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496 Banquets

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Banu Aus

Banoczi, together with Prof. W. Bacher, took the necessary steps to save from certain ruin the congregation and schools of the sect of Sabbatarians in Transylvania who in 1868 became converted to Judaism. Banoczi has written the following works: (1)

Kant's Lehre von Raum und Zeit " (1875) (2) transH. Lewes' "History of Philosophy" into Hungarian, 3 vols., 1876-78; "(3) "Revai Miklos Elete es Munkai," crowned by the Hungarian Royal "



lation of G.

Academy

of Sciences in 1879; (4) "Magyar Roman(5) translation of some of Schopenhauer's into Hungarian, 1882; 2d ed., 1892; (6)"Emlek-

ticismus

works

"



beszed Greguss Agostrol," 1889; (7) translation of Kant's " Kritik der Reinen Vernunft " into Hungarian, jointly with Professor Alexander, 1891; (8) translation of Burckhard's "Cultur der Renaissance in Italien " into Hungarian, 2 vols., 1895-96. Banoczi, together with Professor Alexander, edits the " Filozofiai Jrok Tara " lie has also edited Er;

delyi's philosophical writings (1885), of Kisfaludy Karoly, 6 vols., 1893.

and the works

Banoczi's contributions to Jewish literature are: A History of the First Decade of the Budapest Jewish Theological Seminary " (Hungarian and German), 1888; (2) he edited, jointly with W. Bacher, the "Hungaro- Jewish Review" ("Magyar Zsido Szemle"), 7 vols., 1884-90; (3) he edited, also with Bacher, " 'EokSnyo," the year-book of the Hungarian Society for the Promotion of Jewish Literature, (1) "

3 vols., 1897-99.

Teachers.

S.

BANQUETS (Hebrew, "mishteh," from "sha= drinking-feast Talmudical," se'udah," from " sa'ad " = sustenance) Festive meals on occasions



of the celebration of domestic, communal, and religious joy, and on welcoming as well as on parting from friends. Social in character, they originated, as is now generally assumed, in sacrificial feasts.

As W. Robertson Smith

tersely puts

it



"A

sacri-

ceremony of a township; the law of the feast was open-handed hospitality; no sacrifice was complete without guests, and portions were freely distributed to rich and poor within the circle of a man's acquaintance; universal hilarity prevailed" fice

was a

public,

("Religion of the Semites," 1889, pp. 236-258, with Sam. ix. 13, xx. 6 II Sam. vi. Participation in sacrificial meals 19; Neh. viii. 10). was equivalent to covenanting with the Deity; hence the prohibition not " to eat of the sacrifice " of the heathen (Ex. xxxiv. 15; Smith, I.e. pp. 252300; Trumbull, "The Blood Covenant," 1885, pp. 268 et seq.). In Biblical times the religious nature of these meals predominated, whether in the harvest In feast (Deut. xvi. 10, 14; xii. 7, 12, 18; Biblical Judges ix. 27), or in the covenant feasts at the union or parting of friends Times. (Gen. xxvi. 30, xxxi. 54; Ex. xxiv. 5), to which category belongs also the weddingspecial reference to I

feast (Gen.

the thanksgiving feasts (Job i. 4; Ps. xxii. 26, 27; Esth. viii. 17, ix. 22) or the feast of sheep-shearing (I

Sam. xxv. 36;

Sam.

II

xiii.

23),

and probably

also the feast of house dedication, according to Prov.

The weaning of a child, usually after its second year, was an occasion of feasting (Gen. xxi. Birthday 8 see Knobel-Dillmann on the passage). feasts are mentioned, but only of non-Jewish kings (Gen. xl. 20; II Mace. vi. 7; that of Herod, in Matt. xiv. 6, may have been on the day of his accession to the throne, as seems to be the case with Esth. i. 3, 4, and Dan. v. 1). The. sacrificial feasts, howr ever, in the course of time, to the chagrin of the Prophets, had become carousals void of all religious spirit. " The harp and the viol, the taboret and pipe, and wine are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his ix. 1-4.



hands"

Amos

(Isa.

v.

11,

12;

compare

xxviii.

7, 8,

and

vi. 5, 6).

The Talmud discriminates between religious Banquets ("se'udah shel mizwah"), in which the student of the Law should participate, and Banquets of a non-religious, voluntary character (" se'udah shel reshut "), in which the student of the Law should not participate (Pes. 49a). In the former In Post- are included Biblical 1. The Betrothal and the "WedTimes.

ding-Feast

(I.e.):

The

latter, called

also "hillula" (feast of joyful song,

Ket. 8a; Ber. 31a), lasted seven days (see Judges xiv. 17 in Tobit viii. 19, twice seven days), a three days' preparation being deemed necessary for the

Banoczi is a contributor to the " Philosophische Mouatshefte " and many Hungarian literary magazines; and he has published some very valuable papers in the programs of the Normal School for

tah"

496



xxiv. 54, xxix. 22; Judges xiv. 10) or

banquet (Ket.

2a. lb).

2. The Circumcision Feast (Ket. 8a): The father of Elisha ben Abuyah invited all the great and learned men of Jerusalem to the circumcision feast of his son (Yer. Hag. ii. 774). The Midrash ascribes the celebration of this feast to Abraham,

taking the word 7t3Jn in Gen. xxi. 8, "Abraham great feast the same day that Isaac was

made a

weaned," as a Notakicon, $>D jri, "on the eighth day when he circumcised Isaac " (Pirke R. El. xxix. Midr. Teh. to Ps.

cxii.



Lekah Tob

to Gen.



Shab.

Josephus does not seem to know of the custom as yet, for he writes ("Contra Ap." ii. 26): " The law does not permit us to make festivals at the births of our children and thereby afford occasion for drinking to excess." This is an allusion to the Greek festival called " Onomathesia " (giving of name), and " Hebdomeneumenia " (feast of the week) (Hermann, "Lehrbuch der Gottesdienstlichen Al130a, Tos.).

terthiimer der Griechen," § 26, note 6), which occurs as " shabua' ha-Ben " in the Hadrianic time in the Talmud (Yer. Ket. i. 25c; B. B. 60S; Sanh. 32b), but

has been identified with the circumcision feast (L0w,

"Die Lebensalter," p. 89; Spitzer, "Das Mahl bei den Hebriiern," p. 41, note 4). 3.

The Bar Mizwah Feast

(see

Bar Mizwah):

According to some commentators, the passage in Gen. xxi. 8, quoted above, refers to the banquet given by Abraham on the day that Isaac was weaned from the "Yezer ha-Ra'" (the evil spirit), and became Bar Mizwah (Gen. R. 53). 4. Feast of the Redemption of the FirstBorn Son, see Pidyon ha-Ben. Some find this referred to under the name of "Yeshu'a ha-Ben"