Lcben, 1885, pp. 191 et seq.; see also the cuts of the modern oven in Benzinger, Archdolngie, 1894, pp. 86, 87 Nowack, Lehrbuch der Hcbr. Archdrilogie, 1894; Vogelstein, Die Landwirthscliaft in Palllxtina zur Zeit der Mishnah, Berlin, 1894; and the

works referred J. jr.

to in this article.

In Rabbinical Literature

I.



Be.

Rabbinical, and

especially tannaitic, literature gives more detailed information respecting baking than any other handi-

This is due to the fact that the Temple ritual included no less than twelve distinct meal-offerings which were of the greatest importance in the HalaThe flour used was made from wheat crushed kah. craft.