Page:The old paths, or The Talmud tested by Scripture.djvu/120

 which, for shortness' sake and for want of a better word in English, we shall call "undestined."

"There is on the holy day one thing which is not found on the Sabbath, and that is, the forbidding of the undestined, for the undestined is unlawful on the holy day, and is lawful on the Sabbath. Because the holy day is less sacred than the Sabbath, they forbade the undestined on that day, lest persons should be led to make light of it." (Hilchoth Jom. Tov. c. i. 17.)

"For instance, a hen that is kept for the purpose of hatching eggs, and an ox that is kept for ploughing, pigeons in a pigeon house, and fruits that are kept for sale, all these and the like are undestined, and it is unlawful to eat of them on a holy day, unless a man destine them on the eve preceding, and form an intention to eat them." (Ibid.) By this law a numerous class of things is forbidden, which God has no where forbidden, and fresh chains are forged for the conscience. An unlearned man can hardly tell what does or does not belong to the class, and if he be in doubt must first go to the rabbi, before he can eat or make use of any thing doubtful; for this definition extends not only to eatables, but to other things, as for instance, fuel. Suppose, for example, that a man or a family had eaten nuts or almonds on the eve of the holy day, is it lawful or unlawful to burn the shells on the holy day itself? The Word of God leaves the Jew at perfect liberty to do as he pleases, but the oral law tells him that he may by doing either commit a great sin. If he cannot resolve his scruples in this matter, he must be content to go to the rabbi or some learned man, and submit to his decision, and thus every unlearned and devout Jew is brought into complete captivity to the decisions of the learned. Another very similar law, and tending to the same bondage, is that which makes any thing that is born or comes into existence on the holy day, unlawful.